The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

Why in England and western Europe and not somewhere else in the world?

How is it that all these forces came together in England and not in France, Spain, or Germany?

Causes

Population growth Agricultural revolution Expansion of trade Openness to innovation

Population Growth Population begins

to grow especially in England

What are some possible explanations for this growth?

Is the population more urban or rural?

Population Growth Agricultural Revolution

Acceptance of potato 2-3 more times

more food per acre than the crops it replaced

Turnips, Legumes, and Clover Easy on soil Feed animals (milk

available)

Population Growth

Agricultural Revolution Leads to: More dependable food supplies Ends cyclical famine Better nutrition leads to longer lifespan More positive outlook on life

Population Growth Dependable food supplies + good job

opportunities = Younger average age of marriage Earlier marriage increases the birthrate

per couple Early 19th century 40% of England

under the age of 15 Migration from countryside to cities

General Enclosure Act of 1801

Thomas Malthus “The glass is always half full” Population checked by

disease, famine, and war

Workers falling wages due to the inevitable crisis large populations face

Need to improve their condition by practicing self-restraint and abstinence Marry later to

decrease birth rate

Changes in Trade

Bettering Transportation Cottage Industries Sweet Tooth for Europe

Sugar Cane from plantations most profitable item in international trade

Openness to Invention Prizes offered for

inventions that would solve major problems Method for determining

longitude while sailing What is the belief that

human beings can understand the world around them called?

What were some of the discoveries or inventions that allowed Britain and the rest of the world to expand their production?

Great Britain More “fluid” society

Less centralized government Fewer bureaucrats and officials to stand in the

way Put new technology into practice faster

than anywhere else in the world No barriers between trade within country

leads to regional specialization

Great Britain

Largest Merchant Marine Who had previously held this distinction?

Great water travel Participation in commercial trade

higher than other countries Why is this true? What are some factors

that lead to this? Patent system

Continental Europe

What were some of the factors that kept the continental European states from achieving the same level of success as the British?

Outcomes

Rich get richer and the poor get poorer

England becomes the major power in Europe through its successful trade

Capitalism beats out mercantilism as the way to run a country