history in a nutshell the Industrial
Revolution changed England and the world
forever
it took place between about 1700 and
1900 and so a simple explanation goes it
turns Britain into a torn-up factory
powered workshop of the world but there
was plenty more to the Industrial
Revolution than just factories and
machines it certainly didn't happen
overnight and its roots go even further
back than 1700 in fact many historians
reckon the Industrial Revolution was not
just one revolution but a series of
revolutions but this like a complicated
machine it had lots of different moving
parts and each of these parts was like
its own revolution new revolutionary
technologies and inventions meant that
products could be made by machines
rather than by hand
eventually steam engines powered these
machines with coal instead of natural
resources like wind water and animals a
kind of energy revolution transports
with revolutionized to first with canals
and improved roads and later with
steam-powered trains and ships there was
a consumer revolution as people in
England and elsewhere started to replace
durable homemade goods with cheaper
mass-produced alternatives Britain's
population grew from 6.5 million in 1750
to 10.5 million by 1800 by 1850 it had
doubled to 20 point 8 million and more
than half of those people were living in
cities these people needed feeding and
more food was produced thanks to the
improved farming techniques of the 18th
century agricultural revolution there
was also a commercial revolution as
Britain exported and imported more Goods
and more food to feed the growing cities
and thanks to long-term changes in land
ownership in the law landowners were now
able to mortgage their land to raise
money to invest in new ventures a kind
of financial revolution the slave trade
and the expansion of Britain's colonies
in the Americas also played a part in
the industrial revolution British
traders sold manufactured goods in West
Africa in return for enslaved Africans
they would transport it across the
Atlantic to work on plantations
that grew sugar and tobacco and these
were exported back to Britain this
triangular trade fueled manufacturing in
Britain and created enormous profits for
wealthy Brits with some of that money
helping to fund new inventions new
infrastructure and new country houses
but it's important to remember that some
of the money invested in industry came
directly from a system that destroyed
the lives of millions of African people
and impoverished Africa for generations
to come
Britain did abolish slavery in its own
colonies in 1834 but even by 1860
England's massive cotton textile
industry was entirely reliant on cotton
produced by three million enslaved
Africans in the American South huge
fortunes were made in the industrial
revolution and many people experienced a
higher quality of life than ever before
but the gap between the rich and the
poor widened and quality of life didn't
improve for everyone many skilled
workers lost their jobs to the Sheen's
and factory workers endured dangerous
conditions six-day weeks and 12 to
14-hour shifts in industrial areas in
the early 19th century the average age
for children starting work was just 8
and a half it wasn't until later in the
century that children under 10 were
banned from working in factories towns
and cities were breeding grounds for
diseases life expectancy was around 30
to 33 in urban areas until 1850 but 10
years more in the countryside poor
nutrition meant that the average height
of British workers actually fell in the
first half of the 19th century
campaigners try to improve the lot of
the working classes eventually securing
advances like free education
restrictions on child labour improved
sanitation and better working conditions
some industrialists made large donations
to charities or built new modern towns
for their workers but despite protests
many working people were denied the
right to vote throughout this period and
reforms were almost always hard-won
ultimately the Industrial Revolution was
a time of great upheaval by the early
20th century
it changed the people the landscape and
the politics of England beyond all
recognition
in so many ways it made the modern world