Industrial Revolution in London in 18th and 19th Century - Report Example

Industrial revolution in london in the late 18th and 19th century Institution of affiliation Industrial Revolution in London in the late 18th and 19th Century The first place to experience industrial revolution was England. There are many factors that propelled revolution to take place in England. Historians have been trying to find the answers to the question to why industrial revolution took place first in London towards the end of the half part of the 18th century and have managed to come up with many reasons that might have led to that. In the early part of the 18th century, England was characterized by people who depended only on Agriculture for sustainance; a characteristic of previous generations – an agricultural extension that was based on seasons and controlled by a few members political and social elite group (Barker, 1989). The tremendous impact of the revolution that happened in Britain, is a characteristic of the world in which we live in today. Historian scholars believe that there are many factors that led to industrial revolution in England. Three elements; political liberty, naval power and intellectual climate were at the core of industrial revolution in England. Intellectual mind The period just before industrial revolution took off, was characterized by a many scientific discoveries that found many applications. The period was marked by the freedom of expression of new intellectual ideas (Barker, 1989). The scientific discoveries among them, Sir Isaac Newton’s, Laws of gravity and Robert Boyles’s immense experiments to explain the physical properties of gas and air (Barker, 1989). There was a growing interest among scholars of the time to find applications of these discoveries in industries that resulted to the first stages of industrial revolution. It was also a point in time that religious beliefs were being shunned for more proven scientific facts that relied on experiments to explain observations (Barker, 1989). Unlike many other European countries, scientists in England did not encounter much opposition from the the church clergy (Barker, 1989). A wave of free thinkers characterized by scientists, the action of men with ideas and industrialists, would meet to discuss and share ideas (Barker, 1989). This led to a more informed and emergence of creative thinkers of the time. Political liberalism It was a period in history that was marked by great political power and free-market capitalism (Barker, 1989). There had been a previous revolution of 1688-9 that led to a system of parliamentary government which placed England at a independence position from the the European Union than any other country in the European union (Barker, 1989). In the larger part of Britain, people believed with the right conditions in place, they were capable of generating immense wealth and the government stepped in to make it happen (Barker, 1989). France is one of the countries that had the finest scientific minds of the time than Britain but due to the nature of the absolute mornachy, it was unable to explore the scientific ideas which were mostly opposed by the church (Barker, 1989). Neval power The favourable and enhancing political stability at the time enjoyed by Britain made it the most stable status of world power such that no other european country the invasion and the disruption it caused (Barker, 1989). Its ability to dominate the trans-Atlantic trade, made it acquire the basic natural resources that were used as inputs in industries (Barker, 1989). This was facilitated with the fact that the government used most of its revenue in building the up the Royal Navy to encourage and protect the local traders (Barker, 1989). Alot of key sectors experienced the tremendous impact of industrial revolution among them were; Textile inventions The iron industry The steam engine The factory The transport sector There was an inter-dependence between the key industrial revolution sectors such that together, they impacted on each other. Of the key elements sectors was ther transport sector which facilitated the transport of resources to the industries. There were three key methods that the transport sector was composed of; canal transport, railway and ship transport. Apart from just the transport of resources to industries, it provided a means through which the finished products would be transported to the readily available market. During the first period of industrial revolution, transport by water was the cheapest (Barker, 1989). This was the most efficient way by which coal and iron; the heavy industry inputs could be transported to their destinations. This prompted the widennig and deepening of canals to allow more passage of ships and boats (Barker, 1989). This was majorly spearheaded by Robert Fultons inventions and demonstrations of the first steam-powered engine to power a steam boat in 1807 (Barker, 1989). This led to facilitation of the Trans-Atlantic trade towards in the early part of the the 19th century. Canals facilitated much of the inland transportation of freight to the interior regions. The canals were now the preferred means of transport by landowners to enable their goods reach the market (Porter, 1999). This amid the realization a rift between the canal companies and landowners as canals introduced a number of property rights such as the rivers that preceded them (Porter, 1999). The canal companies saw it as a business opportunity in which they were likey to benefit from by charging the landowners (Porter, 1999). In so doing, it provided an opportunity for which the canal companies would overcharge the landowners. In receiving authorization for implementation of their project by the Britain parliament, the canal companies and the landowners were compelled to reach a consensus which had to be determined by the jury (Porter, 1999). The government with the intentions of reducing the transportion cost for its citizens, prompted the jury to act in the interest of the landowners, thereby reducing the transportation cost (Porter, 1999). The canal was massively funded by the merchantile and industrial sector (Porter, 1999). There was increased funding by London on