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The Industrial Revolution “The factory system is one of the worst and cruelest things ever invented to pamper the rich at the expense of the poor. It fattens them, and melts the flesh off our bones: it clothes them in grand raiment, and bids us shiver in rags: it brings all indulgences within their reach, and kills the industrious creatures whose toil provides them.” ― Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna, Helen Fleetwood
Industrial Revolution takes places from roughly 1750-1850 Formal European Imperialism is in effect roughly from 1800-1920 What did Pre-Industrial Revolution society look like? -Economics: Feudal System -Little to no social mobility & stable/limited social classes -Little to no opportunities for physical movement; you likely lived and died in the same village • Artisan production not mass production • Widespread illiteracy & lack of education, high poverty rates & vulnerable to plague/diseases • Population depended on peasants for agricultural production • Diet rarely included meat unless you were wealthy • Subsistence living – had/created only what you needed to survive, and nothing more Pre-Industrial Revolution
Agriculture in England pre 1700- Open field method (fallow - plowed land left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility as part of a crop rotation or to avoid surplus production) Pre-Industrial Revolution
Pre-Industrial Revolution Agriculture pre 1700- Open field method was incredibly inefficient. 3 land groupings awkward shape for plowing, hand sowing was vulnerable to animal scavenging, far apart, over-planted and over-grazed. All this contributed to low production & subsistence supply only; no time for improvements or innovation.
Agriculture in England – Innovation & Enclosure Movement Aristocracy enclosed the workable land into single strips to increase production and efficiency. One of the most significant improvements was the discovery and implementation of the four course field rotation: Each crop was specifically rotated into the field year to use, replenish, and change the mineral makeup of the soil to increase production. Agricultural Revolution
Cottage Industry - craftspeople worked in their homes to make goods (eg. potters, weavers, carpenters blacksmiths). Factors supplied materials then collected the goods and paid the crafts people’s wages. Craftspeople worked long hours but were independent and not wholly dependent on the factor's wages. Pre-Industrial Revolution
Changes: -Improvements in agriculture (enclosed lands, four course crop rotation, seed drills, animal pulled plows, improved animal breeding) = population growth! Britain Population in 1600 – 4 million in 1700 – 5 million in 1800 – 8 million -Population growth means demand for manufactured goods – the cottage industry system is incapable of keeping up. Movement towards factory based manufacturing. -Britain’s pop was growing so quickly it could no longer be self-sustaining with food grown there and they would need to rely on imports. In order to make this profitable – exports (what you ship out and sell) need to be higher than imports (what you bring in and buy) Pre-Industrial Revolution
What was it? “ the combination of social and economic changes brought about by the extensive use of machinery in production, especially in Great Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries (1700-1800’s)” “The transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840.” “The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban.” The Industrial Revolution
Why Britain? • The Agricultural Revolution: • New methods of agriculture allowed more food to be produced by fewer people. • Food became less expensive and more money was available for other items. • Britain possessed an effective central bank and a ready supply of capital. • Britain was relatively small and this made transportation easy. Industrial Revolution
A supply of markets gave British industrialists a ready outlet for their manufactured goods. • Great Britain had a vast colonial empire. • British domestic markets were strong; they had the highest living standards in Europe. • Britain possessed a well-developed merchant marine that could transport goods anywhere in the world Industrial Revolution
-Factories allow you to concentrate labour and production under one roof to improve efficiency -By using multiple workers doing the same labour, you produce goods faster and at higher quantities -Developing and using machines assists as well -Using water & steam to power the machines before electricity; much faster than human power or animal power. Also reduces humans you may need & cost of wages, foods, breaks, etc for humans to be efficient Movement Towards Factory Systems
Steam Power James Watt invented the steam engine which soon found application in industry. By using coal as fuel, industry could locate nearer to markets and sources of raw materials.
Steam Power Through the innovations of steam power and development of iron, coal, and textile industries railways also grow. It allowed goods to be moved much faster and at high quantitiesShipbuilding also grows rapidly through the application of steam power and iron to their construction. By the 1830’s, Britain became known as the “workshop of the world.”
While the Industrial Revolution brought about an incredible growth in quantity and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGmv9q6j2tg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJQbsKPW30w&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active (34:25-end) Over a long period of time, the worst excesses of the Industrial Revolution would be curbed through liberal political lobbying and reform. But factory work can remain a difficult job even today.
Capitalism becomes the new economic system gradually. The Industrial Revolution could not survive without ready means of capital for growth & investment Land – as agriculture becomes large scale enterprise through improvements and efficiencies, land workers unable to compete with changes in the countryside would sell out and move to the cities. They used this capital to create new industry or invest in business and become prosperous Merchants – the rich merchant class became wealthy from foreign trade and foreign markets, and were a ready source of investment in small scale or large scale business opportunities. For example, the first factories in Glasgow were financed by tobacco merchants from the West Indies. Emergence of Capitalism
Financial Institutions – the emergence of a strong and reliable banking system outside of London increased the availability of cash for industrial enterprise and it soon expands accordingly Banks financial institutions helped increase the mobility of capital. Banks kept interest rates very low on purpose so Industrialists could borrow at relatively inexpensive rates. (dropped from 8% to 3% in 50 years) A focus on keeping profits high and costs low can be both a positive and negative aspect of a capitalist system. Emergence of Capitalism
Made the British people mobile; movement from rural to urban areas. But no government control of housing meant that cities rapidly developed slum areas. • Entire families were forced to live in single rooms • Women came to work with toddlers on their hips, children were dangerous addition to factory floors • Factory conditions: long hours (17), low wages, abuse, working in dangerous conditions (machinery, materials), risk of injury • Mine conditions: long hours (13), no food, children in mines, hot, abuse & beatings, accidents, dangerous conditions, lives lost (Negative) Consequences of Industrialization
New inventions and techniques bring flood of useful articles (clothes, linens, houses) previously unattainable by regular citizens • Changes in expectations and rights of workers as a response to horrendous working conditions, rise of trade unions and liberal political parties • Machinery leads to shorter, less labour intensive work (in general) • Change societal patterns via the movement from rural to urban living • Industrial growth and movement of people generated a social, political, and economic revolution. (Positive) Consequences of Industrialization
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company on the eighth floor of the Asch Building in the heart of New York City's garment district. It began in the cutting room and quickly spread throughout the factory. Locked doors and inadequate fire exits trapped workers inside, and the building's sole fire escape collapsed. In all, 146 employees died, most of them young Jewish and Italian immigrant women, who either jumped to their deaths or perished in the flames. Legacies
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire – Modern Connections? • -Bangladesh: Rana Plaza collapse • Mostly female casualties • Dangerous working conditions • Conversion to industrial use without proper permits • Workers could not refuse work – had limited rights • Lack of governance/protection from management provided to workers Legacies of Industrialization/Globalization
Kipling's poem mixed imagery of the glory of empire with sober warnings of the costs involved. • Supporters of imperialism, however, latched onto the phrase "white man's burden" as a justification of their actions. • Imperialism, then, was a noble enterprise to ‘civilize’ the world. Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden”
