Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution The change in the organization of manufacturing industry that transformed Britain from a rural to an urban economy. The process began in England in the 18th century as a result of improved agricultural techniques, which freed workers from the land and made it possible to provide food for a large non-agricultural population. A combination of economic, political, and social factors, including internal peace, the availability of coal and iron ore, the availability of capital, and the development of steam power — and later the internal-combustion engine and electricity — led to the construction of factories, which were built for the mass production of manufactured goods. A new organization of work known as the factory system increased the division and specialization of labour. The textile industry was the prime example of industrialization and created a demand for machines, and for tools for their manufacture, which stimulated further mechanization. Improved transport became necessary and was provided by the expansion of the canal system and the subsequent development of railways and roads. The skills acquired during this period were exported to other countries and this helped to make Britain the richest and most powerful nation in the world by the middle of the 19th century. Simultaneously the process of industrialization radically changed the face of British society, leading to the growth of large industrial cities, particularly in the Midlands, the North, Scotland, and South Wales. As the population shifted from the countryside to the cities a series of social and economic problems arose, the result of such factors as low wages, slum housing, and the use of child labour. Similar changes followed in other European countries, in the USA, and in Japan during the 19th century, while in the 20th century Eastern Europe, China, India, and South-East Asia have undergone a similar industrialization process.