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The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a period of global transition of the human economy towards more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes that succeeded the Agricultural Revolution. Beginning in Great Britain, the Industrial Revolution spread ...
- Overview
- Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution
Historians conventionally divide the Industrial Revolution into two approximately consecutive parts. What is called the first Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-18th century to about 1830 and was mostly confined to Britain. The second Industrial Revolution lasted from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century and took place in Britain, continental Europe, North America, and Japan. Later in the 20th century, the second Industrial Revolution spread to other parts of the world.
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history of Europe: The Industrial Revolution
Read more about the Industrial Revolution in the History of Europe article.
How did the Industrial Revolution change economies?
The Industrial Revolution transformed economies that had been based on agriculture and handicrafts into economies based on large-scale industry, mechanized manufacturing, and the factory system. New machines, new power sources, and new ways of organizing work made existing industries more productive and efficient. New industries also arose, including, in the late 19th century, the automobile industry.
The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the following: (1) the use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel, (2) the use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal, the steam engine, electricity, petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine, (3) the invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human energy, (4) a new organization of work known as the factory system, which entailed increased division of labour and specialization of function, (5) important developments in transportation and communication, including the steam locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio, and (6) the increasing application of science to industry. These technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources and the mass production of manufactured goods.
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There were also many new developments in nonindustrial spheres, including the following: (1) agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population, (2) economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade, (3) political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of an industrialized society, (4) sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities, the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and (5) cultural transformations of a broad order. Workers acquired new and distinctive skills, and their relation to their tasks shifted; instead of being craftsmen working with hand tools, they became machine operators, subject to factory discipline. Finally, there was a psychological change: confidence in the ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Oct 29, 2009 · The Industrial Revolution was a period of scientific and technological development in the 18th century that transformed rural, agrarian societies into industrialized, urban ones. Learn about the key innovations in textiles, iron making, steam power, transportation, banking and communication, and the impact of labor movement and child labor.
The Industrial Revolution was a time of great growth in technologies and inventions that transformed rural societies into industrialized, urban ones. Learn about the causes, effects, and examples of the Industrial Revolution from the 18th to the 19th century. Explore topics such as child labor, socialism, and the transcontinental railroad.
Causes. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 1760s, largely with new developments in the textile industry. The spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves could spin eight threads at the same time; it greatly improved the textile industry. Before that time making cloth was a slow process.
The term Industrial Revolution refers to the process of change in modern history from a farming and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The process began in Britain, where the Industrial Revolution was largely confined from the 1760s to the 1830s. From Britain the revolution spread gradually throughout ...
Learn how fossil fuels, steam power, and machines transformed human society in the 18th and 19th centuries. Explore the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and beyond.
