About the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.

1. Industrial Revolution In Britain
By-
Kriti
XI-E

2. Contents...
• Industrial Revolution
• Why In Britain?
• Benefits
• Drawbacks
• Conclusion

3. INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION

4. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a technological
revolution occurred in Britain. This revolution changed
the production of textiles and iron-making from manual
labour to mechanical production.
Machines made production faster. More goods were
produced for lower costs. Advances in steam-engine
technology led to a number of industries adopting
mechanisation. As the demand for goods increased,
transportation became more effective.
Farmers moved to the cities to take advantage of higher
paid work in new factories. Although general health care
and food improved, there were many negative social
impacts of the Industrial Revolution. Workers were poorly
paid and forced to live in cramped slums, while factory
owners made large profits and lived in luxury.

5. Why In Britain?

6. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain for a number of
different reasons. There are a large number of rivers
across Britain. These sources of water provided energy to
power water mills, a precursor to steam power. Britain's
waterways also played an important role in the
transportation of goods.
Britain has many natural resources such as iron and coal.
The British were able to use their own reserves of iron
and coal without the need to import them from other
countries. This helped strengthen the British economy.
The political situation in Britain also made it possible for
the Industrial Revolution to occur. Other countries in
Europe were controlled by hierarchical monarchies. In
Britain, there was more political freedom brought about
by a civil war and revolution in the 17th century.

7. Britain being an island was removed from the wars in
continental Europe. Due to stability, peace and prosperity
at home, the British were able to acquire a number of
colonies overseas. Colonies in America and Asia
established new import and export market.
There was a middle class of entrepreneurs who were able
to invest money in new technologies and engineering
projects. The Industrial Revolution was encouraged by a
number of scientists and businessmen. Due to Britain's
more liberal social and political structure, it became
possible for people to rise from poverty to riches during
the Industrial Revolution.

8. Benefits

9. • Before the Industrial Revolution, the British economy relied
on manual labour.
• When the Industrial Revolution occurred, machines were
installed to eliminate the need for time-consuming manual
labour.
• In textiles, mechanical looms and spindles were built. These
machines could produce good quality textile goods in a
fraction of the time taken by manual labour.
• Eventually a steam engine was introduced to work the bellows
to heat up furnaces, allowing more pure iron to be produced.
• Machines made production faster and cheaper.
• To meet with demand, transportation was improved. Roads
were maintained by trustees. Tolls were charged to people
using these roads to help pay for road maintenance.

10. • Railways made transport fast and cheap. Trains were originally
moved by horses. During the Industrial Revolution, the new,
efficient steam engine was installed into trains and became an
essential mode of transportation.
• The Industrial Revolution spread across Europe and the rest of the
world. A number of study groups from foreign countries travelled to
Britain to learn about the advances in technology and economics.

11. Drawbacks

12. • British industrialists built factories for the mass production
of goods. Workers were needed to operate machines and
perform menial tasks.
• Working hours were long. Men, women and children were
employed in factories. In 1802, legislation limited children
to twelve-hour working days.
• Farmers and peasants moved from the countryside to the
cities in pursuit of high wages and new employment
opportunities. A number of large industrial cities emerged
very suddenly.
• Factories and cities created levels of pollution never before
seen.
• The sudden influx of workers placed a major strain on
housing in these cities. Poorly-paid workers were forced to
live in overcrowded slums. Conditions in working slums
were poor. There were few hygiene facilities. There were
large social gaps between poor factory workers, middle
class professionals and wealthy upper class industrialists.

13. Conclusion

14. The Industrial Revolution was a pivotal point in the
history of the entire world. It began in the early 1700’s in
England and quickly spread across all of Europe. There
where new inventions, ways of producing goods, and
techniques in trade and agriculture that changed the
world. It caused major migrations from rural areas to big
cities, due to all of the new oppurtunities that emerged in
those areas. The way that people lived and the way
businesses run where forever changed during this period
of time.
The Industrial Revolution changed the economy and
society of Britain, and the world, forever. Printing presses
increased publications and the level of literacy increased.
Education for children became a government priority.
Gender roles changed as men worked in factories and
women raised children and maintained the home.
General health care and living conditions improved. The
life expectancy for men, women and children increased.