Had it not been for the industrial revolution, I would doubt very much that we would enjoy the technology we have in the year 2000. The reason we have this technology is that between the years 1750 and 1914 a great change in the world's history was made. People started to discover faster methods of producing goods, which increased their economy. These people were mainly British and French, but after a few years the French were distracted by their revolution, and the British continued to industrialize. However you must not think this industrialization had no effects on society because it did. So in this essay I am going to talk about the history of the industrial revolution, discuss ...view middle of the document...
You shall notice now that the mechanical inventions were so rapid and each one triggered another new one. A few examples of these inventions are the flying shuttle by John Kay, the spinning jenny by James Hargraves, the water frame by Richard Akriwght, the power loom by Edward Cartwight, Samuel Cromptons spinning mule, and Eli Whitney's cotton gin. All these inventions gave the British cotton industry a further boost. Also the new machines were expensive and had to be set up near rivers, where running water turned a water wheel to power the machines. Inventors such as Arkwright built spinning mills and for that he hired hundreds of workers all operating under the factory system. This system brought machines and workers together in one place under one roof for a number of hours each day and workers were paid daily or weekly wages.As the industrial revolution unfolded new sources of power such as the steam engine was developed. It is true that the idea of the steam engine existed since 1698 but all along it had problems like intense pressure, or it required a lot of coal to fuel it. However in 1760 James Watt developed a perfect steam engine which revolutionized transportation. Not only so but also brought great changes in the iron and coal industries, which Henry Bessemer contributed greatly to, by developing a procedure that helped the production of steel, this stronger more workable steel triggered the growth of other industries as well.What do these industries depend on? Yes they depend on good transportation systems to bring raw materials to factories and to distribute finished goods. Thus they started building canals between mines and factories, then a road surface, and finally the rail road industry was developed. George Stephenson developed the Rocket; the first steam powered locomotive. Also the American Engineer Robert Fulton developed a way to use steam power for ships. The postal system was also introduced by the British but this time inexpensively. And last we should remember the telegraph that sent messages by electrical impulses not only in Europe but also between America and Britain.So after all the years we wonder why Britain lead the industrial revolution, well the reason is that they enjoyed many advantages that helped them take the lead in the revolution. As I have wrote the agricultural revolution increased food production, which freed many laborers to work in industry. Also to add to that Britain had iron and coal resources, they also had developed an excellent transportation system to speed the flow of goods. Britain was also the leading trading nation in Europe, which gave their merchants lots of capital. So as a result they used their capital to invest in textiles, mines railroads and shipbuilding. Britain also had a large colonial empire, which supplied it with raw materials for their factories. In addition people in the colonies bought finished goods produced by British industry. Also the government encouraged industr...
