The industrial revolution was a period between the eighteenth and nineteenth century characterized by numerous advances in all aspects of society. Over the years, various historians have analysed the reason for Britain emerging as the first industrial nation. To this day, although there is no doubt that Britain industrialised first, historians appear to disagree on the fundamental reason for this. Great Britain succeeded in undergoing key pre-conditioning processes such as the Agricultural Revolution, which is often assumed to be the catalyst for Britain industrialising first. However, it is accurate to suggest this to be most significant? Of course, it played a huge role, as it was a pre-requisite to the industrial revolution. Yet, to assume …show more content…
Although Hobsbawm does identify issues with this, questioning why previous long periods of good harvests did not also lead to industrialisation ; Overton argues, this has minimal support by other scholars . Instead, it is widely assumed without advances in agriculture there couldn’t have been sufficient population moving to urban areas in order to industrialise. Therefore, this factor acts as a catalyst for Britain’s advanced industrialisation. In the period leading up to the industrial revolution there were various advances in agriculture, resulting in higher food production and population increases. As population was on the rise, as was the demand for food. Therefore, Britain strived to produce more efficient methods of food …show more content…
Most evidence assumes the agricultural revolution was the preliminary factor in the period prior to the industrial revolution. However, other evidence has concluded that ‘population growth generated the agricultural revolution’ which In turn, resulted in the industrial revolution. This would place much explanation of why Britain were first on the growing population rather than the agricultural revolution. However, this contradicts the majority of previous interpretations and has little supporting evidence. Due to other countries also experiencing population growth during this period, it is highly likely that other factors were more influential. The more probable conclusion is that population grew fast enough to provide a strong workforce which aided the agricultural revolution and later the industrial revolution. Granted, population growth was a relevant factor, yet it does not distinguish why Britain was first, as other countries also experienced similar
Industrialization is the process of developing machine production of goods. Extensive natural resources such as water power, coal, iron ore, rivers, and harbors were required for industrialization. Britain had not only these resources but in addition it had an expanding economy to support industrialization, a large population of workers, and political stability which gave Britain an advantage. All these things are called the factors of production.
The period during which there was an increased output of machine-made goods, also known as the Industrial Revolution, played a critical role in reshaping Britain’s economy. The Industrial Revolution, stimulated by advancements that were made during the Agricultural Revolution, began in Great Britain for many reasons. In addition to Britain’s broad availability of natural resources, the count...
The Industrial Revolution brought mass advancements in technology to the people in Great Britain, Europe and in other places in the world during the time of 1750-1850. Britain’s wealth, population, technology, education and resources led to it as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. While the Industrial Revolution increased work wages, it also consequently resulted in harsh punishments, poor living conditions, and deadly accidents.
England was the first country to experience the advantages and disadvantages of the Industrial Revolution, as it was the very first country in which the event happened, primarily because England was such a good source of coal and iron, arguably the most important resources needed by a country during the Industrial Revolution. Although England also experienced the Industrial Revolution because England was bountiful in lead, copper, tin, limestone and fast water supplies, overall, England was probably the most ideal place for the Industrial Revolution to be staged in the first place. A major cause for the Industrial Revolution was the enormous spurt of population growth in England. Along side the fast growth in population, medical systems had also improved, thus there was a reduction in the number of epidemics that spread resulting in less of a death toll through lack of medical knowledge. From this, the percentage of children who lived through childhood also began to increase, thus the future workforce would be even large than previously.
The Industrial Revolution originated in Britain thanks to the encouraging population and government who pushed for innovation through applied scientific insight. After the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment period, people were much more knowledgeable and full of ideas. Their
Jethro Tull was one of the first scientific farmers. He created an invention that dug deep seed sized holes, which helped more seeds take root and boosted crop yields. He made this in 1701 and called it the Seed Drill. Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in England, and what inventions spurred industrialization? In addition to a large population of workers, the small island country has extensive natural resources.... ...
Britain, specifically England, was a politically stable society at the time and became the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution for a number of other reasons. They had merchants who already had the capital for investing in the means of production and producing factories, they held more colonies than any other nation (some already rich in their own textile industries), they had the key raw materials needed for production, and there was a large number of readily available workers (Zmolek
In the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution made its debut in Great Britain and subsequently spread across Europe, North America and the rest of the world. These changes stimulated a major transformation in the way of life, and created a modern society that was no longer rooted in agricultural production but in industrial manufacture. Great Britain was able to emerge as the world’s first industrial nation through a combination of 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.”
The concept of imperialism is one that has pervaded nearly every major society or empire throughout human history. It seems to be a natural consequence of societies growing in size, power, and knowledge. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries vast changes occurred in Western Europe (and soon spread elsewhere) that spurred a new round of imperialism the likes of which had not been seen before. The changes were the industrial revolution that was taking place. Countries were rapidly advancing to industrial societies producing much greater quantities of goods at much lower costs. The goods produced ranged everywhere from cotton textiles to military machinery, all of which would play important roles in rounds of imperialistic expansion that would follow. The imperialistic displays by Western European nations also brought about several other industrial revolutions in other regions including the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and Japan. I will take a look at how the industrial revolution encouraged imperialistic expansion, as well as some of the results of that expansion in other regions.
The industrial revolution of 17th and 18th centuries saw the transformation of Britain from a Neolithic nation into an industrious nation. However, this spread quickly throughout the world, introducing the modernisation of agriculture, revolution in power and manufacturing of textile.
The Industrial Revolution was a transformation from agrarian and handicraft-centered economies into economies distinguished by industry and machine manufacture (Bentley and Ziegler 652). It first began in Britain during the mid-eighteenth century and lasted through the nineteenth century (Bentley and Ziegler 652-653). Although the Industrial Revolution was a drastic and ongoing process, does not mean it was an unproblematic change. Many people during this time period experienced positive and negative effects throughout this development.
Major bias exists in discussion of the Industrial Revolution even among its contemporaries. Thus, it is quite impossible to determine empirically whether industrialisation is best described as detrimental or beneficial. Indeed, industrialisation radically changed the way of life in Britain and all of Europe, but the varying changes are intertwined and not able to be separated and compared fairly. Complex change such as this cannot be dissected and scrutinised for good versus bad; the industrial revolution is both and it is neither. It cannot be
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, both societal and economic conditions were largely determined by agriculture. Growth was slow, and people relied on traditional means to get by. The majority of the society were farmers and raised other animals. In the eighteenth century, however, the population exploded at an unprecedented pace. There are four primary reasons that may be cited for this growth: a decline in the death rate, an increase in the birth rate, the virtual elimination of plagues, and an increase in the availability of food [1]. This population growth created a surplus of labor. The need for workers in agriculture decreased due to the technological advances in techniques and tools. The surplus of people, as well as other would-be farmers, had to find jobs elsewhere. This is one important factor in the shift of the popul...
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.
The development of the industrialisation is outcome of the advancement of agriculture. Agriculture has played very important role in the development of human civilisation. Nearly 90 percent of the population lived in rural area during the 18th century. These rural families produced most of the food, clothing and other useful commodities. Talking about the advancement of agriculture, no other name comes to mind except of England. It is to be noted that farmers in England were among the most productive farmers of the world. The new methods of farming brought mass production in early 18th century leading to the Agricultural revolution. “In the early eighteenth century, Britain exported wheat, rising from 49,000 quarters in 1700 to a massive peak of 950,000 quarters in 1750” .The whole benefit of the Agricultural revolution was shared among aristocratic landholders. They were the only top authorities, as English throne was already overthrown by aristocratic class in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution. Landholders started enclosure movement to end the traditional rights of land and to gain full control over the benefits from agricult...