The Industrial Revolution

Question 1

Important Sources

Answer 1

1. Ashton (1955): industrial revolution definition
2. Allen (2009): demand-side of why 1st industrial revolution was in Britain
3. Mokyr (2002): supply-side of why 1st industrial revolution was in Britain
4. Allen (2011): why first industrial revolution was British
5. Mokyr (1998): second industrial revolution

Question 2

What is the term ‘Industrial revoution’?

Answer 2

A wave of gadgets [that] swept over England (Ashton, 1955)

Question 3

What are the economic changes brought by BOTH Industrial revolutions?

Answer 3

(1) mechanisation of production that enables LARGER QUANTITIES OF GOODS (mass production),
(2) New sources of POWER emerged (steam engines, electricity and internal combustion engine) and replaced human/animal power
(3) emergence of new and faster forms of TRANSPORTATION: steam ships and steam trains then underground trains, bicycles and cars,
(4) revolutionary changes to the SYSTEMS OF PRODUCTION as it allowed the scale of production to grow,
(5) ALTERED LABOUR STRUCTURE and living conditions as it led to the growth of cities and a shift from employment in agriculture to the manufacturing sector

Question 4

What are the social changes brought by BOTH the industrial revolutions?

Answer 4

1. Growth of cities (farmers moved to towns in search of jobs) causing overcrowding, population density increasing, consumerism (buying things you don’t need), crime rates (thievery) and low standards of living
2. Alienation from your true self as work was just repetitive tasks that lacked purpose and left no space to develop yourself or ideas

Question 5

What are the factors that made the first industrial revolution occured in Britain?

Answer 5

Allen (2011):
Correlations:
1. Geographically accessible cheap coal and cheap energy (inputs of production) lowered capital costs allowing British firms to pay high wages and still make a profit -> Factor price frontier from neoclassical economics where wage levels can be maintained so long as other inputs cost lower
2. 1825: High wages in UK @ 18 grams of silver per day relative to other countries like Netherlands (9 grams of silver per day), Italy and Beijing (3 grams of silver per day) translated to high standards of living (purchasing power) and raised Britain’s labour productivity.
3. Incentivised firms to invent technology that made production more efficient and less reliant on labour

Question 6

Demand-side explanation on why did the Industrial revolution first occured in England?

Answer 6

Allen (2009):
1. Labour demanded for high wages
2. Reduced firm’s profits, raising demand for labour-reducing technologies to substitute labour with capital
3. With access to cheap coal and energy, firms adopted labour-saving machinery, making greater profit after reducing dependency on labour

Question 7

Supply-side explanation on why did the Industrial revolution first occur in England?

Answer 7

Mokyr (2002):
1. The Enlightenment period (17th-18th century): pursuit of reasoning and science as opposed to superstition and religion (invention example: Jenner (1796) first vaccine for smallpox using cowpox)
2. A supply of highly-skilled craftsmen in Britain were able to adapt, improve and tweak new technologies to provide micro-inventions that made macro-inventions productive (e.g. high pressure steam engine, production techniques of cotton used to other fabrics, knowledge in chemistry and physics applied in manufacturing and agriculture after 1840)
3. Institutions support for emerging technologies -> patents

Question 8

When did the First Industrial Revolution occur?

Answer 8

1760-1830

Question 9

What were the main industries of the First Industrial Revolution?

Answer 9

1. Textile industry (key sector)
2. Iron and steel industry
3. Mining
4. Machine making
5. Transportation

Question 10

Elaborate on the textile industry during the First Industrial Revolution

Answer 10

1. Spinning (yarn-making process):
   Old spinning technology: 50,000 hours to spin 100 pounds of cotton
   1790s new spinning technology: 300 hours to spin 100 pounds of cotton
   = 99.4% hours saved thanks to mechanisation
2. Weaving (process of converting yarn to cloth):
   1760s: 18 labour hours to convert 1 pound of cotton to cloth
   1860s: 1.5 labour hours to convert 1 pound of cotton to cloth
   = 91.67% less labour hours needed

