Great Britain and the Industrial Revolution Why did Great Britain lead the Industrial Revolution? The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century changed Europe forever. At the front of this change was Great Britain, which used some natural advantages and tremendous thinking and innovation to become the leader of the Industrial Revolution. First, Britain had some tremendous natural attributes. It was naturally endowed with many deposits of coal and iron ore, which were used heavily in the early stages of factory production. In addition, Britain was situated at a critical point for international trade. Its position between the United States and the rest of Europe allowed them to have a serious impact in all matters of trade. Likewise, a multitude of navigable waterways, easy access to the sea, and a mild climate all contributed to the onset of industrialism. Britain's topography was conducive to industrialism because its diversity allowed for the production of many agricultural products, preventing any sort of shortage or famine. Evans remarks, “Each single such advantage could be replicated in other European countries and some could be accentuated, but no other nation enjoyed such a rich combination of natural bounties” (111). Furthermore, the nation was free of many trade tariffs that hampered industry in other European nations while featuring a real opportunity for upward movement in society which provided a great incentive for acquiring wealth. Britain also experienced tremendous population growth which provided a potential workforce as well as an increase in the demand for goods. In addition to all of these natural assets, there was also great innovation and technological advance in Britain. One of the b... ... middle of paper ... ...not on governments, but on men of initiative, determination, ambition, vision, resourcefulness, single-mindedness, and (not infrequently) good, honest greed” (117). The Industrial Revolution, led by Great Britain, greatly changed the existing attitude of powerlessness towards nature to one of power because now people were able to produce enough goods and food to support the expanding population. The ability to produce a surplus that arose from the ongoing industrialization meant that people no longer had to worry over nature and its effects on the economy. The Industrial Revolution led by Great Britain radically changed Europe's social and economic ways of life and provided the impetus for the tremendous progress of the 19th century. Work Cited Evans, Eric J. The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain. London and New York: Longman, 1996.
The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain truly effected Europe in different ways. The peasants worked long hours and lived in poor conditions. The middle class lived modest lives and sometimes were promoted to the upper class. The upper class greatly benefited with the new advancements in technology. The Industrial Revolution helped make Europe a more advanced place, even though it did have some flaws.
Thomas S. Ashton’s The Industrial Revolution (1760–1830) looks at the early developments of Industrial Revolution during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Ashton illustrates throughout his book the way in which the Industrialization occurred in England. Ashton meticulously looks over English’s political, economical and social elements that allowed England to Industrialize. Throughout the six chapters Ashton provides the reader with convincing evidence and makes sure England is credited in being the first to experience the phenomena of the Industrial Revolution. Ashton argues that the combination of private initiative, deregulation and free trade allowed the Industrial Revolution to flourish. Another economic scholar Ha- Joon Chang argues that free trade theory is flawed and countries that experienced an economic boom had strong government interference. Both scholars present their arguments with strong stattiscal evidence.
The Industrial Revolution was a period of in which fundamental changes occurred in agriculture, factories, mining, transportation, machinery, economic policies, and in the social structure of England. Industrialization began in Great Britain and it was a major turning point in history. It changed the way countries produced its goods. England turned into an agricultural society to an industry and manufacturing society. During this era, there was a huge impact on the growth of cities, employment of skilled and unskilled workers, the role of women and families, and laws and national policies.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial power. Great Britain's colonies not only provided raw materials, but also provided markets for manufactured products. These colonial markets helped stimulate the textile and iron industries, which were probably the two most important industries during the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution of Britain took place from 1780 and throughout the 19th century, during this time period, Britain thrived off extreme production rates and this caused Britain to become the top country in the world to produce goods so rapidly during the 18th century. Although, the growing success of Britain had a fatal price. The revolution changed the culture of Britain, manufacturing was no longer a task done in the home but now became centralized in the factory. The birth of factories brought child labor, dense living conditions, urbanization, and changes in economy, but the factories were not just the whole part of the revolution. Many inventions were created and their impacts were substantial when reviewing the overall revolution.
The Industrial Revolution began in many stages; the first country to experience the dramatic change was England. England was a mercantilist country and the expanding Atlantic economy of the eighteenth century served England well. The rise in the production of canals served England very well since they were about 20 miles from navigatable water. Because of the increase in canals and rivers England was able to easily move big shiploads of iron and coal that were critical raw materials in Europe’s early industrial age.