the canals and an increased interest from banks also which acted as treasurers which reduced the cost between the investors and canal companies (Porter, 1999). The canal system towards the later part of the 18th century was the most reliable means of transporting coal to industries and transport of other bulky commodities. It also served to save time by reducing traffic on the road despite being slow. Other inventions to increase speed such as the fly boat were unsuccessful (Porter, 1999). The railway transport was one of the most efficient transport systems that evolved during the period to facilitate the transport of bulky commodities as a substitute for the canals on land. The advantages of railway transport lied in fact that it provided a direct link between the factories and the market and the fact that most companies were not locacted along rivers. Railway transport first developed as horse-drawn wagons on iron rails (Porter, 1999). However, toward the early parts of the 19th century, it was George Trevithicks invention of the steam-powered wagon carriage that replaced the horse-driven roa carriage (Porter, 1999). It provided the platform for which high quality goods could be transported over long distances apart from offering passengers comfort during travel as opposed to horse-driven carriages of which horses were subjected to fatique. This led to the integration of raiway companies that owned both the railway tracks and the vehicles (Porter, 1999). George Stephenson, together with his son Robert, made the first improvements on the steam-powered engine when they developed the high-pressure steam engine locomotive in the 1920s (Porter, 1999). This was again marked with growing concerns of the appropriate railway gauge width to use (Porter, 1999). While George Stephenson’s 4 feet 8.5 inch railway gauge at the time predominated, including the construction of the Liverpool-Manchester railway, others ranging from 3 feet 10 inch to 5 feet were tried (Porter, 1999). Towards the later half of the 19th century, engineers begun advocating for gauge widths in the range of 5 - 7 feet on the grounds that it reduces the operational costs on high volume routes (Porter, 1999). What followed was contentions between the sides that proposed the new gauges to be used in construction of railways and those that favoured George Stephenson’s gauge. During the construction of Brunell’s Great Western Railway, the broad gauge railway networks came into existence in western Britain (Porter, 1999). As the wide gauge railway was implemented, with time, it was noticed that there was increase in the cost of construction of railways with different width gauge due to the costs associated with breaks (Porter, 1999). Towards the end of the 19th century, the George Stephenson’s gauge was adopted as the standard railway gauge and all the wide railway gauges were converted to the standard gauge (Porter, 1999). Just like canals, raiway networks were authorized by acts of parliament which saw the industry more heavily funded by private investors than the govenment itself (Porter, 1999). Railway financing was primarily funded by London who increased their contributions with time (Porter, 1999). It is argued that London financers initially suffered from lack of information but with time, they learnt the trade and were able to increase their contribution which further accelerated the railway transport network (Porter, 1999). The last important sector that tremendously accelerated industrial revolution was shipping. It provided the means by which Britain would reach out to distant new oversee readily markets for their industrially manufactured goods. It also made the transport of natural resources obtained from foreign continents to their country possible. This included the raw materials for their industries and labour in form of slaves to work in their industries. This came into being in the early part of the 19th century following the discovery of the steam-powered engine. The shipping was later considered essential and it covered areas that could not be covered by other avalable means of transport at the time (Porter, 1999). It proved to be reliable, cost effective and fast. It proved to be a rapid development in loading and offloading of freight in contrast to the early shipping developments (Porter, 1999). It also marked a departure from the earlier cases of piracy and improved packaging (Porter, 1999). It can therefore be concluded that, the period of industrial revolution was marked by the increase in population growth. The surplus food that resulted from new and improved methods of farming paved the way for time to be invested in creativity industries and subsequent trading activities. The favourable political climate at the time, that encouraged free expression of ideas and the government support of private investors by enacting laws that protected intellectual property were among the major motivating factor. As the maxim goes, necessity is the mother of invention, the increased need for simple and most effective ways of doing tasks increased, it prompted scientific discoveries and subsequent ways in which the discoveries and knowledge found use. Apart from just the transport sector which formed the basis of the industrial revolution, other sectors such as the textile industry, iron industry, cottage industry and others too played a crucial role in spearheading the industrial revolution in London and the greater part of Britain. It is however interesting to note that, all this industries that experienced industrial revolution were totally dependend on transport for the transport of raw materials, human labour and finished products to the targetted destinations. In conclusion, it can be said that, the industrial revolution in Britain has greatly impacted the world in which we live in. It is a period that ignited the best scientific minds whose enormoous contributions form the basis of the knowledge that finds practical use in virtually all aspects of modern technology. Bibliograghy Barker, T. (1989). Business as Usual? London and the Industrial revolution. History Today, 39.2, , 45–51 Porter, R. (1998). Porters London: A Social History. Harvard University press Read More