INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION & THE INVENTIONS OF THE TIME

What was the Industrial Revolution? What were the Inventions made at that time?

Industrial Revolution was not a single event which happened at a particular time. In fact, Revolution is a stronger word for such a change. It brought about a fundamental change int eh methods of producing various goods. By it machines took prominence between 1750 and 1850.

The period of Industrial Revolution coincided with the Seven Years War, War of American Independence and the French Revolution.  Wars with France gave great impetus to the trade of England. Again, economic blockade during the Napoleonic Wars checked the flow of raw materials to the continent and poured them into England. This encouraged the development of industries.

Inventions:

Textile Machine: James Hargreaves invented (in1765) the spinning machine known as the ‘Spinning Jenny’. It could spin many threads at a time. Richard Arkwright improved the Spinning Jenny. As this machine was worked by waterpower, it was called ‘Water Frame’. But there were defects in both the above inventions. Hence, Samuel Crompton invented a machine called ‘Spinning Mule’ which had the good points of both the above inventions and defects of neither. All these machines made spinning quick, but weavers lagged behind. Hence, Cartwright invented the cotton gin to separate cotton fibers from cotton seeds. All these machines developed the textile industry.

Power for working the machines – waterpower was used. But it was not available at all places. Hence, Watt invented (1765) steam engine known as ‘Beelzebub’.

Coal and Iron: Formerly iron was smelted with charcoal, but charcoal was in short supply. Hence coal was used in smelting iron. Gradually iron and coal industries were developed. The process of preparing pig iron was found out.

Transport: Mere machines were not enough for industrial development. Transport facilities were necessary. Roads were improved by the process found by John Mc Adam. Then the steam engine was invented. George Stephenson was the father of the railway locomotive. His Rocket had a speed of 30 miles per hour. In 1830 world’s first passenger railway was started between Liverpool and Manchester. Steamboats were also prepared.

Telegraph: Faraday invented electricity. First electric telegraph line was inaugurated in 1845. Thereafter overseas cables were laid between England and France.

Changes in agriculture: During this period farm machinery was invented. Then began the rapid process of enclosure. This led to the consolidation of holdings. This is known as Agricultural Revolution.

Changes in Europe: English machines were introduced in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. In 1789, spinning jenny was introduced in France. During the next thirty years steam was widely used in Western Europe. Germany advanced in metallurgy, and France in fine and beautiful textiles. But they were behind England in development.

Conclusion: Thus Industrial Revolution introduced numerous changes in the methods of production. Factories mushroomed at different places. As industries developed, towns also grew. Many good and bad results followed from the Revolution.

 

‘The Industrial Revolution solved some important problems but gave rise to others who have evaded satisfactory solution up till now’. Discuss.

Solution of important problems: Industrial Revolution solved some important problems. It replaced to some extent human labor by machinery.

Inventions of different machines ushered the new order in industries. Factory system large scale production, finished goods, quick means of transport, dissemination of knowledge through printing press, were the outstanding results of Industrial Revolution. It led to rapid economic progress of Europe.

New Problems: But it had created new problems like capitalism, imperialism, etc. Hyland writes: ‘the relationship of capital and labor, and the modification of the competitive system, constitute one of the most pressing problems that face humanity today’. Hayes Moon and Wayland write, ‘The Industrial Revolution has left with us an unwelcome heritage. Along with new power it gave us new problems. At the outset it enslaved children in factories, it herded people together in sordid slums, it brought trade unions into conflict with capitalists, it raised rents, it made some men millionaires and millions of others paupers or almost paupers’.

The main problems are to destroy the drawbacks of capitalism, to check the unemployment, to stop the scramble for markets, to lessen the evils of competition, to remove the hardships of laborers to avoid the class war.

Capitalists want freedom of trade and industry, while government checks them. Laborers want more wages, fewer hours of work, many facilities etc. For this purpose, they resort to strikes.

Different countries have tried socialism, syndicalism, communism, etc., to solve the problems created by the Industrial Revolution, but so far have failed to solve them.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Industrial Revolution was one of the most important changes in the history of mankind, which brought about changes in social, economic, cultural and political life of the people. The word ‘Industrial Revolution’ was first used by British Economic Historian Arnold Toynbee (1852) to describe the economic development of England from 1760 – 1840. 

Industrial Revolution as defined by Charles Beard is: “ By the industrial revolution, we mean that great transformation, which has been brought about during the past 150 years, by discoveries and inventions, which have altered fundamentally, all the methods of production and distribution, of means of life and consequently revolutionized all the economic functions of the society”.

NATURE OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 

• It was completely economic in nature
• It was a peaceful revolution
• It resulted in mass production
• It was a silent but mighty upheaval
• It was a continuous process and is still going on
• It caused great suffering to the workers
• It produced many sources of happiness for the capitalists.

 

CAUSES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The industrial revolution first started in England and gradually spread to other countries.

