Industrial Revolution

Industrial revolution

Nowadays we take every product that we use in everyday life for granted as we are used to a mass production world. Before the industrial revolution nobody all over the world ever imagined of mass produced products that can be found a lot cheaper from every shop in town.

Before the industrial revolution there were no machines or tools for mass production, the products that were available in the time were manufactured in small quantities at people’s home with basic tools that used the manufactured by the craftsmen themselves. The basic manufacturing of products inside population homes shifted to a mass production of product in large factory inside developing cities in late 18^th century.

Some of the major changes that the industrial revolution changes in the world that still effects the world today are the mass production of products, larger machinery, wide range of products, specially built machinery , drastic changes in fuel that still effect use today in everyday life. Some other areas which are still improving today because of the industrial revolution are systems of communication and banking.

The industrial revolution had its downside as well as with the increase of production and rise in wealth in the middle class, the working class were suffering from difficult working conditions and hard labor and they were suffering from poor living which also let to overpopulation in some areas which led to even different diseases.

Poor working and living conditions and child labor were part of the downside of the industrial revolution.

Industrial revolution in Britain.

Britain is the birthplace of the industrial revolution alters followed by America. One of the main reasons that the industrial revolution materialized in Britain is the rich deposit of coal and iron core which was essential for the industrialization.

Coal in Britain was very easy to find as it was settled in the surface of Britain coast so it was not a problem to mine for this material. Coal mining was the first mining for the earth’s raw mineral material which later was developed for other materials such the drilling for crude oil and gas that we still use today for fuel and other products.

First coal miners

Before the introduction of coal, timber was the main fuel resource used in Britain. As the population in Britain grew, the demand for timber increased and as it had to be transported further the price of timber was becoming too expensive.

From 1700, Birmingham went from small metal working towns of 700 people to a 9 times larger city that made it the 3^rd largest city in Britain during the time. This is one clear example of what how the industrial revolution was changing to small rural areas.

Early Birmingham before the Industrial revolution

By this progress, the population started to realize that by manufacturing products created more wealth which raised the standard of living for some and the raise in middle class. By the end of the 18^th century, Britain was exporting manufactured goods worth around 2.5 billion pounds across the wold.

For the first time, with more money in people’s pockets, there were more people that were willing to spend money on other products which can make their life more luxurious. This provided entrepreneurs from all over the country to make more money by selling them different goods. By trading with other countries that was possible by the British Empire, new products were emerging on the market.

One example which is still very popular and is a part of our lifestyle today is tea. By trading, Tea came from china with sugar coming from West Indies.

As more products were emerging in the market, shops were opening especial in central London. These companies needed to market their product to increase sales by advertising which started by the help of Thomas Bentley. This was the start of the modern marketing and advertising campaigns which invade our life nowadays.

With the increase of wealth, banks started to operate like we know them today with the introduction of stocks and investments in newly founded companies.

Transport was also making a step ahead as goods had to be transported from a place to another, roads were built by private investors and a charge fee was introduced for the user. This is a practice that is still being used today especially in highways were private investors invest by building the road and then charge a fee that adds up to a considerable amount of profit over the time.

Transportation systems being set up during the industrial revolution for better transportation of goods.

Reference

BBC. (2013). Industrial Revolution. [Online Video]. 24 January. Available from:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhF_zVrZ3RQ. [Accessed: 15 October 2013].

History. 2013. History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution. [Accessed 25 November 13].