History and Progress of Industrial Revolution - Essay Example

Industrial revolution Name: Class: Unit: Introduction Before 1800, there was fluctuation in the society’s per-capita income. The industrial revolution came to the England in the 1780s and a sustained growth was experienced by a group of countries (Voigtländer & Voth, 2006). In fact, the last 200 years have seen the per capita incomes of most countries grow. This is what has given rise to the modern globalized world. The industrial revolution is seen as one of the most vital global event in human history. Most of the successful modern societies started experiencing an efficiency advance since the industrial revolution (Lucas, 2002). During the industrial revolution, the machines replaced the hand labour. While this changed the quality of life for the most people for better, it also led to some negative aspects. This literature reviews looks at different sources ranging from primary, videos, images, books and peer reviewed journals on industrial revolution. History and progress of industrial revolution According to Allen (2009) prior to industrial revolution, most of the western societies were agricultural based where majority of the population lived in small rural farms. Allen claims that agriculture was the dominant economic activity in these countries. Manufacturing and mining had low level of employment and people used the basic tools (Nuvolari, 2004). The villages and towns were small and the level of infrastructure development was low. There were poor linkages between towns and villages. England was the first country where industrial revolution started (Allen, 2009). According to Bix Channel (2014) since1770 the industrial revolution led a modern era of unending economic growth. It led to the liberation of the economies from the old organic technology. The improving living standards led to an increase in the population (History, 2017). Countries such as England saw an increase of their population from an estimate of 6.5 million in the 1750s to about 32.5 million by the 1900. The death rates were also on the decline (Nuvolari, 2004). Most of the population was moving from the rural areas to urban areas. As the videos below explain, industrial revolution led to a shift from agricultural dominated society to manufacturing. It was a gradual process that led to mass production. Bix Channel. (2014). Industrial Revolution - Best Short Documentary. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF7-vN-aLOM History. (2017). Industrial Revolution. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/videos/the-industrial-revolition According to Voigtländer & Voth (2006), the transformation brought by the industrial revolution can be associated with factories and textile mills. New factories and mills were set up in countries such as Britain. These factories were highly reliant on high number of workers and machinery. This led to manufacture of massive products in same place. In Britain, the growth of the textile industry and factories led to a great transformation in the economy and society. Another issue was the modern towns and cities. The growth of industrial and commercial cities led to massive movement of people from the rural areas to work in the cities (Bar & Leukhina, 2010). In countries such as Britain, 80% of the population lived in the countryside while the rest were in the city. Industrialization led to a reversed pattern where most of the people by 1850s were living in the cities as compared to the rural areas (Lucas, 2002). According to The Telegraph (2000) another factor was the new sources of power which was a drive to industrial revolution. This is through the development of the steam and electricity which led to major transformations in manufacturing, transport, communication and agricultural industries. This had a major impact on the population everyday lives. There was a great supply of coal which became very important in the fuel. This led to the steam engines and later there were the electric power stations (Clark & Jacks, 2007). As the population grew, there was need for an improvement in transport and communication. The towns were linked using canals, rail lines and roads. There was also invention of new modes of transport which led to a replacement for the horse drawn carriages such as steam powered engines (History, 2017). An improvement in the transport sector made it possible to an enhanced travelling and reduction in isolated lives. The new communication systems also made it easy to connect among the population. This includes the invention of telegraph and telephones (The Telegraph, 2000). Fig1. A steam powered tractor during the industrial revolution (History, 2017). Before industrial revolution, the science theory was based on earth, fire water and air. This was expanded with the invention of the chemical elements table in 1789. This led to the path to the modern periodic table. Chemistry improved a lot during this period leading to new discoveries (Voigtländer & Voth, 2006). Discoveries by Alesandro Volta came up with the technology to store energy in batteries. This was developed to come up worth new energy sources. It was not until 1880s that the power stations were created. This led to an alternative to the steam engines that were in use. The improvement of energy and electricity technology was based different parsons and countries. This included Michael Faraday who came up with the continuous flow of electricity. It is important to note that power stations were initially developed for source of electricity for lighting (Wrigley, 2013). From Voigtländer & Voth (2006), the discovery of electricity helped a lot in