Industrial Revolution Flashcards
When was the Industrial Revolution?
1750-1914
What is the Industrial Revolution and what happened before this?
A period of rapid change that started in Europe between 1750 and 1850. Before this, people lived in small villages and made their living from agriculture
Industries before the Industrial Revolution
Small family businesses that ran in houses. The only extra source of physical power was wind, water and animals
Major changes from 1750 to 1850 in Britain
Population x3, less people worked on farms, worked in factories, machinery, transport by locomotives and ships at faster speeds as well as the middle class being introduced
What were the 5 causes of the industrial revolution?
- Agricultural revolution
- Population boom
- Imperial gains
- Slavery
- Technological advances
What was the economy like pre-1750?
Agrarian and handicraft
What is the agricultural revolution?
when people began to grow their own crops instead of gathering seeds, fruits, nuts and berries in the wild, and people domesticated animals and kept them close to where they lived instead of hunting animals only when they needed food
Cause of population growth
Advances in medical science, such as vaccines; women marrying younger and having more
babies; and more babies and infants surviving to
adulthood
Cause of population movement
In eighteenth-centurt London, there were less jobs, so people turned to crime. Lots of prisoners were transported to America. During the nineteenth century millions more chose to emigrate to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand
Why would countries have wanted to establish empires?
It provided a large market for goods that were produced, It was a source of necessary raw materials, Colonies such as Australia and Canada were places to send excess population.
Why might Britain’s empire have played such an important role in the Industrial Revolution?
Easier for their ideas to spread throughout the world
What were the disadvantages of the traditional open-field farming (3 paddocks, 2 used, one unused, rotate every year)?
Inefficient, as 1/3 of the land was unused, weeds and animal diseases could spread easily when everyone was sharing so much of the available land and there was very little opportunity to try new crops or new methods because
everyone had to grow the same crops and work together.
What is the 4 crop rotation method?
Wheat in the first paddock, turnips in the second, barley in the third, and clover in the fourth.
All rotated as normal
Different vegetables helped the next one, and animals didn’t have to be slaughtered in the winter
How did Jethro Tull’s seed drill work?
A hole would be drilled for seeds to be dropped in, the hole would be covered with soil, and the drill moved forward to the next planting position
Why was there an increased demand for cotton in the 1750s?
Increased foreign market for cotton goods, particularly in Europe
What is the flying shuttle?
A device used for weaving cloth. Now they didn’t have to weave by hand. It was very fast, allowing weavers to process fabric much faster than before.
What is the Spinning Jenny?
An efficient spinning device. One person could spin eight spindles of yarn simultaneously. Later models could hold over 100 spindles at one time. The thread still wasn’t strong enough to be used for warp.
What is the water frame?
A machine driven by a water wheel. Produced a stronger thread. Was put into a special building, later called a factory
What is The Mule?
A machine combining the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame. This eventually caused the move to factories
What is the slave trade?
North America transported raw materials to Europe, Europe transported manufactured goods to Africa and Africa transported slaves to America
What caused the demand for coal?
Basic ingredient for iron and for a source of heat instead of timber, as timber was being used for lots of things and is 4 times as expensive
How was iron produced?
Heating iron ore with coal. It was not pure though, as there were many impurities in the coal. So heated coal was used, creating pig iron
What was wrong with pig iron?
Could be brittle
What was the solution to pig iron?
To stir molten metal to bring the carbon near the surface and burn it off, causing less carbon in the iron
