Industrialization in Great Britain: A New Era

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An era of new beginnings was created when industrialization swept through Great Britain starting in the 1760’s. This vast transition included a change in hand production to machine production, brand new chemical and iron production processes, an improvement in water power, major increases in the use of steam power, the development of machine tools, and the conversion towards coal as the major source of fuel. Not only was “he Industrial Revolution an evolving transformation in many sectors of the economy” (Atkins 1), but across the board, aspects of daily life were changed by the Industrial Revolution, and it led to not only economic prosperity, but radical social changes and increased political stratification.
The Industrial Revolution effected the economic sector of Britain by radically changing how the textile industry manufactured its goods. Before the revolution, the industry was comprised of individual workers hand growing, picking, and spinning cotton. The sheer amount of cotton that could be created by each individual was very minimal, and when the need for cotton was increased by artisans and merchants, the price shot through the roof. One solution to increase the production of cotton was the “ ‘spinning jenny,’ invented by Englishman James Hargreaves. This new machine connected multiple spinning wheels in such a manner that up to eight threads can be processed at once.” (IR Research 1). This invention, and similar creations, all combined to create a massive spike in the amount of cotton and other textiles created and exported from Great Britain, and positively influenced the economy greatly.
The Industrial Revolution also changed how iron and steel was manufactured. Iron was by no means a new material, as it had been ar...

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Tuttle, Carolyn. “Child Labor during the British Industrial Revolution”. EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. August 14, 2001. URL

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