The industrial revolution was a process of great economic and social transformations that began in England in the eighteenth century.
They were great innovations that were developed in the industry. The use of the machine in the processes remarkably improved the productivity in the factories, which brought with it a rapid progress.
The textile, metallurgical and chemical industry had a great growth in England and Europe during this Century, and Agriculture also experienced great advances thanks to the new tools, this brought with it something known as the agricultural revolution.
<em><u>Causes of the Industrial Revolution </u></em>
The main causes of the industrial revolution that helped it to happen in England:
- The prevailing political system in England was not the absolute monarchy, it was the liberal monarchy, which allowed the British to remain free of the revolutions that afflicted the other European countries.
- The modernization of agriculture through the quadrennial rotation of crops, the introduction of modern machinery to agricultural work and the closure of fields. These measures left many farmers unemployed who were forced to move to the cities and ensured the abundance of cheap labor.
- The English bourgeoisie had sufficient capital to finance the factories, acquire raw materials and machines, and hire employees.
- The economic benefits obtained thanks to the dominance of the European market and the possession of a great colonial empire. The large amount of capital available was invested in the new industrial activities.
- An economic mentality, on the part of the bourgeoisie, but also on the part of the landed aristocracy, ready to invest in commerce and industry. These two social groups were controlling the Parliament, from where they promulgated laws that assured the economic freedom (eliminating the privileges of the unions), and protecting the own markets (protectionism), among other measures.
- The existence of a good road and river network, which ensured the fluidity of the supply of raw materials, the distribution of manufactures and the internal market.
- Technical innovations, which allowed to replace traditional tools for machines that worked faster.
- The wealth of energy sources such as coking coal, of high quality, to operate the new steam engines, and the abundance of raw materials for the textile industry, such as colonial cotton and English wool.
The Industrial Revolution transformed traditional production techniques. Manual work was replaced by machines, and human and animal strength, as well as that of natural elements, gave way to new sources of energy.
The main characteristic of the industrial revolution was the creation of the mechanized factory system, that is, the factories have moved from simple manufactured production to the complex substitution of manual labor for machines. This substitution implied the acceleration of the production of merchandise, which occurred on a large scale.
This time is very important because it went from a rural world to an industrial world. It was also a time of great inventions, highlighting especially one: The steam engine, with this invention were born the railroad and the steamboat.
<u>There are 2 stages that marked the industrialization </u>called the <em>first industrial revolution (1760-1870)</em> and its main feature is the appearance of mechanization.
And a <em>second industrial revolution (1870-1914)</em> characterized by a very important and significant scientific and technical progress. This second stage of the revolution was characterized by the improvement of production thanks to the incorporation of new sources of energy such as electricity and oil, the acquisition of new materials such as steel and the application of new forms of work such as automation and the work in chain.