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According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term ‘Industrial Revolution’ is defined as “the rapid development of industry that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries, brought about by the introduction of machinery…characterised by the use of steam power, growth of factories, and the mass production of manufactured goods.” . However, although this may be a commonly shared view of this period, the concept of the Industrial Revolution is widely debated amongst various historians. Whilst many feel the term well describes the changes taking place within industry, trading and the new energy being used at the time, some historians find the concept problematic due to its implication that the changes of the time happened at a ‘revolutionary’ …show more content…
F. R. Crafts. Crafts studied the economic growth during this period to find and argue that the economic growth was not as rapid as previously perceived and instead was a slow increase. Crafts provided new statistics, furthering the research of Dean and Cole, on the industrial output between 1700 and 1860 and that of the whole economy. Crafts statistics show that although previously it was estimated that the industrial output in 1780- 1801 was 3.4%, however Crafts new statistics show the output to instead be 2.1%. Similarly although previously thought to be 4.4% from 1801- 1831 Craft found the industrial output to be 3.0%, and again from 1831- 1860 3.0% but new evidence finding this to instead be 3.3%. These statistics showed that contrary to the popular belief that the Industrial Revolution was a rapid take off in economic growth, there was instead a steady growth in the industry. This new view has since made others question the concept of what ‘Industrial Revolution’ means and what it was. However what Crafts statistics also show is that the ‘Industrial Revolution’ of this period was a truly British phenomenon, with Hobsbawm similarly describing this time of change as “coinciding with the history of a single country, Great Britain”. Within Crafts studies his also focuses on the …show more content…
Nevertheless, it is true to say that, even though the meaning of the concept is disputed, the period was truly a key transition in Britain’s history with Eric Hobsbawm describing the time as “the most fundamental transformation of human life in the history of the world recorded in written document”. For some historians such as De Vries and Wrigley the term ‘Industrial Revolution’ may have been a helpful concept to explain the period characterised by new energy, increased productivity and industry, ways the labour force worked and wages. However, it would seem that the term has now become increasingly open to debate due to growing developments in our understanding of the time and new evidence like that of Crafts. With these new advances the term has become more problematic and incomplete as, for some academics such as Mokyr and Landes, it doesn’t project certain aspects or changes of the time which are seen by some as key to this shifting period in history but are instead absent. However, the problem may not lie in the term ‘Industrial Revolution’ itself but in the act of trying to define such a broad and changing period in history characterised by many transitions of the time both on a ground level and societal. With this, any single term or phrase to account for all the changes taking place
The period during which there was an increased output of machine-made goods, also known as the Industrial Revolution, played a critical role in reshaping Britain’s economy. The Industrial Revolution, stimulated by advancements that were made during the Agricultural Revolution, began in Great Britain for many reasons. In addition to Britain’s broad availability of natural resources, the count...
The factory whistle blows right in the middle of your favorite dream. You wake up in a startle as you glance at the clock. 5:30 am. You rush to get out of bed, seeing that you have to get to work in 30 minutes. You splash some water on your face, brush your teeth, put on some fine factory clothes, pull your hair back, grab an apple and run as fast as a gazelle. The Industrial Revolution had both positive and negatives on the lives of adults and children during that time period.
The Industrial Revolution began in England during the late 1700s, and by the end of its era, had created an enormous amount of both positive and negative effects on the world in social, economic, and even political ways. The revolution began to spread across the world, raising the standard of life for the populations in both Europe and North America throughout the 1800s. However, even with all of its obvious benefits, its downsides are nonnegotiable, forcing workers into horrendous living and working conditions, all inside of unkempt cities. While some might argue that Industrialization had primarily positive consequences for society because of the railroad system, it was actually a negative thing for society. Industrialization’s
The impact of the Industrial Revolution was a positive experience for some, but it was a great difficulty for others. Because of the demands for reform and protection for workers arose, government and unions began to take place. That was how the evils of the Industrial Revolution addressed in England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
As mentioned above many products from different industries were discovered and invented which made life easier and cheaper. The factories did not spend fast amount of money on making the products as they were allowed to pay their workers as much as that suited them so it did not cost them much and the innovation of factory machines also helped them produce in big quantities. These products were very demanding which meant that it grew the economy of the making nation, “Britain’s output of coal soared from 5.23 million tons in 1750 to 68.4 million tons a century later” (Strayer, 2012; 835). The industrial revolution did not just grow the economy of industrializing countries it also helped grow the economy of non-industrializing nations. For example, Latin America was one of the non-industrialized nations however its economy grew unexpectedly as they exported demanding raw materials such as rubber, silver, coal and many more resources that were essential for the growth of the industrial revolution (Strayer, 2012; 854). Latin America’s economy depended on the export of these materials and because of their popularity and essentiality it grew the state’s
America had a huge industrial revolution in the late 1800”s. Many changes happened to our great nation, which factored into this. The evidence clearly shows that advancements in new technology, a large wave of immigrants into our country and new views of our government, helped to promote America’s huge industrial growth from the period of 1860-1900.