improving mass communication. This is supported by (History, 2017), which shows the invention of telegraph which could be used to transmit message for long distances without the need for travelling. This included the use of coded messages to deliver message. In 1851, it was possible to link London and Paris using the transatlantic cable (Voigtländer & Voth, 2006). This led to rapid form of communication across the continents. Use of undersea communication helped a lot in improving communication. Communication helped in carrying out business in different areas using telegraphs (History, 2017). Fig2. Telegraph during industrial revolution (History, 2017). It is important to note that the growth of cities led to social classes. This led to the emergent of the middle class who came from varying backgrounds and were neither wealthy aristocrat nor were they impoverished (Smelser, 2013). This included the merchants, bankers, teachers, lawyers among other professions. This is a group which could afford expensive furniture, ceramics and clothes among other goods and services. The middle class led to an increase for demand in consumer goods and schools. In Britain, the power of the middle class saw an increase in the 1800s (Clark, 2001). From O’Rourke, Rahman & Taylor (2013), it is important to note that one of the most vital factors that highly contributed to industrialization after 1800s is the 1740s to 1780s boom. This is what led to an optimistic environment which contributed to a rise in a class of individual entrepreneurs (Mokyr, 2010). These are entrepreneurs who were ready to try new forms of production and invest in capital. Industrial revolution can be looked based on two phases. The first phase is based on a technically simple industry. It involved application of simple ideas and simple devices. This led to enhanced results at low costs. The success at this phase was not based on innovation but the readiness of men to use science and technology within their reach. At this stage, there was no need for skilled labour by the capitalists (More, 2002). However, the later stages saw capital industries mostly based on coal and iron which required skills. Due to the rising costs of labour and scarcity of skilled labour, there was introduction of costs saving machinery. At this point, it is vital to note that cheap labour would have made it hard to come up with new techniques. This is due to fact that profit seekers would not have looked at new methods of production (O’Rourke, Rahman & Taylor, 2013). According to Voigtländer & Voth (2006), the second phase of industrialization occurred after the 1830s. This is where capital goods industries started which included industries dealing with iron, coal and steel. These industries required high investment as compared to the cotton and milling industries. At this stage steam engines were already being utilised while railways were on construction (Barham, 2013). At this moment, Britain which was the pioneer in industrial revolution started making iron and coal their main exports. Vast amount of revenues were being attained from this trade. Industrialization led to the forming a single national market while the underdeveloped areas were opened. At this moment, it was possible for the Britain, USA and Germany to become the main industrialised nations while other countries were able to benefit through production of the raw materials (Lucas, 2009). It was not until the 1890-1895 that USA and Germany were able to overtake Britain in producing steel. The late 19th century saw the Britain lose the monopoly of the industry and most of the countries which were unexploited joined the world market. At this point, Britain lost their status as the world leader in industrialisation and become one of the industrial powers together with the USA and Germany (Voigtländer & Voth, 2006). It is important to note that industrial revolution started in Britain before spreading to other nations. The spread happened at different time and speed but during the 19th century. Britain was able to gain an advantage in industrial revolution due to several factors. First, they had good roads and river transport. In addition, most of the countries had toll stations on major river ways boundaries which increased the costs of trade (Voigtländer & Voth, 2006). Moreover, there was guild restrictions which led to more restrictions in other countries compared to Britain (Allen, 2009). Moreover, British had more continental entrepreneurs compared to most of the countries. This is due to their risk taking for investment. In some parts of the continent, there were wars such as the French revolution which disrupted trade. Wars led to loss of trade and weakening of currencies while manpower was weakened (Mokyr, 2010). Impacts of industrial revolution According to Smelser (2013) life in Europe and entire world was revolutionized in a great way. There were vast changes in the ways of lives for the people. First, there was the population growth. The increase in population started in the 18th century and became high in the 19th century (Bar & Leukhina, 2010). It was in the 19th century that the governments became keener on taking census. The increase in population was due to a decline in the death rates which was experienced in most of the western countries. There was an enhancement of the lifestyles which made it possible to improve birth rates (Smelser, 2013). The second impact was the growth of the cities. The first half of the 19th century saw a great growth in cities in the western world. The cities had become the centre for manufacturing and industry. Urban areas were able to easily provide workforce and ease of