Industrial Revolution Flashcards
(107 cards)
1
Q
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, how does Nick Crafts characterise Britain?
A
as a rich economy with a predominantly rural population, there was inequality but the economy had a surplus beyond basic subsistence
2
Q
Where was the pre-IR economic surplus located?
A
In the top 10%
3
Q
How does Crafts characterise data on the IR?
A
as “best guesses rather than hard facts”
4
Q
How can we describe the labour before/ early IR?
A
families divided their labour between different sectors, factory work was only beginning to replace cottage industry
5
Q
By 1840, what percent of industrial labour remained in cottage industry?
A
60%
6
Q
What did P. Mathias single out as the most important feature of an industrial revolution?
A
‘the fundamental redeployment of resources away from agriculture’
7
Q
How were pre-IR investments distributed?
A
39% to agriculture, 19% to transport, 19% to housing
8
Q
When did manufacturing investment exceed agricultural investment?
A
1820s
9
Q
What percentage of the population did London hold in 1700?
A
11%
10
Q
What role did the size of London play in the progress of the economy?
A
it ‘acted as a stimulus’ to the commercialisation of agriculture and to transport improvements
11
Q
What was the increase in income per head 1700-1760? When did it start to grow significantly?
A
0.3% pa, didn’t grow significantly until 1825-50
12
Q
What is the (broad) traditional interpretation of the IR?
A
That there was rapid growth from 1780+ (based on assumptions on missing evidence)
13
Q
What is the (broad) revisionist interpretation of the IR?
A
That industrial output growth is less than originally assumed (based on available evidence)
14
Q
What is an issue with studying data from the IR?
A
Even if we did have all data for all sectors, there would have had to have been an implausible rate of growth at 4% (1700s) and 6% (1800s)
15
Q
What was occurring domestically in the years leading up to the IR?
A
markets were becoming integrated because of falling transport costs, there was greater specialisation, and rising scale and efficiency of farms
16
Q
In what period were exports rising faster than GDP? Why?
A
1700-1760. Result of specialisation in international trade, and Long term changes on the supply-side
17
Q
How does Crafts characterise the early eighteenth-century economy?
A
‘characterised by quite considerable short-run fluctuations in output and employment’
18
Q
How can we characterise the eighteenth-century business cycle?
A
No regularity because of intermittent shocks such as war, exports dictated imports changes
19
Q
Where does Crafts claim there to have been ‘spectacular acceleration’?
A
In the cotton industry 1760s+
20
Q
What must be remembered when accounting for the rapid growth in iron and cotton?
A
These industries only accounted for 10% of industrial output even in 1770.
21
Q
What is clear if the data is allowed to speak for itself free of historians’ periodisation?
A
growth occurs 1700-1825, mo singled out short period such as the supposedly ‘decisive’ 1780s
22
Q
What can be said about pre/early technological change during IR?
A
Minimal impact to output, but does illustrate the pre-IR inventive activity
23
Q
What are four examples of technological advancements which occurred in the eighteenth-century?
A
Darby’s Coke Smelting (1709), Newcomen’s Steam Pumping Engine (1712), Watt’s Steam Engine (1763), Hargreaves’ Jenny (1768)
24
Q
What is a crucial quote from Nick Crafts on the IR?
A
‘The major transformation had still to come. Yet, by 1780 a start had been made.’
25
Where is the historiographic focus on IR?
On how and why there was an increase in economic growth
26
How did increased economic growth occur? (3 things)
Firstly, by a rise in growth of factor inputs higher than total productivity growth. Secondly, by increased inventiveness (which did not pay off until L18/E19th C). Thirdly, by the matched rise in capital and labour growth.
27
How can we explain why there was economic growth?
Through an analysis of the interaction between capital, labour and investment inputs- and by considering this WITHIN rather than separate of economic structures.
28
Why did Britain have notable savings and investment potential?
Because of a high national income with skewed distribution
29
What can be said about investment by the Napoleonic Wars?
The investment rate was 2x the rate of 1700, moreover, the funding of the wars proves Britain's economic capability
30
What inhibited investment in the early IR?
legislative weaknesses in banking, finance, and companies
31
What made attaining Joint-Stock / Joint-Stock with Limited Liability status hard to achieve and what was the effect?
