The Industrial Revolution Refer to side notes below - Essay Example

The so-called Industrial Revolution was indeed one of the most transformative events in human history. Starting in a small area of England and then spreading through the country, on to the rest of Europe and hence to much of the world, the growth in industrial methods of production would have profound influence upon lives throughout the world. While there is virtually unanimous agreement on the influence of the changes that occurred, there is more debate upon their causes and how they should be characterized.

Those that affirm the "revolution" aspect of this industrial change concentrate upon the rapidity of development and the influence of individual men such as Thomas Watt and his steam engine. Historians who criticize such characterizations claim that the industrial change occurred in a more complex manner. The exact causes and even dates of the Industrial Revolution have been constantly debated by historians, and this effects whether they see it as a "revolution" or not. For example, Lewis Mumford (1971) suggests that its origins are in fact in the Middle Ages with the printing press as an archetype for modern industrialization.

The monasteries that had kept learning alive after the Romans also insisted upon a regularized timetable throughout the day, again, according to Mumford, a precursor of the Industrial Revolution's factories. . They see it as stemming from post Civil War changes in Britain in which national borders were meaningful and so the spread of disease through population movements was limited (Cipolla, 1994). This in turn led to a lowering of infant mortality and an increase in population. A larger population was an essential precursor to industrialization as it required both a big workforce and an adequate market size for its goods.

Cipolla also suggests that the agricultural revolution in Britain, with the enclosure of land and more efficient food production techniques, led to labor being forced into cities. This growth in cities provided the workforce and market in which the industrial revolution could occur. However, the actual period of industrial change within England (which spread to the rest of the world within decades) did occur in a relatively short period between 1780-1830. While the factors suggested by the authors already discussed were important catalysts the actual period of change was very rapid and created conditions in which technology developed on an almost yearly basis.

One of the most important aspects of this change was the sheer number of inventions and industrial developments that occurred in a very short period of time and within a concentrated geographical area. England is a very small country by most standards, being 200 miles at its broadest and only about 400 miles long. When an invention appeared in one place it was easy for it to be transported to another and to influence developments there. The Industrial Revolution can be characterized as a period of intense cross-fertilization of ideas, industrial developments and changes.

Thomas Watt's steam engine led to mechanized machines.