The First Industrial Revolution (1780-1850)
As late as 1780, almost all work in Europe was done by human beings, using their own muscle power and hand tools. The only other sources of power available were animals and wind and water mills. Most manufacturing enterprises were small workshops, in which employer and employees worked side by side. By 1850, however, large factories using power-driven machinery had become a major part of the European economic system. Factories often employed several hundred workers, and employers no longer had personal contact with their employees. This “industrial revolution” began in England, but the new pattern of manufacturing spread to several parts of western Europe (Belgium, France, Germany) and to parts of the United States by 1850; later in the 19th century, it would affect eastern and southern Europe (Russia, Italy, Spain) and begin to spread to the non-European world (Japan). Wherever the new industrial system took root, it brought about major social changes. The productivity of mechanized industry allowed people to buy a wider range of goods and services, but in return workers were subjected to harsh conditions and began to think of themselves as a distinct “working class” or proletariat, separated from the rest of society.
I. Defining the Industrial Revolution
A. Use of machines to replace human hands or animal power
B. New sources of energy: the age of coal and the steam engine
C. New ways of working raw materials: the age of iron
II. England and the First Industrial Revolution
A. Why England?
1. objective factors: natural resources and geography
2. cultural factors: labor supply, entrepreneurial traditions, a favorable social climate
B. The English model of industrialization
1. rapid technological change
2. the climate of laissez-faire (free enterprise)
III. An Example of Industrial Transformation: The Railroads
A. The Mass Production of Transportation
B. Technological innovation
C. The economic requirements for railroad-building
D. The effects on social life
The Growth of Industrial Production
Cotton consumption in Europe (metric tons)
England France Belgium Germany
1820 54,580 - 1,100 -
1830 112,341 - 3,016 -
1837 165,923 43,789 6,978 10,219
1849 286,335 63,903 10,709 19,815
Iron Production in Britain (long tons)
1788 68,300
1806 258,206
1830 678,417
1839 1,248,781
1852 2,701,000
Leading Iron Producers (1860)
Britain 3,888,000 tons
France 898,000 tons
Germany 529,000
Belgium 320,000
Steam Power in Use (100s of Horse Power)
Britain France Germany
1840 620 90 270
1850 1290 270 260
1870 4040 1850 2480