The 1720 Bubble Act, and that LL status required parliamentary dispensation until 1755. Limited effect because there were alternative means
32
What was the MAIN reason for low investment in the early IR?
the paucity of attractive and profitable projects
33
What have historians often claimed about the increase in technological advancements?
Often claimed in the past that tech advancements are endogenous of the economic system
34
Who claimed that 'developments that were technically so simple can only be responses to social and economic conditions'? What can be said of this?
S. Lilley (1973). If this is the case, inducements to innovate must have been stronger in Britain than. on the continent
35
Who suggested that there were tech advancements because of pressures to move away from scarce sources? What issue did they recognise in their own thesis?
F. Crouzet (1980s), he concedes that this is not a full explanation for why there were tech advancements despite it being treated as such in scholarly thought
36
What is an example of it being easier to prove the economy's impact in encouraging adoption of tech advancements rather than the actual invention?
Coke smelting, it was invented in 1709, but not widely used until the 1770s/80s
37
Regardless of its invention and adopting timescale, what can be said of early industrial technological advancements?
It did create a base of expertise and allow people to realise the potential of advancements
38
How, demographically, were high-income levels maintained?
1500-1750 restraints on marriage, and thus fertility, helped create higher income levels and avert from a Malthusian trap
39
Which historians claimed that preventative checks of delayed and reduced marriage slowed down excessive population growth?
E. Wrigley and R. Schofield
40
Regarding population, what change occurred during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?
The economy became able to withstand demographic pressure because of an increase in investment and innovation
41
What was the maximum level of population growth that could be maintained in Britain without encroaching on the living standards in the period 1550-1750?
0.5% pa was the highest population growth the economy could withstand
42
In the early industrial revolution what role was played by the government / institutions?
The government increasingly effectively allocated resources, and economic and political institutions created adequate incentives and obviated market failures.
43
Who claimed that self-interest based impulses to growth can always be found in studying the eighteenth-century economy?
E. L. Jones
44
What type of political climate in the eighteenth century encouraged economic growth?
The lack of excessive tax and rent seeking, as well as the change in the balance of monarchical-parliament power following the Glorious Revolution
45
What did O'Brien find in regards to eighteenth-century tax rates?
Between 1700-80, the tax rate was between 8.7-11.7% of the national income
46
Where did the burden of taxation in eighteenth-century Britain largely fall?
Because of the taxation system's reliance on customs etc, the brunt fell largely on consumption practice rather than production
47
What 2 types of legislation encouraged economic development in the eighteenth-century to a great extent?
Parliamentary acts of enclosure and the Navigation Acts
48
What has changed in the historiography regarding the perception of road transport?
Where it used to have been negated, we recognise that road transport was much more important than originally thought
49
What is an example of the increase in road transportation during the industrial revolution?
London's carrying trade increased 6 fold in the period 1715-65
50
How many miles of toll roads were there by the close of the eighteenth-century? What did Albert (1983) say of them?
14,000 miles of toll roads, they were kept in a better state and could reduce transport costs by up to 30%
51
In the early eighteenth century, what occurred in the agricultural industry which can be said to be imperative to P. Mathias' thesis on necessary advents for an IR?
The release of labour needed from agriculture was met, while agriculture maintained its ability to meet demands of food in a time of rising incomes.
52
What can we say about the perception of coming structural changes by the end of the eighteenth-century?
They were not readily predictable, but there had certainly been steps towards them.
53
How do revisionists broadly interpret the industrial revolution?
Revisionists broadly interpret the industrial revolution as being gradual, continuous change with no watershed moment
54
Who was the first to challenge the interpretation of the industrial revolution being radical rapid change?
S. Chapman in the 1930s was the first to challenge the rapid interpretation of the industrial revolution
55
How can we show that S. Chapman's criticism of the radical interpretation of the industrial revolution failed?
S. Chapman's criticism of the radical interpretation can be shown to have failed because E. Hobsbawm in 1968 put forward the traditionalist interpretation once again
56
Why did revisionists begin to support a gradualist interpretation?
