Industrial revolution
- Many aspects of modem politics in Europe were related to the transformation of economic life during the 18th and 19th centuries. Specifically important here was the growing significance of industrial capitalism during this period. This in turn was linked to the industrial revolution In Europe.
- The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840.
- The concept industrial revolution suggests primarily certain technological and economic changes with important social consequences and social origins. It denotes
- (i) the extensive application of water, steam (and later electrical) power in production systems,
- (ii) the focus of production in the factory and its formidable mechanisation,
- (iii) major changes in the character and exploitation of “home” and “foreign” markets, and
- (iv) the near disappearance of subsistence agriculture. This expression refers to the early phase of the dominion of industrial capital in economic and social life.©crackingcivilservices.com
- The Industrial Revolution first started in England from about 1760 AD and shortly thereafter swept over other European countries.
- In the short span of years between the accession of George III (1760-1820) and that of his son, William IV (1830-7), the face of England changed. Land that for centuries had been cultivated as open fields, or had been left as common pasture, was fenced, villages grew into cities, and the whole of England became dotted with factories.
- The industrial Revolution should be viewed both as a movement and as a period of time.
- Wherever industrial revolutions occurred, be they in England after 1760, in the United States and Germany after 1870, or in Canada, Japan and Russia in the twentieth century, the character and effects were fundamentally the same. Everywhere it was associated with:
- population growth,
- the application of science to industry
- a more intensive and extensive use of capital.
- It universally entailed the conversion of many rural areas into urban communities, giving rise to new social classes alongside parallel changes in cultural and intellectual developments.
- In each case, the course of the movement was affected by circumstances of time and place.
- Wherever industrial revolutions occurred, be they in England after 1760, in the United States and Germany after 1870, or in Canada, Japan and Russia in the twentieth century, the character and effects were fundamentally the same. Everywhere it was associated with:
- The period branded as the era of Industrial Revolution was essentially a period of transformation.
- It marked the final phase of broad transformation from feudalism to capitalism which had begun with the European Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation in early modern Europe.
- The Industrial Revolution marked the end of old modes of production. And it was the final move away from medieval feudalism.
- Within the feudal-social set-up the economy had been by and large self-sufficient, though the exchange of goods was not totally absent. With industrial revolution, western and central Europe saw the rise of a full-fledged capitalist economy. Such an economy was based on commodity production and market economy.
- Thus Capitalism made its presence felt across the whole world. Under the forceful thrust of capitalism, the Asiatic societies of the east and the feudal societies of eastern Europe were to undergo economic changes too.
- Whether or not such a series of changes should be spoken of as the ‘Industrial Revolution’ can be debated at length.
- T.S. Ashton has argued that such changes were not merely industrial, but also social and intellectual.
- The word ‘revolution‘ itself means a suddenness of change so it is not specific to economic processes.
- The system of human interactions that is known as ‘capitalism’ had its origins long before 1760, and attained its full development long after 1830. So, it is clear there remains a danger of overlooking the essential fact of continuity within the terminology.
- The phrase was first used by J.A. Blanqui, a French socialist thinker of the nineteenth century. To Blanqui, the industrialisation of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was certainly revolutionary and marked the beginning of a new civilisation.
- Arnold Toynbee however, said that the Industrial Revolution was far from revolutionary and was instead a socio-economic transformation.
- In fact, the Industrial Revolution was more of an evolution than a revolution but despite these nuances, the phrase ‘Industrial Revolution has become firmly embedded in common speech.
Factors Leading to the Industrial Revolution:
- The Industrial Revolution was multi-causal. A variety of factors over centuries combined to produce this epoch-making event:
- the Renaissance and the Reformation,
- geographical discoveries,
- the rise of colonial empires, the growth of long distance commodity production,
- the market economy, and
- the accumulation of capital—all these led to the birth of new modes of production.
- One of the major factors which helped to bring about a revolution in the domain of production was the rise of of new scientific knowledge.
- The research of Newton, Galileo and others and their advances into new frontiers of science prepared the ground for later technological inventions.
- Equally, with the decline of feudalism, the rise of new monarchies and a new middle class, flow of gold and silver from South America-and the African slave trade and many such factors had made it clear by the sixieenth century that Industrial Revolution was to take place only in Western Europe.
- The Industrial Revolution first occurred in England. A question thus arises: why did it occur in England but not in other countries like France or the Netherlands? There are many reasons why England experienced the Industrial Revolution first:
- No part of the country was far from the sea.
- Navigable rivers made inland transport easier.
- The climate was favourable all year round.
- England had coal and iron and other necessary mineral resources for running the industries
- She was situated beside the North Atlantic Ocean and she had easy access to overseas market.
- England was greatly advanced in science and technology.
- She was a protestant country which, according to many writers Protestantism fostered the rise of capitalism and made industrialisation possible.
- England was a country where laissez-faire prevailed for the English state took a passive role in industrial development, unlike in France. British economic activities were allowed to develop in the direction that the profit motive would take it, whereas in the continent mercantilist restrictions were maintained. ©crackingcivilservices.com
- This was also possible because English merchants had accumulated huge wealth through overseas trade and her colonies secured the supply of raw materials. The colonies also acted as potential markets for finished goods.
- Thus, the capitalists invested in the development of new machines to speed up the production with the aim of earning more profits. Now machines began to take over some of the work of humans and animals for production.
- Cipolla (in his book Fontana Economic History of Europe) has rightly remarked that Britain experienced the Industrial revolution first because the favourable social and political structure and mental attitudes, and scales of value had developed there.
- Thus, the ascendancy of capitalist practices and bourgeoise attitudes in Britain can partially explain why Britain industrialised first.
- In contrast, Holland’s trade was on the decline and the economic disturbances caused by the French Revolution set France back by 40 Years.
- BY 1830, when France had recovered, Britain had turned into the ‘workshop of the world’.
- The scientific invention in England in the eighteenth century also paved the way for the industrial Revolution.
- The increasing demand for manufactured goods encouraged technological innovations, hence the English textiles industry first saw such inventions.
- In 1738, John Kay invented the flying shuttle which changed the weaving system and quickened the pace of production.
- Later, the discovery of the spinning jenny by James Hargreaves in 1764 was a major breakthrough for the textile industry.
- In 1769, Richard Arkwright invented the water frame and Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule in 1779.
- The devices of Hargreaves and Arkwright were further improved by Crompton.
- The trend of technological inventions penetrated in new trades as well.
- John Dudley and Henri Cort invented a new method of melting iron with the help of coal while Humphrey Davy invented the safety lamp thus making the work of the coal miners easier and safer.
- The most remarkable discovery came in 1765 when James Watt invented steam power. In 1781 steam power was successfully used to run machines.
- The discovery of steam power led to the foundations of the industrial economy and the application of steam power to machinery for purposes first of production and then of transport revolutionised the economy.
- Instead of producing things by means of tools and manual labour, it became more and more common to manufacture things using steam-powered machinery.
- The increasing demand for manufactured goods encouraged technological innovations, hence the English textiles industry first saw such inventions.
Consequences of the Industrial revolution:
- The Industrial Revolution saw the replacement of handicraft by power-driven machinery.
- Previously machines were operated mainly by animal, wind or water power. However, animal power was not remarkably greater than human strength, wind was cheap but unreliable, and water was limited by natural constraints.
- The new technology therefore brought about far-reaching consequences. Large scale production started with the help of machinery in large factories making a vital departure from the old system of domestic manufacturing and cottage industry.
- This change in the method of production was more significant and far reaching than that produced by the French Revolution.
- Beginning in England in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, and later spreading to other countries in Europe, the Industrial Revolution solved the problem of production.
- New technology generated new wealth in the society, but this new wealth largely inflated only the purses of the capitalists. Thus while industrialisation solved the question of production, it accentuated the problem of distribution.
- The workers in the factories were starving most of the time and thus, the gulf between the rich and the poor widened.
- This sparked off disputes between labour an capital and so it is important to note that the new production processes lay at the root of many of important reactions.
- One of the most important reactions to this huge gap between poverty and plenty was socialism. It is a critique of capitalism and attempts to put an end to the co-existence of extremes of wealth.
- Another notable consequence of the Industrial Revolution was imperialism.
- The industrialised countries of Europe became dependent upon other countries for the supply of raw materials necessary for their industries. It became imperative for the industrialising nations of Europe to control areas which produced these materials.
- Colonies could then be used as markets for the finished products. Thus, the industrialised European nations turned their eyes to the non-European world and from that moment, began to parcel out the whole world into colonies and spheres of influence amongst the leading European powers.
- This imperialism later became aggressive and indirectly led to the first World War.
- Industrial Revolution brought about important social changes too.
- It brought forth two important social classes: the working class and the bourgeoisie. The exploitation of workers, and especially of women and children, led to various movements of social protest.
- The character of the state also underwent a transformation.
- The state began to drop the old idea of laissez-faire and to extend its reach into economic and social affairs.
- It assumed new responsibilities including the welfare of women and children with the notable development of an elevation of the status of women. ©crackingcivilservices.com