Key Inventions:
1. Spinning Jenny (one worker can spin the wheel yet spin more cloth because of the 8 spindles) -> improved labour productivity
2. Arkwright’s water frame (spinning machine that can operate 96 threads at a time running on water power) -> produced stronger and harder yarn than the spinning jenny, made spinning by hand obsolete
3. Spinning mule (spun cotton in 1,320 spindles to become yarn and could spin them into different types and qualities)

Question 11

Economic implications of the First Industrial Revolution on the Textile Industry

Answer 11

English cotton textile industry previously relied on human labour and non-mechanised technologies for yarn production
Adoption of mechanised technologies
-> possible to spin significantly more yarn in a shorter period of time
-> long-run made cotton textiles cheaper and more affordable
-> enabled Britain to flood international markets with British-made cotton textiles

Question 12

Elaborate on the iron and steel industry in the First Industrial Revolution

Answer 12

Iron ore was found in the same location as coal -> accessible by Britain
Steel: essential input for (1) machine-making and (2) building of railways
Bessemer refining process (1856): oxidises impurities of molten pig iron
-> decreased steelmaking costs
-> enabled mass production of steel needed for durable machinery and to construct railroads for steam trains

Question 13

Elaborate on the mining industry in the First Industrial Revolution

Answer 13

Regions in Europe that had access to coal (and iron ore) tended to industrialise first, such as north England, north-eastern France, Belgium, and Rhineland of West Germany
Britain: first to switch from charcoal to coal in ironmaking bc (1) access to easy and thus cheap coal through coal mining and (2) coal and iron ore were found in the same locations

Question 14

Elaborate on the transportation industry in the First Industrial Revolution

Answer 14

Watt’s steam engine
Initially to pump water out of coal mines
Then to machine making
Eventually adopted steam engines to create steam trains and steam ships
Access to coal mattered bc: transportation’s steam engine needed coal for fuel

Question 15

What were the main changes in the First Industrial Revolution?

Answer 15

1. Structural shift from small villages to growing industrial towns
2. Growth of industrial sector, declining share of agricultural employment, with factories recognised as the new production unit (formerly households)
3. Increased use of raw materials for production (e.g. coal)
4. Inanimate power to replace human and animal power
5. Innovation in processes of production and products themselves (through quality)
6. Changes in transportation (steam trains and steam ships) and communication (telegraph in 1837)

Question 16

When did the Second Industrial Revolution occur?

Answer 16

1870-1914

Question 17

What were the major changes that occured during the Second Industrial Revolution?

Answer 17

Mokyr (1998):
1. Expanded successes of first industrial revolution as many 2nd industrial revolution innovations had roots in early 19th century to wider range of activities and products (e.g. iron and steel in ships, Bessemer refining process applied to buildings, machines and weapons)
2. Rise of the chemical industry for agriculture, food and health which reduced infant mortality in France by 50%, death rates in Europe and raised life expectancy in UK from 40 to 50 years old
3. Development of electricity (alternating current) which was applied to household technologies (lightbulb and refrigeration), factories (machine), and transportation (automobile engine)
4. Development in transportation (iron and steel ships, bicyles and automobiles) -> travelling greater distances, made horses obsolete
5. Technology reached daily lives of working and middle class -> standards of living increased -> productivity increases
6. Industries with huge economies of scale expanded the most (e.g. chemical industry and oil refining) bc cost per unit of ouput declined as production increased

Question 18

What were the new products and industries developed in the Second Industrial Revolution?

Answer 18

1. Chemical industries
2. Electricity
3. Transportation
4. Production engineering
5. Agriculture and food processing
6. Other manufacturing sectors (Textile and IT)
7. Household Technology & Human Welfare

Question 19

Elaborate on the chemical industry in the 2nd IR

Answer 19

1. Artificial dyes: magenta, alizarin and indigo
2. Fertilisers:
   Germans took lead bc chemical processes complexer in agriculture than manufacturing meaning better theoretical knowledge was needed, institutions that did agricultural research were also subsidised by the state
   Key discoveries:
   1) Nitrogen fertilisers
   2) Haber process (1908): convert ammonia to nitric acid -> allowed German to keep producing nitrates for fertiliser and explosives in WWI even after nitrate supply cut from Chile
   Most important invention bc used nitrogen and hydrogen (abundant) for fertiliser and explosive industries
   3) Potassium: from potash by burning wood
3. Synthetic materials key discoveries:
   1) Vulcanisation process of rubber (1839) -> enabled widespread industrial usage of rubber
   2) Synthetic plastic called celluloid (1869): combs, knife handles, piano keys and baby rattles
4. Pharmaceutics industry (where large gains in wellbeing were achieved at low cost):
   1) Anesthetics (1853) to give birth
   2) Disinfectants and antiseptics for infectious wounds
   3) Acetyl component of salicylic acid -> Aspirin (pain reliever)
5. Dynamite (by Swedish chemist)

