Transcription
History in a nutshell: The Industrial Revolution changed England and the world forever. It took place between about 1700 and 1900, and so a simple explanation goes: it turned Britain into a torn-up, factory-powered workshop of the world. But there was plenty more to the Industrial Revolution than just factories and machines. It certainly didn't happen overnight, and its roots go even further back than 1700. In fact, many historians reckon the Industrial Revolution was not just one revolution, but a series of revolutions. But, like a complicated machine, it had lots of different moving parts, and each of these parts was like its own revolution.
New revolutionary technologies and inventions meant that products could be made by machines rather than by hand. Eventually, steam engines powered these machines with coal instead of natural resources like wind, water, and animals—a kind of energy revolution. Transports were revolutionized, first with canals and improved roads, and later with steam-powered trains and ships. There was a consumer revolution as people in England and elsewhere started to replace durable, homemade goods with cheaper, mass-produced alternatives.
Britain's population grew from 6.5 million in 1750 to 10.5 million by 1800. By 1850, it had doubled to 20.8 million, and more than half of those people were living in cities. These people needed feeding, and more food was produced thanks to the improved farming techniques of the 18th-century agricultural revolution. There was also a commercial revolution as Britain exported and imported more goods and more food to feed the growing cities. And thanks to long-term changes in land ownership and the law, landowners were now able to mortgage their land to raise money to invest in new ventures—a kind of financial revolution.
The slave trade and the expansion of Britain's colonies in the Americas also played a part in the Industrial Revolution. British traders sold manufactured goods in West Africa in return for enslaved Africans; they would transport them across the Atlantic to work on plantations that grew sugar and tobacco, and these were exported back to Britain. This triangular trade fueled manufacturing in Britain and created enormous profits for wealthy Brits, with some of that money helping to fund new inventions, new infrastructure, and new country houses. But it's important to remember that some of the money invested in industry came directly from a system that destroyed the lives of millions of African people and impoverished Africa for generations to come. Britain did abolish slavery in its own colonies in 1834, but even by 1860, England's massive cotton textile industry was entirely reliant on cotton produced by three million enslaved Africans in the American South.
Huge fortunes were made in the Industrial Revolution, and many people experienced a higher quality of life than ever before. But the gap between the rich and the poor widened, and quality of life didn't improve for everyone. Many skilled workers lost their jobs to machines, and factory workers endured dangerous conditions, six-day weeks, and 12-to-14-hour shifts. In industrial areas in the early 19th century, the average age for children starting work was just 8 and a half. It wasn't until later in the century that children under 10 were banned from working in factories. Towns and cities were breeding grounds for diseases; life expectancy was around 30 to 33 in urban areas until 1850, but 10 years more in the countryside. Poor nutrition meant that the average height of British workers actually fell in the first half of the 19th century. Campaigners tried to improve the lot of the working classes, eventually securing advances like free education, restrictions on child labour, improved sanitation, and better working conditions. Some industrialists made large donations to charities or built new, modern towns for their workers. But despite protests, many working people were denied the right to vote throughout this period, and reforms were almost always hard-won.
Ultimately, the Industrial Revolution was a time of great upheaval. By the early 20th century, it changed the people, the landscape, and the politics of England beyond all recognition. In so many ways, it made the modern world.