Between 1750 and 1850, Britain experienced the Industrial Revolution that had a rapid and huge impact in industry. It was one of the most fundamental periods of change in Great Britain because of its advancement in agriculture, technology, education, manufacturing as well as transportation. The Industrial Revolution brought great improvements in each of those areas and strengthened the economy along with the social class structure .It was a great success to Britain, but there were many factors of the Industrial Revolution that brought Great Britain to the top.
The most important factor in explaining the cause of the Industrial Revolution was the political changes. A long-lasting constitutional monarchy was introduced after the glorious revolution in 1688 and that led to a modern, standardized government. This controlled the rulers’ power, making England more stabled and strong. The creation of the modern navy contributed as it brought in the idea of nation debt, which helped increase their wealth. Additionally, Britain’s trade in oversea colonies brought in plenty raw materials and goods. They successfully excluded the other powerful countries like Holland, Spain and France from their markets. This meant that Britain was extremely rich and steady because they had tons of money from the modern navy. Also, having a stabled marketing and supplies system and excluding the powerful countries made them successful and strong. Britain’s overseas colonies provided essential natural resources and that’s why it was the first to industrialize.
Natural resources were another important factor in explaining the Industrial Revolution. The main products were coal, iron ores and cotton. Cotton was a cheap and simple product that everyone could use. Coals and iron ores were used in factories and to create machines. The imports of natural resources were important because it introduced them to new ideas and techniques. Britain used wood to heat, instead of coal so they had a large amount of coal left. The availability of water and coal helped the growth of the industries in England. That is because coal was used as fuel for energy supply and steam production that led to advancement in technology.
An additional factor explaining the cause of the revolution was scientific advancement. The creation of the steam engine was used to pump water from deep places. It improved productivity and steam engines eventually found their way into boats railways, vehicles and farms. Also, the new use of electric engines improved the speed of transportation around the cities, and decreased the level of pollution. This shows that Britain was a clean and healthy place with really highly developed inventions that other countries have yet to discover. Britain had a better system of transportation than any other country in Europe. The water frame, which was a continuous textile machine, enabled the people to improve in machinery. This meant that there were advanced in agriculture and manufactured products.
Furthermore, Economics also explained the cause of the Industrial Revolution. The bank of London was created in 1694 and it introduced the supply chain, which meant that the government was distributing money everywhere. This explains their great accomplishment in banking and business making. Farmlands got more efficient and improved because of the supply chain, and machinery was developed to do the jobs of the workers. Also, only the rich could pay for enclosures while the poor had to sell land. This meant that because of the improvement in agriculture to increase production, the workers had fewer jobs and no money. This led to the movement from villages to cities to work in factories and urbanization was accomplished.
Finally, massive social changes were also an important cause in the Industrial Revolution. As the population started to increase in the cities, citizens started to move up to middle class. Most of them were doctors that introduced the discovery of medicines. Having doctors around the cities provides better treatment of diseases and eliminates sickness in Britain. Public education was developed, so that all British citizens would have an education. That led to an increase in education, literacy and intelligent citizens. The improvement of machinery in factories led to less worker’s hour requirements. Workers had to work for only 8 hours instead of 12-16 according to the new labor code. This shows that technology is improving everyday and life is now easier for all the social classes.
The Industrial Revolution had a revolutionary impact on Britain between 1750 and 1850. It changed their entire life, their culture and the way they thought. It made them look forward into more achievements and accomplishments yet to come. Great Britain was the powerful and leading nation among the other countries because of the Industrial Revolution. It truly was, indeed an outstanding year in Great Britain history.
