The Steam Engine During The First Industrial Revolution

The invention of the Watt steam engine in 1781 propelled Britain into a world of untold economic prosperity and everlasting power for years to come. Prior to the introduction of various mechanical advancements such as machine tools, metallurgy, and Watt’s steam engine, Britain utilized a domestic economic system referred to as the “putting out” system in the mid-18th century. With the new introduction of modern technology, Britain shifted to a system of mass production in factories rather than in private homes. The steam engine economically advanced Great Britain to dominate Europe’s commercial markets through factory systems, transportation power, and exports. It helped to employ women and children in British factories, and increased the rate

The application of the steam engine in British factories during the first industrial revolution bolstered England's economic superiority due to new techniques of manufacturing, socio-economic progress, and the rise of the British factory system.

The application of the steam engine in British factories allowed for Britain to prosper economically through its mechanical transformation of the cotton industry and the establishment of a standardized fuel economy. The steam engine’s usage in British factories allowed for Britain to rise as a dominant economic force through its revolutionizing of the cotton manufacturing industry. As factories sprouted across the countryside and canals of Great Britain, the steam engine’s practical use in the cotton industry allocated the increased efficiency of cotton production in Britain via the power loom. Throughout the first industrial revolution in Britain, the “high-pressure steam engines [were] employed with most advantage” (“The Steam-Engine” 359). Powered by steam engines, British textile factories increased the efficiency of cotton production three-fold and created the rise of