Transcription
The American and the Industrial Revolutions
Britain and America. George the Third succeeded his grandfather and reigned for 60 years. He introduced new duties on corn, paper, and tea, but this met with strong opposition from the American colonies. Parliament promptly repealed the taxes except on imported tea, but many colonists had already become resentful of British rule.
At the Boston Tea Party in 1773, some rebels dressed as Native Americans threw the British tea from India into the harbor. They said they wanted no taxation without representation. The War of Independence began in 1775, with the Americans divided into Patriots, who wanted independence, and Loyalists, who wanted to remain part of Britain.
George Washington commanded the Americans. On the 4th of July 1776, in Philadelphia, a congress representing 13 of the colonies signed the Declaration of Independence, largely written by Thomas Jefferson. It claimed that all men had a natural right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In 1781, at the Battle of Yorktown, the British army was defeated, and Britain recognized the independence of its former colonies with the Treaty of Versailles. The New Republic of the United States of America adopted a Federal Constitution in 1787, and George Washington became the first president.
After the loss of America, George the Third asked William Pitt the Younger to become Prime Minister. He was elected and remained in office for 18 years, during which time he tried to simplify the financial system and reduce the national debt. He promoted profitable trade and finance and supported Adam Smith's theory of laissez-faire, illustrated in The Wealth of Nations.
In 1801, after an unsuccessful Irish uprising against the English, the Act of Union joined Ireland and Britain to form the new United Kingdom. The Irish flag was added to create the Union Jack that is still used today.
The Industrial Revolution. At the end of the 18th century, economic changes took place in England that would transform the country from an agricultural to an industrialized nation. The population continued to grow, and agriculture was intensified. Open fields were enclosed, cereal production increased, and selective breeding meant animals produced more meat.
Economic activity diversified, especially in textiles. There was a succession of technological innovations that transformed and improved productivity, like Richard Arkwright's water frame, Thomas Newcomen's and James Watt's steam engines, Edmund Cartwright's power loom, and James Hargreaves' spinning jenny.
Heavy investment in technological development increased, and innovation became linked to energy generated from coal, concentrating the new industrial activity near the coal fields of the Midlands and the North. The population shifted from the rural South to the North and the Midlands.
Industrial cities lacked elementary public services and were overcrowded. There were long working hours, about 65 to 70 a week. Often, women and children were employed in preference to men. The conditions were unhealthy, and the mortality rate was high.