SCALE OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

• What geographic factors helped Britain industrialize first?

  • they were an island and therefore easy to defend
  • relatively peaceful
  • island was flat, so it was easier for for goods to transport and build canals and railroads
  • britian had a lot of coal available 
• What factors held back early industrialization in China and Japan?

  • Japan had various mountains
  • The coals in China were far from cities and places where factories were likely to be built
• What social factors helped Britain industrialize first?

  • Favorable demographic situation with rapid population growth providing a large workforce
  • Rise of a wealthy middle class with political power and investment capabilities
  • Enclosure movement leading to the consolidation of land and the emergence of capitalist agriculture
• How might the institution of slavery have helped cause industrialization?

  • Slavery provided cheap labor and raw materials, particularly in the production of goods like cotton
  • The profits from slave-based industries fueled investment in industrialization and infrastructure
  • Slave-based economies created markets for manufactured goods, driving industrial growth
• Other than plantations, what global advantages did Britain have?

  • Access to abundant natural resources, including coal and iron, crucial for industrial production
  • Geographic location facilitated trade and maritime dominance, contributing to the growth of British industry
  • Political stability and a conducive legal framework for commerce and innovation
• Industrial Revolution


  Led to the emergence of capitalist economic systems, marked by private ownership of means of production and profit-driven enterprise
• Industrialization

  Fueled the rise of liberalism, emphasizing individual freedoms and free-market principles
• Institutions

  Factories, banks, and corporations were established to accommodate the needs of industrial society, shaping social and economic structures
• Scale of industrialization

  • Transformed labor relations, urbanization patterns, and class dynamics, laying the groundwork for modern economic and social systems
• • Canals and railroads were needed for moving coal from the various places it was found to the cities and factories where it was used as fuel
• Favorable Demographic Situation

  • Rapid population growth in eighteenth-century Britain, due to declining death rates and increasing birth rates, provided a large pool of available workers for factories
• Enclosure

  • Agricultural land, previously occupied by farmers, was bought up by merchants who raised sheep for wool production, leading to the enclosure process, which was faster in Britain than in other parts of the world
• Agricultural Revolution

  • Seventeenth and eighteenth-century advancements in farming, including improved tools, methods like crop rotation, and other innovations, increased food production with less labor, preceding the birth of modern factories
• Shift from Self-Sufficiency to Consumerism


  • Factory work replaced self-production, leading to increased demand for factory-made goods like clothes and furniture
• Rise of Middle Class

  • The growing middle class, consisting of merchants and property owners, drove industrialization with their increasing demand for industrial goods and their political power, particularly in Britain's parliamentary system
• Government Support

  • Laws passed by the middle class in parliament protected property and favored industrialization, making investment in new factories and properties safer in Britain
• Financial Support for Innovation

  • The middle class invested in innovation, funding inventors and tinkerers who created the machines crucial for industrialization
• • british merchants and leaders made a lot of money from the atlantic slave trade and could invest that money into inventions and factories 
• • the african scale labor might have inspired industries
• Colonial Resources Vital for Industrialization

  Lumber from North America, cotton from North America, wool from Australia, and foodstuffs like Caribbean sugar, American beef, and North Atlantic cod were essential for British industry and sustenance
• Influence of Agricultural Revolution

  Adoption of new crops from the Americas, such as potatoes and corn, played a significant role in the agricultural revolution preceding industrialization
• • Trade Driving British Production

   By the early nineteenth century, Britain emerged as a leading trading power with a vast navy protecting its trading fleet, particularly in textile exports, which fueled industrial growth
• Expansion of British Ports and Railways

  Ports like Liverpool, London, Glasgow, and Bristol expanded rapidly, providing employment opportunities and facilitating the transportation of goods, further driving industrialization
• Combination of Factors

  Industrialization resulted from a combination of global and local factors, emphasizing the need to consider multiple scales of analysis for a comprehensive understanding of historical events