Industrial Revolution

We explain what the industrial revolution was and what were its characteristics. In addition, the causes and consequences of this process.

What was the industrial revolution?

The industrial revolution was A historical process of economic and social transformations that took place approximately between 1760 and 1840, and that triggered unprecedented changes in western societies and then worldwide. To differentiate it from other subsequent industrialization processes, it is usually called the first industrial revolution.

This process was characterized by The use of new technologies applied to large -scale production and the concentration of factories in cities. The most important invention of the period was the steam machine, whose fuel was mineral coal and whose use increased production and transport to unprecedented levels. Other inventions were also important, such as spinning machines and mechanical loom, which allowed more textiles to produce in less time.

The industrial revolution began in Englandwhere they had converged a series of economic, political, social and technological conditions favorable to this great change. Throughout the nineteenth century, it extended to other countries of Western Europe, as well as to the United States and Japan.

See also: industrialism

Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution

Among the main characteristics of the industrial revolution, they stand out:

• The large -scale industrial production, especially textile, metallurgical and food (thanks to the so -called “agricultural revolution”).
• The replacement of artisanal workshops and domestic manufacturing production systems, by the manufacturing system (machining and concentrated in factories).
• The massive population migration from the field to cities.
• The enrichment of the bourgeoisie (industrial, commercial and financial) and its growing dominance over the economy and politics, to the detriment of the nobility.
• The emergence of a new social class: the proletariat.
• The development of technological innovations (such as the steam engine) and mechanized industries, such as textile, metallurgical, steel (iron and steel) and mining.
• The progressive replacement of iron with steel, an alloy of harder and more resistant iron and carbon that acquired more importance during the second industrial revolution.
• The development of trade worldwide, due to the great production capacity and innovations in land and sea transport.
• The predominance of British capitalism, which benefited from international trade thanks to its maritime power and access to cheap raw materials, especially cotton from the southern United States and India.

Origin of the Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution It started approximately in 1760 in England. The thriving commercial bourgeoisie, enriched thanks to the British naval superiority, had control of colonial trade and also possessed other economic and political conditions that allowed him to invest his capital in technological inventions and in the installation of factories.

The factor system, aimed at increasing productivity, changed work organization. This change encouraged the growth of large industrial cities, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool or Sheffield.

This first stage of productive innovations concluded approximately in 1840 and just three decades later the next stage of the industrialization process began, which is usually called Second Industrial Revolution.

First Industries of the Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution originated in some main industries:

• The textile industry. Before the industrial revolution, textile production was already very important in Britain and worked mainly through the “Putting-Out” system, whereby an entrepreneur delivered the tools and raw material (wool or cotton) to peasant families who were responsible for producing textiles in their homes. The Industrial Revolution introduced machines such as the flying shuttle, Jenny’s spinner, Arkwright’s hilar machine and mechanical loom. These innovations allowed the birth of the work manufacturing system, whereby production was concentrated in factories equipped with large machines and large groups of salaried workers. The textile industry reached an unprecedented scale.
• The mining industry. From the nineteenth century, the vegetable coal that came from wood was replaced by coque or mineral coal. Coal was especially important because it was the fuel used in steam machines for transport (for example, the railroad and steam ship) and for factor production (especially to feed the ovens of the metallurgical and steel industries). This promoted the mining industry, which meant the introduction of a ventilation system and rails for wagons, while increasing labor exploitation levels and promoted child labor (due to the narrow paths that led to the interior of the mines).
• Metallurgical and steel industries. Iron and steel were the main raw materials of the time, which were used for the production of agricultural tools, textile machines, locomotives, railway rails and ships. It was possible to work iron and steel due to the use of industrial ovens that worked at very high temperatures thanks to the fuel of mineral coal. The processing of the steel was initially developed in the steps of Sheffield (England) in 1740, although its takeoff was given in the mid -nineteenth century and during the second industrial revolution.
• The transport industry. Until the eighteenth century, the transport system was based on animal traction means or sailing. In the nineteenth century, it went from transport with horses to the railroad, thanks to the emergence of the steam machine and the development of the steel industry that allowed to elaborate the locomotives and the rails. The railroad revolutionized trade and transport of people. The steam ship also developed.
• Commercial expansion. The industrial revolution generated unprecedented commercial growth that impacted the world. The invention of the railroad and the steam ship facilitated the transport of raw materials to the production centers, as well as the transfer of products manufactured to internal and external markets, sometimes in distant countries. In this way, international trade expanded and favored the bourgeois sectors (especially Britain) dedicated to industry and commerce.

