The Industrial Revolution In the United Kingdom

Hi All, my name is Andrew Ruhl and this is going to be my research blog; over the coming weeks I will be adding to this blog bits of information concerning the Industrial Revolution and how this period of time saw the rise of both literacy and the access to printed information.

Research Plan:

·                     Outline the specific time period of the Industrial Revolution in Britain

·                     What events lead up to the Industrial Revolution (spirit of the times)

·                     Effect this had on production of literary materials

·                     How this affected people at ground level

·                     How this period effects us today.

·                     Into the future, a fictional blog about where Industry will lead us


* Please note blogs do not appear in a chronological order, sorry for the inconvenience*

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Blog 1: The industrial Revolution:The Industrial Revolution refers predominantly to the period from the 18th to the 19th century where there were major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport and technology.

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This era had a profound effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions, which starting in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spread to Europe, North America, and eventually the rest of the world. The onset of the Industrial Revolution marks the major turning point in human history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to see unprecedented and sustained growth. In the two centuries following 1800, 'the world's average income increased over 10-fold, while the world's population increased over 6-fold'.(1)
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Images collected from Google Images.

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Starting in the later part of the 18th century there began a transition in parts of Great Britain's  manual labor force and saw a move away from draft-animal–based economy towards machine-based manufacturing. It all started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, 'the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steam power fuelled primarily by coal, wider utilisation of water wheels and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity'. (2)
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An early printing press from the 1900's

The development of all-metal machine tools in the first parts of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world, a process that continues as industrialisation. The impact of this change on society was enormous
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Here is a video I found on You-Tube to give a visual of what changes were going on in the United Kingdom at this time.
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It shows the experiences of the people living in this period and highlights the main areas of industrial change which made this period in history such an interesting and yet scary period of history.

Video by:  Brede Værk Museum - Copenhagen: 

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Thanks, I hope you liked my first ever Blog posting:
Date: Sunday 22nd August, 2010.
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Andrew Ruhl
6644724

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Citations:


1. Wikipedia 2010, Industrial Revolution (2010), U.S., viewed 30th of August, 2010  
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution>

2.Yale New Haven Teachers Institute 2010, The Industrial Revolution (2010), U.S., viewed 30th August, 2010 :<http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html>

3.Google Images 2010, U.S., viewed 30th August 2010.
 <http://www.images.google.com>

4. Youtube 2010, [video no longer available] U.S., viewed 30th August 2010.
 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1sZIUY3jrM>

Causes of the Industrial Revolution in Europe/Britain

Britain in the 17th Century saw the utilization of many of Britain natural resources, such as coal and steel production.

European trade hub mid 17th Century

Before we can talk about the Industrial Revolution, we must first take into account the massive lead that Great Britain had over other countries. Some have stressed about the importance of natural and/or financial resources that Britain received from its many overseas colonies (Britain at this time controlled around one third of the world), or about the profits taken from the British slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean. They argue that this helped fuel industrial investment. 'It has been pointed out, however, that slave trade and West Indian plantations provided only 5% of the British national income during the years of the Industrial Revolution. Even though slavery accounted for minimal economic profits in Britain during the Industrial Revolution, Caribbean-based demand accounted for 12% of England's industrial output.' (1)


Also, the freedom of trade from a large merchant base may have allowed Britain to produce and use emerging scientific and technological developments more effectively than countries with stronger monarchies, in particular China and Russia. 'Britain emerged from the Napoleonic Wars as the only European nation not ravaged by financial plunder and economic collapse, and possessing the only merchant fleet of any useful size (European merchant fleets having been destroyed during the war by the Royal Navy).' (2)


Another theory is that the British advances in the mechanization of their workforce was due to the presence of an entrepreneurial class which believed in technological advancement and hard work. The existence of this class is often linked to the Protestant work ethic (see Max Weber) and the particular status of the Baptists and the dissenting Protestant sects, such as the Quakers and Presbyterians that had flourished with the English Civil War. Reinforcement of confidence in the rule of law, which followed establishment of the prototype of constitutional monarchy in Britain in the Revolution of 1688, and the emergence of a stable financial market there based on the management of the national debt by the Bank of England, contributed to the capacity for, and interest in, private financial investment in industrial ventures.

