418 History
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution changed the way things were
made as new machines invented in the 1700s and 1800s
meant it was possible to mass produce goods in factories.
Starting in Britain and spreading through Europe and
North America, a period of rapid social and economic
change began, with widespread. URBANIZATION.
WHY WERE GOODS MASS PRODUCED?
Before the Industrial Revolution, most goods were
produced in small workshops or at home. Mass
production in factories made it possible to
manufacture goods more cheaply and quickly. Huge
markets for these goods were opening up in the new
cities, and in the lands that the European nations were
conquering and settling overseas.HOW WERE FACTORIES POWERED?
During the 18th century water was an important
source of power for industry and many machines were
driven by waterwheels. Steam power was also
developed at this time. Steam engines were used to
pump water out of mineshafts and to power new. TRANSPORTATION systems. Engines and furnaces
were all fuelled by coal. By the 19th century, coal was
being transported to the factories by ship or rail.
HOW DID WORKING CONDITIONS CHANGE?
The factory age meant that workers no longer owned
the means by which they made a living. Some factory
owners pushed up their own profits by pushing down
the wages of their workers. Men, women, and children
worked long hours for little pay, often in dangerous
conditions. It took many years for wages and working
environments to improve.1 STEAM HAMMER
During the 1830s–1840s, James
Naysmith of Manchester,
England, developed a massive
steam-powered hammer.Work in a textile mill
could be monotonous
and noisyChildren worked in
factories and often
went barefootKING COTTON 3
This photograph of a spinning mill
in the United States dates from
about 1890. New technology for
spinning and weaving had marked
the start of the Industrial
Revolution in the 18th century. The
19th century saw cotton become
the chief industrial textile. It was
often produced in mills in
Manchester, England, with raw
cotton imported from the southern
United States or India.1 CITY SLUMS
The growth of cities during the
19th and 20th centuries meant
many families in Europe lived in
run-down, unhealthy housing.1 ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
Technology transformed public
life after the 1880s. Electric street
lamps lit up cities in Europe and
North America.1 WORKERS UNITED
London dockers strike in 1889. The appalling working conditions of the
early Industrial Revolution gradually improved as workers banded
together in trade unions and campaigned for better wages. Some were
socialists or communists, demanding political reform or revolution.1 THE GREAT EXHIBITION
This international showcase for
manufacture and trade was held
in London in 1851, in a glass
building called the Crystal Palace.ISAMBARD KINGDOM
BRUNEL
1806–1859
Brunel was born of a French
father in Portsmouth,
England. An engineering
genius, he helped to shape
the industrial age. He built
tunnels, docks, and suspension
bridges. He was appointed
chief engineer of England’s
Great Western Railway and
also designed steamships for
crossing the Atlantic Ocean.Industrial
Revolution