The Industrial Revolution

1700-1900 Chapter 9 Section 1



Upon completion, students should be able to:

Explain the causes of the Industrial Revolution Describe the new inventions during the industrial revolution 3. Identify the changes as a result of the industrial revolution 4. Summarize the impacts of the industrial revolution on Europe and the west 1. 2.

  

-The greatly increased output of machine made goods. It began in England in the middle 1700’s. Prior to the use of machinery, clothing wove textiles by hand

 

 

Because wealthy landowners had bought up so much land that farm methods had to change by village farmers. England possessed numerous raw materials (iron-ore, coal) and river systems needed along with harbors for merchants to sell and ship goods. England had a large population for workforce. The English government supported innovation and technology.

Enclosures- fences or hedges that closed off land. This led to 1. Trying new agricultural methods including seeding methods. Jethro Tull- invented the seeding drill in 1701. 2. Small farmers were forced to become tenant farmers or to quit farming and move to cities. 

    

Switching crops in order to avoid exhausting the soil. This process became common in the 1700’s and also led to increased crop yielding. Science also introduced new innovation in sheep breeding leading to larger sheep. As a result of increased food supplies, England’s population boomed in the 1700’s. Urbanization spread leading to a need for more jobs in the cities.

  

England had the key factors of production land, labor and a capital. England had a strong military that began to colonize other parts of the world. England’s strong bank system expanded loans to inventors and entrepreneurs.

 

 



John Kay- 1733 invented the flying shuttle, a boat shaped object that allowed yarn to be weaved rapidly. James Hargreaves- 1763, invented a spinning wheel (spinning Jenny) allowing a spinner to work eight threads at one time. Richard Arkwright- 1769 invented a water frame allowing water stream to power the wheel. Samuel Crampton- 1779- invented the the spinning mule, a combo of the spinning jenny and water frame. This led to a stronger thread. Edmund Cartwright- 1787 invented the power loom speeding up weaving.

Because this machinery was expensive, it was moved into factories.  The factories required water as a power source so they were built on river systems.  Eli Whitney- built the cotton gin in 1793, this helped England since most of its cotton came from the American south.  In 20 years, cotton production increased from 1.5 million pounds to 85 million. 

James Watt- 1774 joined with Matthew Boulton an entrepreneur to build a better steam engines.  Robert Fulton- 1807 built a steam boat called the Clermont. It was powered by a steam engine built by Watt and Boulton.  England later built a network of canals and waterways extending over 4,000 miles.  England would later build a series of roads for heavy machines thus leading to railroads. 



  

In 1804 Richard Trevithick won a bet by hauling ten tons of iron using a steam driven locomotive. This is considered the be the first railroad train. George Stephenson built 20 engines for mine operations. This was considered to be the first railroad lines. The Liverpool-Manchester Railroads- built in 1829 with traveling speeds of 24 miles per hour. Railroads became wildly popular in England and were used to transport both goods, raw materials and people.