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.