Industrial Revolution Essay

Industrial revolution which is regarded as the starting point of the modern world, began in the late 18th century in Britain and it is a major turning point in the human history. Since then, an unprecedented transformation began to change our daily life in almost every aspect. However, most people lived in countryside and made their living by farming before that time, what made Britain so special and what are the major factors that made Britain to be the beginning place of the industrial revolution? On the other hand, N. F. R. Crafts (1977, p.431) said that, “It will be assumed that in the mid-eighteenth century France and England were both growing economies with significant amounts of small-scale manufacturing activity.” So why is it not first take place in France? In fact, the industrial revolution in Britain did not just happen in the 1760, it had been an ongoing process for many years before, and this was mainly because of earlier revolutions in the 17th and 18th centuries. Moreover, Britain had enjoyed political stability and economic prospering for a long period and this had sown their seeds for later success in the end of 19th century. Basically, the coming together of many factors in the late 18th century had created a unique environment to Britain for the first industrial revolution to take place.

One of the major factors of industrial revolution is the significance growth of population in Britain. According to Tim Lambert (2013), the population of England and Wales was about 5 1/2 million at the end of the 17th century, however, the population of Britain had been gone up to 6 1/2million by the mid of the 18th century and the town in Britain grew larger as well. The population growth had resulted in more people move from...

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...owerful countries in the world due to the consequences of scientific advances and technological innovation. As previously mentioned, the coming together of many factors had made Britain so special that they could outride other countries for the first industrial revolution to take place. On the other hand, France also had a powerful economy and political environment because of its large geographical size, however the conservative government and churches and limited amount of coal reserves had forced France to delay their industrial development. In general, it can be summarized that previous centuries of development, abundant coal reserves, increasing population and urbanization, British innovativeness, political imperialism and intellectual climate and trading power were the main factors that contribute to the first industrial revolution to take place in Britain.