Industrial Revolution

Britain at the time was built upon rural communities that revolved around farming  Most families where growing their own food, making their own clothes  and building their own houses or done in some small rural shops. The life of the average person was difficult as incomes were meager  and malnourished and disease were common.

Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution was when the rural life started a transition to the city life. Before the industrial revolution production was don in people's home using manual labor and basic machines. Industrialization evolved a shift to power, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. Such important developments such as the rise of the iron and textile industries and the steam engine played a crucial role in the revolution. It increased the volume of manufactured goods and improved living for few mostly the wealthy . It also resulted in very bad living conditions for the poor and working class of the era.

Britain was the birthplace of the revolution.



Some factored contributed Britain being the birthplace of the revolution. Having a great amount of coal and iron ore deposits which provided a new and more efficient fuel source and abundant raw materials. These also proved valuable and essential for the industrialization. Britain was also stable political wise unlike France which was held back because of the monarchy which governed it . Being a colonial power also helped as the  raw materials could be found and transported due to their many foreign colonies.

The demand for goods later increased and market required more cost efficient methods of production, this led to the rise of mechanization and the factory system

Transportation during the revolution



The transportation had to go under a complete overhaul to keep up with the new age. Before the invention of the steam engine materials were transported using horse-drawn wagons and by boats along canals and rivers. This wasn't very efficient as horses could be somewhat unreliable as many breakages could occur during the voyage and that drove up prices. American Robert Fulton (1765-1815) built the first commercially successful steam engine and by the mid 19th century,steam ships were carrying goods across the Atlantic.







The steam locomotive was beginning to come into use. British engineer Richard Trevithick (1771- 1833) constructed the first railway steam locomotive. By 1850 Britain had more than 6,000 miles of railroad track .Also around 1820, Scottish engineer John Mc Adam (1756-1836) developed a new process in building roads which resulted in roads that were smoother,more durable and less muddy.





A Video explaining the British industrial revolution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhF_zVrZ3RQ

Sources:

History. 2013. Industrial Revolution. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution. [Accessed 07 April 13].