Shift from the Agrarian world

  • Agricultural revolution - New farming methods invented
  • Lord Townshend in England introduced crop rotation - land could now be used year - round; certain crops revitalized soil
  • Enclosure movement had large  land owners buying and then fencing public land
  • Smaller farmers pushed off of land to work as wage laborers for various land owners or to move to the growing cities
  • More food produced = population increase
  • In 1700 there were about 100 million in Europe, by  1800 the population had grow to 190 million. 

Textile industry takes off

  • Domestic system(cottage industry) had dominated the early 1700 s; Merchants dropped off raw materials at peoples homes, picked up finished products later.
  • Series of inventions modernize textile manufacturing, including:
  • 1733 - Flying Shuttle(John kay) -used to weave cloth
  • 1760 - Spinning jenny (James Hargreaves) - Allowed for multiple threads to be woven  together
  • 1769 - Water frame (Richard Arkwright) - Used water to power the spinning frame
  • 1785 - Water loom (Edmund Cartwright) - First machine that could weave cloth
  • These advancements resulted in the movement of work from the home to the factory.

Britain Industrializes First

  • 1715  - 1850
  • Many natural resources available in Britain, including large amount of coal and iron
  • Geographical advantages include a large river system for water power and many natural harbors for easy  trade
  • A strong, stable government allowed a strong, stable economy to  develop  which resulted in extra money to invest. 
  • Colonial empire provided much needed raw materials  and markets
  • Spreads to continental Europe, united states of america, and japan between 1850 and 1914

Changes  Brought  by  the  Industrial  Revolution

  • Continuous reinvestment of profits fuel even grater growth
  • Inventions  in one area often led to inventions in others
  • Transportation  and communication systems are greatly enhanced
  • Cities began to dominate the western world
  • poor working conditions for lower classes  eventually lead to new social and political movements.