Taking A Look At The Industrial Revolution

Great Britain, before the industrial revolution, was a much slower place characterized by rural, feudal societies an agricultural economies. Changes in technologies and commerce that affected wide sectors of the population came about at the start of the industrial revolution and after a period of growth for Britain. Britain was the birthplace of industrial revolution the first time in the history of man, a nation broke out of the middle age by developing advances in productivity and business, leading to rapid technological changes and eventually a greater quality of life for everyone. Industrialization had the greatest effect on Britain’s manufacturing industries, transportation, communication, banking, and quality of life. While industrialization

New hand tools, machinery, fertilizers and agricultural techniques were developed, increasing productivity and agricultural prosperity (British Museum, 2008). Expansion in business and trade along with the development of the money economy stimulated innovation, research, and the development of new banking institutions for borrowing and lending. The critical development that initiated the industrial revolution was harnessing the use of steam for power in engines and manufacturing (BCP, 2005). Along with steam power, according to History.com, “Developments in the iron industry also played a central role in the Industrial Revolution. In the early 18th century, Englishman Abraham Darby (1678-1717) discovered a cheaper, easier method to produce cast iron, using a coke-fueled (as opposed to charcoal-fired) furnace. In the 1850s, British engineer Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) developed the first inexpensive process for mass-producing steel. Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make everything from appliances, tools and machines, to ships, buildings and infrastructure.” These contributions allowed for the revolution of a variety of Britain’s industries fundamentally changing life as it

Before machinery, factories, and automated production, textiles were made by hand in people homes, where vendors provided the basic materials and equipment, picking up the finished product later. The industrial revolution caused a series of innovations that exponentially increased productivity, while using less labor. Another revolution to the textile industry, was the invention of the power loom, which automated the process of weaving cloth. The transportation industry also experienced serious innovation during the Industrial Revolution with the invention of the steam engine and steam locomotive. Before the industrial revolution goods were transported by horse-drawn carriages, and boats, By the 1800s, goods and people were being transported mechanically across the