The Industrial Revolution is without a doubt, one of the most significant changes that has occurred in history. The Industrial Revolution began in England because of their large demand for coal and iron. And since they had a large supply of this, England soon began to have to produce vast amounts across all of Europe. In the 1700’s, England was one of the world’s leading producers of iron and coal and was considered as having the most colonial power, due to their newly acquired colonies (American). The colonies provided a market for manufactured products and helped stimulate the textile and iron industries in England. The colonies also gave England all of the resources that were desperately needed due to produce all of the goods that were necessary. In most industries, before the Industrial Revolution, labor was done by hand. This was called the cottage industry.
In the early 1700’s, there was great demand for cotton cloth. In order to meet this demand people needed something to increase their output. This is when the Spinning Jenny and the water frame were invented. These two inventions cut time and expenses in half due to the lesser amount of labor that was needed. These inventions also left a lot of people that wer
Several systems of making goods had grown up by the time of the Industrial revolution. In county districts, families produced most of the supplies that they used, while in the cities merchandise was made in shops, and manufacturing was strictly regulated by the guilds and by the government. The goods made in these shops were limited and costly. The merchants needed cheaper items, as well as larger quantities, for their growing trade. They had to establish another system of producing goods. The cottage or domestic industry filled in the gap for sometime, because it gave the merchants a large supply of manufactured articles at a low price. It provided employment for every member of a craft worker’s family and gave jobs to skilled workers who had no capital to start business for themselves. A few merchants who had enough capital had gone a step further. They brought workers together under one roof and supplied machines. These establishments were factories. The men who controlled these enterprises formed a powerful new class in England called Industrial Capitalist. Due to the laissez-faire, factory owners could arrange working conditions in whatever way they pleased. This caused many problems for workers with working hours, wa