Revisionists began to support a gradualist interpretation because of changes to the economic tradition which opened up the opportunity to analyse newly framed statistical data
57
How have non-economic interpretations of the industrial revolution changed in the twentieth century?
Non-Economic interpretations of the industrial revolution have also moved to suggest more continuity then previously- demography with cultural reasons being continuous and social with the impact of the IR only heightening existing social practice (e.g. protest)
58
What is the revisionist understanding of the end of the industrial revolution?
Revisionists understand the industrial revolution to have petered out rather than finished; arguing that the actors never achieved political and economic ascendancy nor continually committed to propagating economic growth (yet varying interpretations of IR call this interpretation into question)
59
What is a contemporary source which suggests that the IR was understood to be rapid rather than gradual by the actual participants, thus undermining the revisionist thesis?
A contemporary source which suggests actors of the industrial revolution saw themselves to be experiencing rapid change is Robert Owen who in 1820 noted 'rapid advancement' occurring- this undermines the revisionist interpretation (and also stresses the important of qualitative evidence)
60
What is the post-revisionist interpretation of the industrial revolution?
Post-revisionists such as M. Berg and P. Hudson suggest that the industrial revolution needs rehabilitating because growth and productivity was measured incorrectly by traditionalists and underestimated by revisionists
61
Why are traditional interpretations of the industrial revolution now criticised so heavily?
Traditional interpretations of the industrial revolution are now criticised heavily because of their reliance on generalised, aggregate data which can be based on wide margins of error up to 60%
62
What are the four areas outlined by M. Berg and P. Hudson which arguably underwent rapid change in the industrial revolution?
The four areas outlined by M. Berg and P. Hudson which underwent rapid change in the industrial revolution were (1) technological and organisational change exogenous of factories (2) female & child labour (3) regional specialisations (4) demographic development
63
What can be criticised about N. Crafts suggestion of total factory productivity having slow growth even with agriculture?
N. Crafts suggests that TFP was 0.2% 1760-1801, 0.7% 1801-1831, and finally 1.0% 1831-60- but despite how gradual this was, it was able to withstand population growth and avoid a malthusian catastrophe
64
What can be criticised about N. Crafts interpretation of manufacturing only being significant in the cotton industry?
Three criticisms of N. Crafts interpretation of the cotton industry being responsible for 1/2 of all manufacturing productivity gains can be made: (1) cotton was a small, atypical industry, (2) it assumes that factory innovation is exogenous of economic practise (3) it assumes that all investments were geared towards immediate growth
65
What is one issue with studying the industrial revolution which cannot be mitigated by any historical perspective?
No matter the historical perspective, large areas of economic activity were considered informal and thus not recorded, or records no longer exist
66
What is one interpretation staked by M. Berg and P. Hudson which cannot be wholly convincing or wholly unconvincing?
The interpretation of the industrial revolution developing from a collection of small firms is plausible, but there is little data to support it and vice versa
67
What can be said about flawed assumptions of technological progress?
We must steer clear of assumptions that technological progress always leads to growth, and that growth always leads to production revolution: traditional and modern industry isn't binary- there's fluidity between their characteristics and mixes in each different factory
68
How can we prove that technological progress isn't always a production revolution?
Technological progress can be shown to not always be a production revolution in cotton manufacturing- steam powered spinning was used alongside hand weavers
69
What do M. Berg and P. Hudson assert about modern and traditional industry in the industrial revolution?
M. Berg and P. Hudson suggest that the modern sector was bolstered by, and derived from, the traditional sector, not the other way around, and that these bipartite classification systems undermine the representativeness of historical interpretations
70
What is an aspect of the industrial revolution which goes wholly ignored by revisionist historians?
M. Berg and P. Hudson suggest that revisionist historians completely ignore "IR's" which occurred outside of manufacturing- this can be attributed to the definitional problem outlined by M. Fores
71
What are the three problems of using total factor productivity?
TFP has three problems: (1) it is heavily affected by sectoral estimations (2) how can the IR be calculated on generalisations when factor allocation changes were key to growth (3) it uses restrictive assumptions such as neutral technological progress (i.e. determinism)
72
Why is the claim of neutral technological progress flawed?