The Industrial Revolution is a period that started around the 1750s, and is a period we are currently living in; it is seen today as one of the most dramatic and impactful eras in human-history. Thanks to Britain’s start-up of the period, we now have a society in which progress is culturally embedded as a necessity to survive. This was developed by the revolutionary inventions of the period, along with the strive for innovation from other international countries.
The Industrial Revolution in Britain’s history is marked as the period of great development that led to the modern era of growth, improved living standards and technology. Moreover, this revolution was not just limited to Britain; it affected the rest of Europe and America in the same positive manner. Due to the Industrial Revolution’s success in many countries, it is now commonly cited as the surest way for a country to develop. In economics, goals of a developed country are high production of goods, high Gross Domestic Product (GDP), low unemployment and sustained growth; during an Industrial Revolution all these are achieved. However, despite the main goal of IR to improve living standards for the population, the actual success when weighed against the social cost is debatable. It is accepted that IR improved the living standards of many; it created a new class, which Marx called the “bourgeoisie”, who had control over wealth, decisions and helped improve the lives of many others. However, many historians view this new class as “rapacious landlords and conscienceless capitalist[s]” [9] who exploited the working class for their own benefit. For a majority of “the working class… ‘Industrial Revolution’ … must have appeared… as a gigantic and cruel experiment, which, insofar as it was affecting their house, their health, their subsistence and their pleasure, was proving a calamitous failure” [9]. Therefore, this group will be examined to determine more general effects of IR on the society.
O'Brien, Patrick, and Roland Quinault, eds. The Industrial Revolution and British Society. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of immense changes that occurred in the manufacturing process, transportation means, and economy of the agriculture, textile, and metal industries in England, turning it into “the workshop of the world”
In the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution made its debut in Great Britain and subsequently spread across Europe, North America and the rest of the world. These changes stimulated a major transformation in the way of life, and created a modern society that was no longer rooted in agricultural production but in industrial manufacture. Great Britain was able to emerge as the world’s first industrial nation through a combination of numerous factors such as natural resources, inventions, transport systems, and the population surge. It changed the way people worked and lived, and a revolution was started. As stated by Steven Kreis in Lecture 17, “England proudly proclaimed itself to be the "Workshop of the World," a position that country held until the end of the 19th century when Germany, Japan and United States overtook it.”
“The Industrial Revolution was not indeed an episode with a beginning and an end. To ask when it was 'complete' is senseless, for its essence was that henceforth revolutionary change became the norm. It is still going on…” (Eric Hobsbawn, The Industrial Revolution Period: p.29)
The industrial revolution of 17th and 18th centuries saw the transformation of Britain from a Neolithic nation into an industrious nation. However, this spread quickly throughout the world, introducing the modernisation of agriculture, revolution in power and manufacturing of textile.
Major bias exists in discussion of the Industrial Revolution even among its contemporaries. Thus, it is quite impossible to determine empirically whether industrialisation is best described as detrimental or beneficial. Indeed, industrialisation radically changed the way of life in Britain and all of Europe, but the varying changes are intertwined and not able to be separated and compared fairly. Complex change such as this cannot be dissected and scrutinised for good versus bad; the industrial revolution is both and it is neither. It cannot be
The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and technology went through a period of significant change. These changes had a profound impact on the social and cultural conditions of the time, beginning in the Untied Kingdom and spreading throughout Western Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. The Industrial Revolution, considered a major turning point in history, effected almost every aspect of daily life; through new discoveries in technology came new jobs; through new jobs came new working conditions; through new working conditions came new laws and new politics, the repercussions of which extend to today. As Crump emphasizes: ‘The world as we have come to know it in the twenty-first century is impossible to understand without looking at the foundations laid – mainly in the English-speaking world of the eighteenth century – in the course of what is now known, but not then, as the ‘Industrial Revolution’ .