1. Geographical Discoveries: The geographical discoveries of new trade routes to new lands which took place from the late 15^th century resulted in expansion of trade and commerce. This provided raw materials and created a demand for manufactured goods.
2. Scientific Progress: The invention of new machines, tools and implements by scientists from England enabled large-scale production of goods. E.g. Samuel Crompton, James Watt, etc.
3. Political and Administrative Stability: Another important cause of the industrial revolution was political and administrative stability that prevailed in England in the 18^th century. Politically England was free. Her parliamentary system of government promoted democracy and domestic peace. The peaceful condition in England and law and order created a favorable condition for capitalists to invest their wealth in factories and machines.
4. Social Flexibility: The English society was more flexible than other European countries such as France. So it was bale to adjust itself to the changing socio economic pattern. The English landlords increased their wealth by shifting their attention from land to trade and business. They also invested in industry.
5. Promotion of Trade and colonization: An important factor of the industrial revolution was England’s policy of promoting trade, commerce and colonization. The Parliament passed Navigation Act in order to protect British shipping from other European rival powers. The British government did not take up commercial activities, but these were carried on by private bodies like the East India Company. These companies made large profits and the country prospered.
6. Immigration of Artisans: There was religious intolerance in France and Spain. The Protestants were persecuted. A large number of Protestants migrated to England with wealth and skills. Their craftsmanship especially in textile industry gave an impetus to industrial revolution in England.
7. Availability of natural resources: England was rich in natural resources like iron and coal. They were required to produce materials such as steel to be used in the manufacture of machines. Coal was used to produce steam, which was used to run heavy machines.
8. Availability of cheap labor: With the coming of new technology, a lot of farm laborers were jobless. The peasants from the village came to the town in search of jobs. This led to the availability of cheap labor to work in industries.

 

IMPACT / EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 

The industrial revolution was a great landmark in the history of the world. It revolutionized the industries and deeply affected the economic, social, political and cultural lives of the people.

Economic effects

1.        Large scale production – The use of machinery and division of labor helped to produce goods on a large scale. Goods were now manufactured more rapidly, cost of production was low and production of goods was standardized. Therefore people could get quality goods at cheaper rates.

2.        Development of banking – The progress in industry and commerce was responsible for the growth of Trading Companies which carried on their business with the help of banks. The agriculturalists also required loans for the improvement of agriculture. This led to the development of banks.

3.        National and international markets – The different governments began to levy heavy taxes on imported goods in order to safeguard their national industries. This led to the development of national markets. The industrial revolution also led to the production of goods on large scale which necessitated export to other countries. Thus, the import export business led to the development of international markets.

4.        Growth of Capitalism – Capital means money or any other form of wealth including land, machines and factories, used productively in business. A capitalist is an owner or manager of such wealth, land, machinery and other means of production. He invests his wealth, owns machines and factories, employs skilled as well as unskilled workers, buys raw materials and transforms them into finished products and sells them at a handsome margin of profit. Capitalism, thus, is a business system in which capital as well as capitalists are the sole controlling factors. The industrial revolution led to the development of capitalism and made capitalists the supreme masters.

5.        Capitalist and Laboring Class – The industrial revolution created two new types of classes – the capitalist class and the laboring class. The masters of industries, the managers of mills and the proprietors of workshops were capitalists, who amassed great wealth by a high margin of profit on goods sold and paying very low wages to workers and compelling them to put in long hours of work in their factories. The laboring class acted merely as a tool in factories. Under these conditions, the poor people became poorer and the rich became richer. Thus the gap between the capitalists and workers went on widening with the passage of time. This caused social disharmony.

6.        England rolled in wealth – England, the mother of the industrial revolution began to roll in wealth on account of industrialization. She became a leading country in the field of industry, trade, commerce and finance, so much so that, she was not only able to withstand the strain of the various wars she participated in, but could also afford to give financial assistance to those countries that approached her.

 

Social effects

1.        Urbanization of culture – The most harmful effect of the industrial revolution was on family life. Before industrial revolution all members of the family helped the head of the family in the family profession. But after industrial revolution, the father and sometimes the whole family shifted to the city in search of employment. The shifting population led to the growth of new cities in Great Britain such as Manchester, Sheffield etc., which became centers of industry, trade and commerce. City life broadened the outlook of people and culture, and civilization became more urban in character.

2.        Development of City Slums – With the establishment of factories, cities got overcrowded, partly because of migration from villages and partly because of high birth rate. The shortage of houses in cities forced many families to stay in slums. These slums caused fevers and a variety of diseases and premature deaths.

3.        Women and children in factories – Factory owners employed women and children on a large scale as they were thought to be more docile and nimbler than men and exploited them by paying low wages for long working hours. They were treated cruelly.

4.        Immorality – There was moral downfall of society and incidences of crime and prostitution increased. The women and children imitated the vices of men and began to drink alcohol more than was necessary.

5.        Unemployment – There was widespread unemployment, as not all those who came to the cities could find work, and many of the industries were seasonal. Job security was nonexistent.

6.        Comforts and luxuries of life – The inventions in the various fields during the period of industrial revolution multiplied the comforts, conveniences and luxuries of life. Life became more convenient and luxurious. New means of transport and communication, railways etc proved to be a boon to mankind.

Political effects

1.        England was the birthplace of the industrial revolution and so it became a dominant power in world trade.

2.        European countries search for new markets for surplus manufactured goods and their need for raw materials led to the rise of imperialism and the economic exploitation of colonies.

3.        Capitalists became the political leaders of the world because they had a large number of colonies under their control, and they had gained enormous wealth from the colonies

4.        Nationalism and Internationalism arose as a result of industrial revolution, which also acted as the trigger of globalization.

5.        Political ideas and Isms such as Marxism, Socialism, Communism etc spread as the various sections of society affected by the revolution tried to uphold their own interests

 

Cultural effects 

The industrial revolution gave an impetus to literary activities. Some of the classics it inspired are ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens.