Industrial Revolution Dbq

The Industrial Revolution was the rise of new sources of energy, such as coal and steam, to power engines to reduce human labor and increase production. This revolution in the 19th century involved many different factors that combined and formed the ultimate advancement that allowed England to progress and industrialize. The shift to a more industrial society changed the face of labor. Historians have been debating this topic by taking everything into consideration such as culture, geography, climate, trading and so on. There is no right answer due to the fact that this revolution had many causes building upon each other but, there is one factor that truly sparked the match for this progression. The Industrial Revolution occurred in England

Britain was fortunate to have a nearby abundance of coal, which aided in high demand for coal around colonies: “Fortunately for the British, veins of coal were close enough to the surface of the ground and close enough to London to create both a demand for coal and the beginnings of a coal industry.” (Marks) The colonies provided the essential resources and expanded in England’s market. In addition to coal’s nearby location, coal had a vast impact on the creation of steam power and influenced a change in efficiency of industrial production: “...coal was a crucial element in sustaining the steam economy that took Europe ahead technologically when the need for en masse

India was dominant towards the cotton textile industry trade, which motivated England to take the opportunity of forcibly removing all indigenous competition: “...the British who most fully took advantage of the collapse of the empire. Between 1757 and 1803, they took control of most of India except the Northwest. The result was that the East India Company now administered major sectors of the economy, and quickly reduced the role of the big Indian bankers by changes in taxes and methods of collecting them.”(Mukherjee) By eliminating any further competition at their weakest moment, England lowered India’s economy and chances of industrializing. England banned any further imports coming from India of cotton textiles which reduced Indian economy by “the decline of shipbuilding” and allowed Britain to be fully independent. Once England had full control of India, there was no need for any further trading since the British mimicked the process of how to make cotton textiles with resources they own: “This meant that Indian techniques which a few years earlier seemed remarkable could now be equaled at much lower cost by British factories. India was then made to appear rather primitive, and the idea grew that its proper role was to provide raw materials for western industry, including raw cotton and indigo dye, and to function