Max Weber 1894

"The affinity between capitalism and Protestantism, the religious origins of the Western world, the force of charisma in religion as well as in politics, the all-embracing process of rationalization and the bureaucratic price of progress, the role of legitimacy and of violence as offsprings of leadership, the 'disenchantment' of the modern world together with the never-ending power of religion, the antagonistic relation between intellectualism and eroticism: all these are key concepts which attest to the enduring fascination of Weber's thinking. "

Radkau, Joachim Max Weber: A Biography 2005. (3)





Here is an interesting video about Max Weber:
Weber's most famous work relates to economic sociology, political sociology, and the sociology of religion. Along with Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim, he is regarded as one of the founders of modern sociology. In his time, however, Weber was viewed primarily as a historian and an economist. The breadth of Weber's topical interests is apparent in the depth of his social theory:

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Citations:


1. Wikipedia 2010, Industrial Revolution (2010), U.S., viewed 30th of August, 2010  
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution>

2. Wikipedia 2010, Max Webber (2010), U.S., viewed 30th August, 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber>

3.Google Images 2010, U.S., viewed 30th August 2010.

 <http://www.images.google.com>

Social Aspects of the Industrial Revolution

In terms of socio economics, the Industrial Revolution witnessed the fast rise of a middle class of industrialists and businessmen over the landed class of nobility and gentry which represented the middle and upper classes prior to the Industrial Revolution.

Source: wikipedia

Ordinary working people found increased opportunities for employment in the new mills and factories, but these were often under strict working conditions with long hours of labour dominated by a pace set by machines. However, harsh working conditions were prevalent long before the Industrial Revolution took place. Pre-industrial society was very static and often cruel—child labour, dirty living conditions, and long working hours were just as prevalent before the Industrial Revolution

During this time living conditions during the Industrial Revolution varied from the splendour of the homes of the owners to the squalor of the lives of the workers. Poor people lived in very small houses in cramped streets.

Conditions did improve during the 19th century as public health acts were introduced covering things such as sewage, hygiene and making some boundaries upon the construction of homes. Not everybody lived in homes like these.

The Industrial Revolution created a larger middle class of professionals such as lawyers and doctors. The conditions for the poor improved over the course of the 19th century because of government and local plans which led to cities becoming cleaner places, but life had not been easy for the poor before industrialization.

Source: Google images

Citations:

1. Wikipedia 2010, Industrial Revolution (2010), U.S., viewed 7th of October, 2010  
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution>

Here is a timeline of events that helped shape the Industrial Revolution. I found it on the internet, and although I did not mention that I would be posting a timeline up in my assignment brief, I thought it was to detailed and to good to pass up.
So here it is, a complete listing of all the main technological advancements to take place from 1563 - 1908.