During the late nineteenth century Germany and the USA began to overtake Britain’s industrial dominance, Eric Hobsbawm believes that ‘it is not surprising that Britain was unable to maintain the extraordinary position as workshop of the world’. This is due to a number of factors such as, more railways in other countries, decline in exports compared to other nations, the British government followed a policy of free trade and the production of materials like steel in Germany and the USA was far greater than what the British produced. However, even though other nations began to industrialise and catch up with Britain, she still remained a leading industrial power. This is because Britain was still in the world’s top three economies, exports were high during the 1870s also Britain
During the period of 1750 to 1850, Great Britain experienced an economic growth that transformed the lives of Europeans. It was an era characterized by the rise of machine-powered factories, technological advances, the increase in population and the expansion of trade. The progression of this transformation, however manifested itself into social and living concerns for the working class. Opponents of the Industrial Revolution feel that the effect of free competition and trade is producing wealth without well-being. On the other hand, the advocates for industrialization and the introduction of machinery feel that the lives of the working class are actually improving. Although, the workers of this time period put forth compelling arguments against industrialization, I must settle in favor of industrialization. The process of industrializing brought new opportunities that advanced the lives of owners as well as workers. Economic growth and resources become more obvious for everyday workers. The benefits of the Industrial Revolution advances from the introduction of machinery in the textile industry, the ownership of businesses and the economic shift of urbanizing towns.
One of the major events of the 17 centuries was the industrial revolution of Europe. “The industrial revolution began in England in the 1770s and 1780s in textile manufacturing and spread from there across the continent” (Hunt, 2012, 686). This revolution was marked by three parts each of which was associated with different regions as well as technology. The structure of the economy changed along with technological innovations. New types of investments shifted the focus to the manufacturing in the newly built large-scale factories.
There is much discussion about how, or why, the Industrial Revolution started in Britain. I contribute this to three main attributes of Britain: the scientific and agricultural revolution, the cheap energy economy, and their social structure. One of the main reasons the industrial revolution worked out as well as it did was the scientific and agricultural revolutions that happened beforehand. Everything is the same, everything is standardized.
It wasn’t until 1815 that France and Belgium began large scale industrialism, but things didn’t really kick off until the 1830s. Many things began to happen at once, steam powered machinery was introduced to the rest of Europe, which lead to paved roads and factories being the norm everywhere. In the United States industrialism started around the same time as France and Belgium and used railroads and other machinery from England to help them along. America’s contribution to the industrial revolution was the assembly line. While most of Europe and America had started industrializing by the 1850s Spain, Italy, and Russia were some of the last places in Europe to industrialize. The country 's governments helped the spread of industrialization, in some countries the governments played an active role in aiding in the financial process and were very supportive in the spread of industrialism, compared to England’s free market and good banking. England’s nobles also got involved and were active parts of the industrial revolution while nobles in the rest of Europe considered it beneath them to get involved. The spread of industrialism throughout the rest of Europe was a slow process because of all the tax laws and tariffs made difficult to avoid due to the land borders. A merchant wanting to make a living would need to pay a fare when entering a different region
“The Industrial Revolution was another of those extraordinary jumps forward in the story of civilization” -Stephen Gardiner. Forever changing lives across the globe, the Industrial Revolution has had the most momentous impact in daily life than any other revolution to ever take place in history, and after its occurrence, nothing would ever be the same. Beginning in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution spread all throughout Europe and eventually to the entire world lasting from about 1760 to 1820-1840, it provided new sources of energy, new means of transportation, new methods of labor, etc. England was the revolution's leader, having countries such as the United States, Germany, France, and Belgium follow its example. In this revolution, it was better to be a leader, rather than a follower, due to
The Industrial Revolution began in England around the 17th and early 18th centuries, which brought wealth and great power to this nation. It was the most far-reaching, influential transformation of human culture since the advent of agriculture eight or ten thousand years ago. Great Britain was at the forefront of the industrial revolution through numerous factors such as natural resources, inventions, transport systems, and the population surge. It changed the way people worked and lived, and a revolution was started. As stated by Steven Kreis in Lecture 17, “England proudly proclaimed itself to be the ‘Workshop of the World,’ a position that country held until the end of the 19th century when Germany, Japan and United States overtook it.”
Through the cultivation of new farming technology and methods they were able to feed millions and produce healthier foods. With trade the British dominated the overseas commerce and maritime. English politics and investment created the perfect breeding ground for modernizations and inventions. Factories brought the rise of urbanization to small towns and cities, turning them into metropolises. If one of these factors deviated from its course, then the Industrial revolution may have not happened the way it did.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and by the mid 18th century Britain was the world’s leading commercial nation controlling a global trading empire with colonies in North America and Africa. Therefore, the Industrial Revolution is called a ‘revolution’ and not a ‘movement’ because it marks a major turning point in history.