Revolutions are times of great
change. The industrial revolution was no
exception. It was a process that changed
the social, political and economic aspects of the world. One can claim the industrial revolution was
the most important revolution of them all.
Where did the industrial
revolution start?
Most would say
England.
Why?
Before
the industrial revolution
England,
India, and
China were
pretty much in the same situation.
Actually economically
China
was way ahead of the other nations.
China already had paper money and had more
exports than
England.
So why did the industrial revolution start in
England
and not in other countries?
England
had several significant advantages.
One
of the most innovative tools that contributed to the industrial revolution was
the steam engine.
It allowed the use of
trains, pumps, ships, energy plants, and many more things.
Most energy sources today are some form of
steam engine.
Coal plants and nuclear
power plants still use steam to drive turbines to create energy.
And most of these steam engines did, and
still do use coal.
And guess who had large
quantities of coal.
England, had an
immense amount of coal, and it was not hard to find.
It was very close to the surface and was easy
to take out of the ground.
Coal also was
quick to replace wood for things like heating and cooking.
Coal wasn’t the only natural resource
England had.
They had huge deposits of iron.
Iron was
used to make railroad tracks.
These railroad
tracks allowed trains to transport goods, mostly iron and coal quickly and
cheaply.
England also had
many Colonies that provided raw materials and money allowing
England to
invest in its industries.
England also
had a stable government giving its people more confidence in its future, thus increasing
the amount of investment.
There was also
laissez-faire and a free market motivating people to do better and innovate
more.
The large amounts of innovation
led to an interest in science sparking even more innovation.
China
and
India just didn’t have
all of these advantages making it easier for
England to start the industrial
revolution.
This gave England the
power to produce goods cheaper than the rest of the world giving them a huge political
advantage. Capitalism was good for
industry and the need for countries to industrialize forced most countries to
turn to capitalism and even democracy. As
the industrial revolution changed the world it also changed warfare. Weapons were now easier and cheaper to make. They were also mass produced, and most of all
they became more efficient allowing them to kill more people. As England
gained colonies militaristic ideals in Germany became more popular. Germany quickly expanded their
military in response forcing other countries to expand their military as well. With this larger military, countries needed a
new way to move all these supplies and troops.
The industrial revolution had an answer for that as well. Trains and steam boats could now move supplies
and troops more quickly.
The reason the industrial revolution was so popular was
because it did two things, it made goods cheaper and easier to make.
Innovations like the assembly line, mechanized
labor and the steam engine made factories more efficient.
In turn helping businesses grow and provide
jobs attracting people to cities.
With
this growth businesses could now sell products over a large area.
To fulfill the need for the increase in trade,
roads, canals, and railroads were built. This growth in business also resulted
in a larger variety of goods
and services.
People’s individual income dramatically rose
during the industrial revolution.
The
middle class was born and the standard of living improved.
People could now afford a house and a car.
People started to save money and invest in corporations further increasing
their income.
As agriculture become more
mechanized and efficient less and less people became farmers.
Before the industrial revolution 80% of
people were farmers, now (2012) in the
US lees than 1% of people are
farmers. With a surplus of food the population grew.
A free
education and a new
found interest in the sciences lead to new medicine. Easy access to food and
medicine allowed the earths population to grow exponentially.
The industrial revolutiongreatly improved
the overall quality of live
in the world.