1563	Rev. William Lee, born at Woodborough near Nottingham, invents the Stocking Frame, a mechanical device for knitting stockings.
1692	Languedoc Canal connects the Mediterranean with the Bay of Biscay. 240 miles long, with 100 locks, 3 major aqueducts, 1 tunnel, and a summit reservoir.  The largest canal project between Roman times and the nineteenth century.
1708	Jethro Tull's mechanical (seed) sower permits large-scale planting in rows, for easier cultivation between the rows.
1709	Abraham Darby uses coke to smelt iron ore, replacing wood and charcoal as fuel.
1712	Thomas Newcomen builds first commercially successful steam engine. Able to keep deep coal mines clear of water. First significant power source other than wind and water.
1733	John Kay's flying shuttle.
1758	First threshing machine.
1761	James Brindley's Bridgewater Canal opens. Barges carry coal from Worsley to Manchester.
1765	James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny, automating weaving the warp (in the weaving of cloth).
1769	Arkwright's "water" (powered) frame automates the weft.
1772	Bridgewater Canal extended to the Mersey, thus connecting with Liverpool. Its success kicks off extensive canal construction ("canal mania").
1775	Watt's first efficient steam engine, much more efficient than the Newcomen.
1777	Grand Trunk Canal establishes a cross-England route connecting the Mersey to the Trent and connecting the industrial Midlands to the ports of Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull.
1779	First steam powered mills. Crompton's "mule" combines Hargreaves' and Arkwright's machines, fully automating the weaving process.
1786	Arkwright puts a Watt engine in the Albion cotton mill, Blackfriars Bridge, London.
1787	Cartwright builds a power loom.
1789	Thames-Severn Canal links the Thames to the Bristol Channel.
1792	William Murdock (James Watt's assistant) lights his home with coal gas.
1793	Eli Whitney develops his cotton gin (a device to clean raw cotton).
1793- 1803	Thomas Telford builds his two great iron aqueducts, over the Dee and the Cierog valleys.
1801	Robert Trevithick demonstrates a steam locomotive.
1803-22	Caledonian Ship Canal cuts clear across Scotland via the Great Glen.
1807	Robert Fulton's Clermont first successful steamboat.
1811-15	Luddite riots: laborers attack factories and break up the machines they fear will replace them.
1821	Faraday demonstrates electro-magnetic rotation, the principle of the electric motor.
1825	Marc Brunel invents a tunnelling shield, making subaqueous tunnelling possible.
1826-42	Brunel builds the first subaqueous tunnel, under the Thames.
1827	Berkeley Ship Canal connects Sharpness (on the Severn) to Gloucester.
1830	The Liverpool and Manchester Railway begins first regular commercial rail service.
1831	Faraday discovers electro-magnetic current, making possible generators and electric engines.
1834	Charles Babbage develops his analytic engine--the forerunner of the computer. Fox Talbot produces photographs.
1837	Morse develops the telegraph and Morse Code. Great Western--first ocean-going steamship.
1838	Daguerre perfects the Daguerrotype.
1839	Fox Talbot introduces photographic paper.
1843	Great Britain--first large, iron, screw-propelled steamship.
1844	Commercial use of Morse's telegraph (Baltimore to Washington).
1846	Pneumatic tire patented First telegraph cable laid under the Channel.
1849	Monier develops reinforced concrete.
1850	Petrol (gasoline) refining first used. Natural Science Honours School established at Oxford.
1851	Singer invents first practical sewing machine. Natural Sciences Tripos at Cambridge.
1854	Bessemer invents steel converter.
1855	Regius Chair of Technology founded at Edinburgh.
1856	W.H. Perkin produces aniline dyes, permitting brightly colored cottons.
1857	Pasteur experiments with fermentation.
1858	First Trans-Atlantic Cable completed Cathode rays discovered.
1859	Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species. Edwin Drake strikes oil in Pennsylvania. Etienne Lenoir demonstrates the first successful gasoline engine.
1860	Science degrees at University of London.
1863	Siemens-Martin open hearth process (along with the Bessemer converter) makes steel available in bulk. Steel begins to replace iron in building: steel framing and reinforced concrete make possible "curtain-wall" architecture--i.e., the skyscraper.
1867	Alfred Nobel produces dynamite, the first high explosive which can be safely handled.
1873	Christopher Sholes invents the Remington typewriter. James Clerk Maxwell states the laws of electro-magnetic radiation
1876	Bell invents the telephone.
1877	Edison invents the phonograph.
1878	Microphone invented.
1879	Edison invents the incandescent lamp.
1883	First skyscraper (ten stories) in Chicago. The Brooklyn Bridge opens. This large suspension bridge, built by the Roeblings (father and son), is a triumph of engineering.
1884	Maxim invents the machine gun, making possible mass slaughter and beginning the mechanization of warfare.
1885	Benz develops first automobile to run on internal- combustion engine.
1888	Hertz produces radio waves.
1889	Eiffel Tower.
1892	Rudolf Diesel invents his namesake.
1895	Lumière brothers develop Cinematograph. Roentgen discovers X-rays.
1896	Marconi patents wireless telegraph.
1897	Joseph Thomson discovers particles smaller than atoms.
1899	Aspirin invented.
1900	First Zeppelin built.
1901	Marconi transmits first trans-Atlantic radio message (from Cape Cod).
1903	Wright brothers make first powered flight.
1908	Henry Ford mass-produces the Model T.

Citation:


1. National University of Singapore 2010, The Industrial Revolution: A timeline (2010), Singapore, viewed, 30th August 2010.
< http://www.victorianweb.org/technology/ir/irchron.html>