What were the causes of the Industrial Revolution?

L/O – To analyse and understand the causes of the Industrial Revolution

Starter – Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in England first and nowhere else?

Transport Revolution Recap

Where was there an Industrial Revolution?

• There are many reasons or causes why the Industrial Revolution happened:

New Inventions

New Transport Systems

Increased population

Raw Materials

Development of the British Empire

New InventionsSteam-powered machines in the iron industry, such as the steam hammer, could shape huge pieces of iron for making machines, girders, ships or railway tracks.

New Inventions

Many factory machines switched to steam-power.

Steam pumps could now pump water out of mines, allowing deeper mines to be dug. This allowed more coal to be produced, which was needed, in turn, to fuel the steam engines.

Steam engines powered trains and ships. These could carry much larger quantities of raw materials and finished goods across Britain and the world, and in a faster time.

Don’t forget that industries were already changing before the invention of the steam engine.

Increased PopulationThe growing population and the migration of people from the countryside to the industrial towns provided a huge workforce for new industries. Without this the factories could not have succeeded.

The increased population also resulted in many more people needing and buying goods. There was, therefore, a huge increase in demand for these new mass-produced goods.

Increased PopulationHow the British workforce was occupied 1801 to 1871.

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1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871

No.

of p

eopl

e in

mill

ions

Farming

Mining andindustry

Trade andtransport

Professionaland other

Increased Population

Occupations in 1801

Occupations in 1871

How the workforce changed:

Which occupations grew and which declined?

Increased Population

New Transport SystemsAs industry started to change, new transport systems developed to keep factories and shops supplied. In the mid-18th century, the first canals were built to transport raw materials to the factories and to take finished goods to markets.

Following the invention of the steam engine, railways and steam ships transformed the transportation of goods. Costs were reduced and time was saved.

How important do you think the changes in transport were to the Industrial Revolution?

Development of the British EmpireDuring the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain gained control of more and more foreign territories. These colonies helped industry by providing the raw materials that were needed.

What problems would British industry have had without an empire?

The Empire also provided new markets in which to sell Britain’s manufactured goods.

British Empire by 1900

Growth of the British Empire