Significance of Industrial Revolution in Global History

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The most important event in history: Industrial Revolution Context The industrial revolution was the most important, which started around the eighteenth century towards the nineteenth century in Europe. This great event was the fastest spreading event in human history. The capacity of economy and population growth was unexpected especially at the areas in which it flourished. The industrial revolution benefited almost everyone around the world and brought about new social classes, large cities and many new innovations including medical discoveries especially in Britain as it based it is scientific innovations on experiments and practical work rather than theories and logic. Introduction The industrial revolution was the cause of many social, …show more content…

As mentioned above many products from different industries were discovered and invented which made life easier and cheaper. The factories did not spend fast amount of money on making the products as they were allowed to pay their workers as much as that suited them so it did not cost them much and the innovation of factory machines also helped them produce in big quantities. These products were very demanding which meant that it grew the economy of the making nation, “Britain’s output of coal soared from 5.23 million tons in 1750 to 68.4 million tons a century later” (Strayer, 2012; 835). The industrial revolution did not just grow the economy of industrializing countries it also helped grow the economy of non-industrializing nations. For example, Latin America was one of the non-industrialized nations however its economy grew unexpectedly as they exported demanding raw materials such as rubber, silver, coal and many more resources that were essential for the growth of the industrial revolution (Strayer, 2012; 854). Latin America’s economy depended on the export of these materials and because of their popularity and essentiality it grew the state’s …show more content…

The revolution resulted in the development of a new social class the middle class. This class contained factory, min owners as well as engineers, doctors and lawyers. The flourish of this new social class greatly noticeable in Britain as the British scholars were more practical rather than theoretical. As Strayer explains, the discoveries on atmospheres and vacuums promoted the innovation of the steam engine in Britain (Strayer, 2012; 834). The industrial revolution brought the social status of business men up as they benefited the most from the industrial revolution, it can also be said that the factory and min owners were the sponsors of the industrial revolution. Because of their wealth they got the advantage of living a healthy life in the villages away from the diseases that were spreading in the overcrowded cities. However, the aristocrats lost their social power and were harmed by the industrial revolution. They struggled to keep their power in the parliament but as the industrial revolution grew they became less important to the economy and by the end of the nineteenth century they were replaced by businessmen in the parliament. “The aristocracy’s declining political clout was demonstrated in the 1840s when high tariffs on foreign agricultural imports… were finally abolished” (Strayer, 2012; 837), this is when the aristocrats struggled the most because the taxes were very high and they could not pay their

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