The claim of neutral technological progress staked by M. Fores, especially in micro-innovation, is flawed because it is deterministic- innovation is nearly always reactionary rather than preemptive
73
What is an issue with national accounts of productivity?
National accounts of productivity have the issue of not depicting qualitative changes to input factors- e.g. training green labour or less working hours increasing worker output
74
What is a nuance which needs to be considered more than it has been with regard to the redeployment of labour in the industrial revolution?
When studying the redeployment of labour in the industrial revolution, we need to consider that there may be a delay in how this changes effectiveness or productivity?
75
What theories underpin assertions that the effects of aggregate shifts in the industrial revolution may not be immediately apparent?
The contemporary Ricardo's Machinery Effect (1821) and the economist Hicks-neutral technical change both feed into assertions of aggregate change not having immediate effects
76
What is a huge flaw in labour studies of the industrial revolution pre-1990s?
Contemporary, Traditional, and revisionist depictions of the industrial revolution all use too narrow a definition of the workforce- ignoring the full extent of informal employment of women and children
77
What is an issue with the broadened definition of the industrial revolution's workforce which is necessary nevertheless?
Although necessary, considering the employment of women and children is difficult because they were not granted the same rights or protections as male labourers- they are not in formal records or even wage books often
78
Why is the study of women and children in the industrial revolution so important?
Studying women and children is important because, as they were cheaper, more expendable, and less protected, they were the first to have new input changes tried out on them
79
What is an example of contemporary use of child labour?
Child labour was considered integral to effective cotton and silk production i.e. dexterity, nimble, etc
80
When did female and child labour decline and why?
Female and child labour declined 1850+ because of legislation, trade unions, and the ideology of the male breadwinner
81
How can the regional nature of the industrial revolution be shown and what does this say of national studies?
There was regional disparity in the industrial revolution- while generally wool output increased by 150% which seems modest for a 'revolution', Yorkshire's account of output grew from 20% to 60%- more of a 'revolution'
82
Why should we look through a regional lens when considering the industrial revolution?
A regional lens allows a more nuanced and representative interpretation of the industrial revolution because it shows the specialisation which fostered competition and thus rationalisation which then helped national advancement rather than suggesting a macroeconomic implausible national programme
83
Summarise E. Wrigley and R. Schofield's interpretation of population change in the industrial revolution:
E. Wrigley and R. Schofield argue that despite population growth and lack of mortality crises, demographic behaviour did not change and remained rooted in the cultural nature of marriage
84
What is a criticism of E. Wrigley and R. Schofield's interpretation of population change in the industrial revolution?
E. Wrigley and R. Schofield's interpretation of population change obscures regional variations which would be better shown via parish studies- but despite this the myth of national cultural cohesion persists in historiography
85
What is the historiographical focus of 18th century population change and why?
The historiographical focus of 18th century population change is on fertility continuity rather than mortality discontinuity, although M. Berg and P. Hudson concede that urbanisation can obscure this
86
What is an aspect of the industrial revolution which receives less coverage than economic and demographic explanations and outcomes?
Social change and social class also warrants analysis- such as the formation of working class culture and whiggish lassiez faire practise
87
What must be said about the cultural outcomes of the industrial revolution?
Although the industrial revolution did have cultural impacts- such as Victorian preoccupation with health and the formation of working class culture- we can not suggest pervasive homogenous cultures to have developed like Marx claims
88
What must be conceded when criticising traditional interpretations of homogenous cultural outcomes of the industrial revolution?
Although homogenous cultures did not develop out of the industrial revolution, the workforce in Britain was still remarkably different by 1850 versus 1750, and factories certainly still acted as symbols of the emerging society
89
What does R. Hartwell query with regards to the industrial revolution?
R. Hartwell queries was the industrial revolution of the "industry" or the "economy"- historiography cannot agree
90
Who suggests there to have been a take off period 1783-1802? Who criticised this?
W. Rostow suggested that there was a watershed moment 1783-1802, but P. Deane claims this to have been a dramatic simplification because the growth rate only increased from 1-2%
91
What is an issue with E. Hobsbawm's praise of railways as the highlight of the industrial revolution?