transportation. While most of the population moved from the rural areas to cities, countries such as Britain were changed from being food exporters to food importers (O’Rourke, Rahman & Taylor, 2013). The urban population was growing at a fast rate globally (Voigtländer & Voth, 2006). In addition, the rapid growth of cities led to poor living conditions for certain part of population. The first half of the 19th century saw intensified problems associated with rapid urbanisation and industrial revolution. The cities were finding it hard to cope with the large population and the associated problems. The main problems included lack of proper housing, sanitation and overcrowding. The deteriorating urban life was combined with food adulteration (Burnette, 2008). This included consumers being defrauded in different ways such as addition of water to beer. There were fears of outbreaks of deadly diseases such as cholera. When it was apparent that the poor living conditions could lead to diseases, there were public health measures supported by both the middle class and wealthier residents (Clark, 2001). During the eve of industrial revolution, the economic conditions turned out to be unsatisfactory (Burnette, 2008). The needs for the population were not being well addressed by the existing social system. There was restriction and in some cases prohibition of competition both internally and externally (Allen, 2009). The system was rigid and there was high control of business by the governments. The established castes made several groups of people to be left out in poverty. With the introduction of the factory system, a new method of production using power driven machines led to cheap goods and mass production. The industrial revolution led to the age of mass production to cater for the need for the masses (Smelser, 2013). While it is evident that the industrial revolution led to the improvement in living standards, it is clear that it came with a price (O'Rourke, Rahman & Taylor, 2013). The main beneficiaries were the mill owners and the rest of industrialists. Class tensions were evidenced where not everyone who lived in the cities was happy. The well to do merchants lived good lives in fancy suburbs. This is far from the poverty stricken working class. According to Smelser (2013), most of the wealth made by the industries ended in the pockets of merchants and other wealthy people while the rest were paid peanuts. The middle class were also able to enjoy from the technology and inventions hence enhancing their comfort (O'Rourke, Rahman & Taylor, 2007). On the other hand, the poor were forced to abandon their traditional lifestyles and move to the new industrial cities. This led to them living in cramped and poor conditions (Jones, 1999). Keys (1999) assert that child labour was another problem during industrial revolution. This is due to fact that children would fit into new machines and were also cheap to employ. Families were also glad that their children would work and provide much needed income. During this period, there was low concern for education and most of the working class were not in a position to afford paying for their children education. According to Keys (1999) the jobs given to children were simple but in some cases very dangerous. This included working as helpers in coal mines as well as collecting fluff in the weaving machines. There were no social reforms which in most cases led to the children being paid in wages and in some cases exposed to danger. The social reforms led to minimum wages, reduced working hours, and education (Minge-Kalman, 1978). As complex machines become hard for children to operate, there was a decline in child labour (Humphries, 2013). Industrial revolution and current globalisation The reformation that was experienced during the industrial revolution is associated worth the current globalisation. This is due to fact that reformation and enlightenment led to a transformation of the European society. The capitalist world economy was incited by the industrial revolution (O'Rourke, Rahman & Taylor, 2013). For example, the colonies were used as the source of raw materials. As the industrial revolution expanded, there was an increase in production hence an increase in need for colonies. The domestic production exceeded beyond the boarders and the home market. The whole world started becoming a capitalist society (King & Timmins, 2001). There was an increase in innovations and inventions which were aimed at reducing the production costs and gain competitive prices. It is clear that the industrial revolution acted as the turning point and the beginning of the world economy. This is due to fact that it made capitalism strong and led to a new global character. The industrial revolution is a major point in the world history and an event that changed the way the world market operates (Mokyr, 1999). Conclusion To sum up, the industrial revolution can be traced back to the textile machines which enhance productivity. Machines changed the way in which people worked while new innovations made work easier. The changes in transportation made it easier for people and goods to travel. There was rise of cities and towns where trading and manufacturing took place. The heavy reliance on the agricultural produce was reduced as people started becoming more reliant on manufactured goods. Industrial revolution led to changes in labour and communities ways of lives. Most people moved from the rural areas to the city which led to rise of middle class and the existence of the slums. Through the industrial revolution, a framework for globalisation was laid. 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