Causes of the Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution It occurred by the interaction of a series of factors that initially took place in England. The main causes of the industrial revolution were the agricultural revolution (which increased productivity in the field), population growth, the transfer of rural population to the cities, the availability of raw materials, the political rise of the bourgeoisie and technological innovations (such as the steam machine).

The agricultural revolution

Until the 18th century, agricultural activity was very similar to the practices of the Middle Ages. Manual work and animal traction were used, there were communal lands (belonging to the community to obtain firewood or pastures) and the level of production was modest due to the “fallow” system (which consisted of letting the earth rest after harvest, so that soil nutrients were regenerated).

The agricultural revolution introduced changes that They expanded the availability of food resources and promoted the movement of the population towards the cities:

• Machinery for land work began to be used, and, once industrialization has begun, this mechanization was increased.
• The fields became private property accumulated by large landowners through fearing, which caused landless peasants to become urban workers.
• The old cultivation system was replaced by the “Norfolk rotation system”, which consisted of rotating the varieties of crops, so that the same nutrients from the soil were not always saturated.

Demographic growth

Due to changes in food, from the 18th century a significant increase in population was experienced. When the industrial revolution began, This population concentrated more and more in industrial cities.

The industrial revolution introduced, in turn, changes that impacted population growth, such as the decrease in mortality (due to the greater food production), the greatest development of medicine (for example, the invention of vaccines) and the consequent increase in the birth rate.

The availability of resources

England had two advantages that explain that it was in this country where industrialization began. On the one hand, English soil had resources such as mineral coal and ironindispensable for productive transformation.

On the other hand, thanks to its colonial links and the dominant position in world trade, The English accessed fundamental raw materials for the textile industryespecially cotton from India and southern United States.

The political influence of the bourgeoisie

After the glorious revolution of 1688, in England a parliamentary monarchy was established that limited the power of the king and the nobility, while granting a growing capacity for political intervention to the bourgeoisie.

From this fact, Measures were promoted that favored merchants and bankersincluding the creation of the Bank of England. In other European countries, the taking of political power by the liberal bourgeoisie began only towards the end of the 18th century, through more dramatic events, such as the French Revolution, which some historians include in the group of bourgeois revolutions.

The industrial revolution depended largely on the accumulation of capital of the English bourgeoisiebut also of certain economic liberalization laws that favored it. This allowed the creation of ventures and the circulation of capital, the development of the industry through the defense of private property, technological innovation and commerce (often supported by British naval power).

Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution It was a notable change in the way of producing, in the organization of work and in the living conditions of the population. Some of the consequences of the industrial revolution were the mechanization of work in factories, the growth of cities, environmental pollution, social division in two classes (bourgeoisie and proletariat), the economic and political boom of the bourgeoisie, the working and trade union organization and the acceleration of communications and transport.

Mechanization in factories

Manual work in workshops was mostly replaced by mechanized work in factories. This change accelerated production timesreduced costs and improved the performance of companies.

At the same time, The artisans were replaced by industrial workers who worked for the owner of the factory in exchange for a salary. In the early nineteenth century, some unhappy artisans, called Luditas, dedicated themselves to destroying machines as a protest against the replacement of artisanal labor. However, work in the factories continued and expanded.

The rise of the bourgeoisie

The industrial revolution It caused an immense generation and accumulation of wealth, usually concentrated in the bourgeois sectors that had the property of the factories or were dedicated to trade and finance. This change also influenced the subsequent technological and productive innovations that expanded capitalism worldwide.

The growth of cities

Following the industrial revolution, Large urban conglomerates multiplied their population and there was a remarkable separation between the city and the countryside. Although technical and scientific innovations promoted medical or health advances that helped population growth, the population concentration facilitated the transmission of infectious diseases, especially in workers’ neighborhoods.

Environmental pollution

Urban life caused the concentration of contaminants of cities: organic waste and air pollutants from stoves. Both in the first stage of industrialization and in the so -called Second Industrial Revolution, production in factories depended largely on the use of fuels, with the consequent air pollution. On the other hand, the mass production of manufactures accelerated waste production.

The division of labor and labor organization

The industrial revolution introduced a labor division based on two social classes:

• The bourgeoisieowner of the factories and other means of production, was dedicated to both industry and trade and finance;
• The proletariatfrom the city or the countryside, he sold his workforce in the factories in exchange for a salary.

Before the workers’ organizations dedicated to the defense of workers (such as unions), there were no laws that regulated the work of the proletariat.