E. Hobsbawm's praise of railways as the highlight of the industrial revolution is flawed because it was largely exogenous of "industry"- this is why it is so often referred to as the second revolution
92
How does M. Fores characterise the "Industrial Revolution" and why?
M. Fores characterises the "Industrial Revolution as a myth rather than historical reality because of the varying understandings of what the IR is- suggests there was an ir but not IR, and that historians focus too much on their own abstractions rather than reality
93
Who was the first person to use the term Industrial revolution?
A. Toynbee- an 1880s economist/academic, suggested Britain was the first to adopt Adam Smith's system but that the political system accompanying it was flawed- is this what historiographic definitions should follow?
94
What is a further definitional issue of the industrial revolution?
The industrial revolution's 'technology' and 'science' are equally unclear in their multiple definitions
95
What are the four meanings of "industry" which M. Fores has found in historical studies?
M. Fores found that "industry" could be considered four things: (1) as a sector of the economy (2) as the manufacturing sector (3) as the process of factories coming to dominate (4) as the production of non-traditional, modern life
96
Who claimed that cotton accounted for 1/2 of all manufacturing output and what is the problem with this?
A. Musson claimed that cotton accounted for 1/2 of all manufacturing output, this holds issue because it is too narrow a consideration of "industry"- textiles were atypical
97
Who suggests that the role of the Enlightenment and scientific revolution drove the industrial revolution and who disagrees with this?
J. Mokyr suggested intellectual culture to have led to the industrial revolution by creating the climate for it, but ARE. Allen suggests the opposite- and indeed M. Fores finds no direct points of contact between manufacturing and physics or chemistry
98
What did M. Fores find regarding factories in the industrial revolution?
M. Fores suggests that rather than an Industrial Revolution, Britain underwent an urban evolution- he found that by 1840 the amount of factories was only 1/4 of P. Deane's estimates
99
Why does R. Allen claim Britain to have been the only country capable of having an industrial revolution?
ARE. Allen claims Britain was the only country capable of an industrial revolution because of its unique price and wage structure- suggests that other countries would only adopt advancements when they were perfected
100
What are the two types of innovation which are recognised by historians?
Macro-innovations- i.e. the invention, and micro-innovations, what R. Allen calls research and development /
101
Why did Britain's unique price and wage structure help the innovation behind the industrial revolution?
Britain's unique price and wage structure meant that there was incentive to invent in order to economise on high wages to save prices, and high wages meant that there was an ability to receive better education and training
102
What is an example which proves that Britain's unique price and wage structure was suited towards innovation?
Jacques Vaucanson's 1740 fully automated silk loom was the ideal machine but was too capital intensive for commercial use; and an invention is only profitable to invent if it is profitable to use
103
How can the example of Adam Smith's pin factory show the fluidity of British innovation?
Adam Smith's pin factory is evident in the Warmley Works of Bristol (est. 1750s) which used a Newcomen Steam engine rather than employing wheel turners as on the continent- this increased productivity and cut costs
104
How can the profitability of the industrial revolution's innovations be shown?
The Arkwright mill was more profitable in Britain than in France (40% rate of return versus 9% when a 15% rate was needed for it to increase profit margins)
105
How can the importance of local-learning during the industrial revolution be shown?
Local-learning was a key aspect of innovation and technological change in the industrial revolution can be seen in the work of Messers Smeaton Watt and Trevethick in reducing coal consumption by 95% in steam pumping engines (1727-1860)
106
Who are the two doyens for the endogenous and exogenous explanations of innovation in the industrial revolution?
The doyen for exogenous innovation is J. Mokyr with his study of intellectual culture, the doyen for endogenous innovation is R. Allen with his study of price and wage structures
107
What was the traditionalist opinion of intellectual culture in the industrial revolution? Why is this an issue?
Traditionalist historians often negated the importance of intellectual culture in the industrial revolution, but this can be criticised because the Newcomen Steam Engine was preceded by a 1600s focus on atmospheric pressure, and indeed was invented in 1712- before the normal periodisation of the IR (is this Ricardo effect?)
