Harold Perkin

In Britain about two hundred years ago, great changes took place in making goods and transport which has moulded the way our world works today. These changes made big differences to many people’s lives and work. This great change in the way people lived is called the Industrial Revolution. It was revolutionary because it changed the productive capacity of England, Europe and the United States. But the revolution was something more than just new machines, factories, increased productivity and an increased standard of living. It was a revolution which transformed English, European and American society down to its roots. Like the Reformation or the French Revolution no one was left unaffected. Everyone was touched in one way or another (add).

The Industrial Revolution implied that man now had not only the opportunity and the knowledge but the physical means to restrain nature. No other revolution in m

When newer and more multifaceted machines were made, it became clear that they would need a skilled worker for the job. Later, when machines were able to make other machines, a great number of mechanics were needed. The workers began to take pride in their work and grouped up to improve the conditions to work in. this was the start of the ‘Trade Unions’.

At sea, steamships were just beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, when the old sailing ships were being replaced. Originally, steam engines were put into wooden ships. At that time, there was less wood, and in any case wood could not produce the heat essential to make iron and steel either in large quantities or of high quality. But at this time the use of coal for changing iron ore into good quality iron or steel was perfected, and this made Britain the chief iron manufacturer in Europe. This happened only just in time for the many wars in which Britain was to battle, primarily against France, for the rest of the century. In 1800, Britain was producing four times as much coal as it had done in 1700, and eight time as much iron (McDowall 2002; 121).

The merchants who had grown rich from the domestic system began to buy the new machines. They built factories to house the machines, and employed workers to run them. The making of the machines themselves became a major industry. Large amount of iron was needed to make the new machines. The increased iron production made it possible to manufacture new machinery for other industries. No one see this more clearly than John Wilkinson, a man with a total belief in iron. He built the largest ironworks in the country (McDowall 2002; 121-129).

It began sometime after the middle of the 18th century. England wanted to keep their industrialization in secret, so they prohibited anyone who had worked in a factory to leave the country. Meanwhile, Americans offered a significant reward to anyone who could build a cotton-spinning machine in the United States. Samuel Slater, who had been an apprentice in an English cotton factory, disguised himself and went to America. He reconstructed a cotton-spinning machine from memory, and then proceeded to build a factory of his own. The Industrial Revolution had arrived in the United States.

The main features involved in the revolution were technological, socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the following:

Before the invention of steam-engines, wind mills and water wheels were used for powering big machinary. The first steam engine in the early seventeen hundreds was mainly used in the mines for pumping out water. A Scottish engineer, James Watt, invented the first workable steam engine in 1782. This invention created a vast new source of power. It was a machine that could spin several threads at one time. Then a mechanical loom was perfected for weaving the thread. This newly invented machine made large quantities of a product quickly and

Some topics in this essay:
Europe United, Industrial Revolution, Stockton Darlington, Unions’ Besides, John Wilkinson, James Watt, Domestic System, John Kay, Revolution England, Manchester Manchester, industrial revolution, steam engine, women children, mcdowall 2002, iron steel, steam engines, industry industrial revolution, improvement transport, domestic system, mass production, run machines, mcdowall 2002 121-129,