Since there was a wide sector of the population without employment or economic resources, many people accepted jobs in very unfavorable conditions. The working hours were so long that they became unhealthyand child labor was allowed (often preferred by the owners of the factories, because minors were paid a lower salary).

Throughout the nineteenth century, this situation encouraged the labor organization and labor legislation, as well as the emergence of new political movements and ideologies (socialism, anarchism, communism) that promoted changes in these conditions. However, many of the labor problems arising from the industrial revolution persisted to a greater or lesser extent until the beginning of the 20th century.

Main inventions of the industrial revolution

The new technologies applied to production and transport marked a radical change in the economy and society. Manual work was replaced by the use of machineswhile artisanal workshops and domestic work were mostly replaced by large -scale manufacturing in factories. The main inventions that triggered the Industrial Revolution were textile machines, steam machine and gas public lighting.

The steam engine

Patented in 1769 by the Scotsman James Watt, the steam machine was the most important invention of the industrial revolution. Its first uses were:

• In transport (accelerated and improved the transfer of raw materials and products thanks to the railroad and steamboats, and encouraged trade);
• in the textile industry (allowed to increase large -scale production through machinery);
• in the metallurgical and steel industry (facilitated the pumping of coal mines and the work of iron and steel).

Textile machines

Innovations in the textile industry were the first drivers of the industrialization process, because allowed to expand the production scale and reduce the time spent on each piece through the use of machines. This was for the owners a reduction in production costs and an increase in profits, which promoted capital accumulation and reinvestment.

The most important inventions were the flywick (created by John Kay in 1733), the spinner Jenny (patented by James Hargreaves in 1770), the hydraulic spinner (patented by Richard Arkwright in 1769), the mechanical loom (introduced by Edward Cartwright in 1785), and the cotton disassembly Eli Whitney in 1794).

Gas public lighting

The installation of gas lamps in the streets revolutionized the cities, which became safer places to travel by being illuminated at schedules where there was no longer sunlight (although the robberies became frequent).

Also favored factories, whose salaried workers could work more hours thanks to artificial lightingespecially in the winter months. At the end of the period of the industrial revolution, the cities had been transformed and their populations had doubled or tripled.

Stages of the Industrial Revolution

Although the first phase of the industrial revolution took place between 1760 and 1840, the industrialization process continued over the nineteenth to XXI centuries. For this reason, some historians divide the industrial revolution into four stages.

First industrial revolution

The first stage of the Industrial Revolution It took place in England between 1760 and 1840. He introduced technological novelties that revolutionized production, transport and commerce.

The main inventions were textile machines and steam engineand this allowed the development of the railroad, the steamboats (which ceased to depend on the winds and currents), the cast iron with coke (fuel obtained from mineral coal) and various machines. Industrialization changed manual work in workshops for mechanized work in factories.

Second Industrial Revolution

The second stage of the Industrial Revolution It started in 1870 and ended in 1914with the beginning of the First World War. It developed mainly in Western Europe, in the United States and in Japan.

Some of its characteristics were serial production using the assembly chainthe increase in steel production, the use of new resources and energy sources (oil, electricity), the invention of the car and the plane, and the development of telecommunications (the telephone, the radio, the phonographer and the cinematographer). These innovations implied an increase in productivity and mass consumption.

See also: Second Industrial Revolution

Third industrial revolution

The third industrial revolution took place mainly in the 1970s and 1980s. It was characterized by the incorporation of digital technology and computer science in companiesindustrial automation (the use of automatic production machines) and the simplification of information processing.

Favored the constitution of large multinational companiesthe marketing of personal computers, the development of the Internet and the first cell phones and the impulse of biotechnology and energy engineering.

Fourth Industrial Revolution

The concept of the fourth industrial revolution refers to the changes experienced in technology and the economy worldwide from the beginning of the 21st century. Its main characteristics are The development of robotics and nanotechnology, advances in artificial intelligence and macrodatos computer processing (Big Data), The multiplication of interconnected devices and the extension of the use of platforms for personal and labor tasks.

Some scholars reject the concept because they consider that it is not a new revolution but a deepening of the third industrial revolution.

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References

• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Industrial Revolution. Britannica Encyclopedia at https://www.britannica.com/
• Hobsbawm, E. (2001). Industry and empire. Criticism.
• Hunt, L., Martin, Tr, Rosenwein, BH & Smith, BG (2016). The Making of the West. Peoples and Cultures. 5th Edition. BEDFORD/ST. Martin’s.
• Rule, J. (1990). Working class and industrialization. Criticism.
• Stokes Brown, C. (SF). The Industrial Revolution. Khan Academy At https://www.khanacademy.org/