The Industrial Revolution Began in the late-1700s, though it didn’t take full effect until 1830-1840 (in Great Britain)… Major changes in agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and mining – contributed to cultural and socioeconomic changes in Great Britain

Changes in Manufacturing & Labor

Village Farming Prior to the IR most people lived in small country villages Land was UNFENCED Wealthy controlled land; peasant families rented land

Village Farming Small families because of high infant death rate Harsh working conditions LOW life expectancy (40 years)

Domestic System Early industries in Europe: coal, glass, iron, clothing (textiles) Mid 1700s; wool became extremely popular in Europe Increase in DEMAND

Domestic System Merchants hired farming families to produce woolens in their homes

Domestic System Depended on a network of workers Each did a segment of the work Provided income during hard times

Why Great Britain?

Why Great Britain? In Britain, wealthy landowners started the Enclosure Movement

Why Great Britain? The Enclosure Movement: Landowners fenced off lands Led to greater efficiency & more successful farming practices Forces small farmers to move into the cities

Why Great Britain? The Industrial Revolution begins in Great Britain because it had the Factors of Production

Why Great Britain? Capital  $$$/wealth to invest in labor, machines & raw materials Natural Resources  harbors, rivers, iron and coal

Why Great Britain? Large Labor Supply  better farming techniques led to more food which led to population growth Entrepreneurs  risk takers who started new businesses Also, Britain’s gov’t was supportive

Why Great Britain? The textile industry was one of the first to become mechanized (powered by machines) in Britain This created a huge demand for cotton imports from Britain

Why Great Britain? Inventions like flying shuttle, the spinning jenny, and Eli Whitney’s cotton gin helped to meet this demand

Factory System Machines were too LARGE & too COSTLY for the domestic system Required more space & more workers

Factory System Production needed to be centralized Thus, the Factory System (brings workers and machines together under the control of managers) was introduced

The Spread of the Industrial Revolution

Industrialization Spreads Industrialization spread out of England to the United States in the early to mid 1800s Spread to continental Europe; Belgium and Germany industrialize first

Industrialization Changes Life

Transportation Technology in textile industry spurred progress in other industries Improvements in transportation like the steam engine and the railroad system allowed for more efficient transportation of people and materials

Living Conditions Growth of factory system caused urbanization – city building and the movement of people to cities Most urban areas doubled in size, some even more!

Living Conditions Because cities grew rapidly, they were not well planned and living conditions were poor Not sanitary or safe Sickness was widespread

Working Conditions To increase production, factory owners tried to keep their machines running as many hours as possible The average worker spent at least 14 hours a day at their job, 6 days a week

Working Conditions Women and children were employed because they were the cheapest source of labor Factories and coal mines were very dangerous

Social Class Social mobility caused the emergence of the middle class (factory owners, merchants, bankers) Middle class lifestyle: domestic servants, men work, women stay at home

Social Class The laborers made up the working class Saw little improvement in living and working conditions between 1800-1850