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The Economic Revolution

The Economic Revolution. Government Policy. Laissez-Faire Government Policy. English parliament 2 main parties Tories – rich landowners Whigs – represented the middle-class business people The business people (the Whigs) caused the government to follow a ‘laissez-faire’ policy.

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The Economic Revolution

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  1. The Economic Revolution Government Policy

  2. Laissez-Faire Government Policy • English parliament • 2 main parties • Tories – rich landowners • Whigs – represented the middle-class business people • The business people (the Whigs) caused the government to follow a ‘laissez-faire’ policy

  3. Laissez-Faire Government Policy • What was it? • The idea that business and industry are as free as possible from government regulation • Thought that competition and self-interest would provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people (motivation)

  4. Laissez-Faire Government Policy • Positives • Motivated business people • Allowed industries to be bigger • Negatives • Business owners wanted to keep the wage paid to workers as low as possible to increase their profits

  5. New Technologies – Textile Industry • Textile industry • All cloth used to be made from plant or animal fibres • Britain’s climate good for sheep; enclosure meant larger herds • High quality wool could be harvested cheaply and turned into cloth in nearby communities • In demand in other countries

  6. New Technologies - Textile Industry • Wanted to branch out into other materials such as cotton • Inventions • Led to efficiency and less of a need for human labor • Large factories began to form

  7. Inventions

  8. Steam • Power for industries used to come from running water to power water wheels • Problem – only good if the factory was small • Steam engine was produced • More practical and efficient • Produced power with very little waste

  9. Iron and Coal Industries • Iron Industry • Abraham Darby invented a way to make better cast iron • It was easier and cheaper to make than other metal products • It had many uses • Large cast-iron factories were built

  10. Iron and Coal Industries • Coal Industry • Abraham Darby used a form of coal (coke) to make better iron • Everyone burned coal for heat (cheap fuel) • Many people worked in coal mines

  11. The Transportation Revolution

  12. Roads • Turnpike system • Sections of roads were built by private companies who charged a fee (toll) for people to use them • Macadam Roads • Roads made from 3 layers of graded stone (largest stone on bottom, fine granite gravel on top – no mud buildup because of the slope)

  13. Canals • Linked rivers together throughout Great Britain • Reduced the cost of shipping by 75%

  14. Railways • 1829 – George and Robert Stephenson built a locomotive called the “Rocket” • Could pull a small train • Fastest man made transport system at the time • Railways became the most important means of transportation by the end of the 1800s

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