Question 20

Elaborate on electricity in the 2nd IR

Answer 20

1. Improvement in arc lamp (1876) -> replaced gas light in factories, streets, railway stations and other public places
2. Modern lightbulb (1879)
3. 1890:
   1) alternating current was preferred than direct current bc Tesla’s polyphase motor and Gaulard-Gibbs’ transformer solved technical problems whereas direct current couldn’t address uneconomical transmission
   2) came a series of microinventions that improved reliability and durability of product and reduced cost of production
   e.g. 1900: incandescent lightbulb cost 1/5 of 20 years ago and is twice as efficient
4. David (1990): factories slowly adopted electricity as a form of industrial power -> didn’t realise potential of cutting costs, reducing negative externalities and improving manufacturing productivity

Question 21

Elaborate on transportation in the 2nd IR

Answer 21

Train:
1. Microinventions led to railroads becoming faster, safer and more ergonomic
2. Diesel engine (1897): used compression-induced combustion
Ships:
1. Iron and steel ships compared to wooden ships were larger, stronger and faster at unprecedented rates
2. Steam turbine (1884): rotary motion of turbine compared to old marine steam engines were more efficient, faster, cleaner, and quieter
New Inventions/Processes:
1. Bicycle (1885): optimal design of bicycle in terms of speed, comfort, safety, elegance and price
2. Benz Patent Motor Car (1886): first automobile

Question 22

Elaborate on production engineering in the 2nd IR

Answer 22

1. Interchangeable parts (parts that can switched with each other): a method of producing goods and services that required high levels of accuracy and quality control in manfacturing
   -US gradually adopted mass production methods followed by Europe after 1865 in firearms, clocks, pumps, locks, typewriters, sewing machines and soon after engines and bicycles
   -Diffusion in Europe slowed down bc
   (1) demand for distinctive high-quality goods, keeping consumers faithful to skilled artisan
   (2) labour resistance as they realised mass production would make their skills obsolete
2. Continuous-flow Production: workers remained still while tasks moved to them
3. Henry Ford’s automobile assembly plant: combined interchangeable parts and continuous flow processes, allowing mass production of a complex product (selling almost 250,000 model T yearly by 1914) while simultaneously keeping prices low enough to be a people’s vehicle

Question 23

Elaborate on agriculture and food processing in the 2nd IR

Answer 23

Agriculture
1. Barbed wire: general purpose technology in agriculture was site- and crop specific (not all farms were able to adopt it
2. Fertilisers: nitrates and potassium raised agricultural productivity in European agriculture
3. Bordeaux mixture: fungicide
4. Agriculture mechanisation: slow because of lack of power substitutes. Power sources had to be brought to production site (ie land)
Farming activities remained dependent on draft animals
5. Internal combustion engine: adopted into tractors to mechanise farming

Food Processing
6. Food-canning: improved by Louis Pasteur by changing cooking temperature
-> provided food supply for armies during American Civil War and increased consumption in vegetables, fruit and meat in rapidly growing cities
7. Frigorifique (1876): first refrigerated ship
-> enabled beef, mutton and lamb from South America and Australia to be shipped to Europe by 1880s

Question 24

Elaborate on other manufacturing sectors in 2nd IR

Answer 24

Textile:
1. sewing machine: 500% increase in productivity (Schmiechen, 1984), kept struggling domestic workers occupied and created system of sweatshops
2. automatic loom: weaving machine widely adopted in US in the next 2 decades
= Britain’s textile industries had lost their position at the cutting edge of technology

Information technology:
1. Typewriter
2. Telephone
3. Wireless telegraphy

Question 25

What’s the harm of the Second Industrialisation?

Answer 25

1. Industrialisation led to urbanisation (population density shrunk)
2. Concentration of large number of workers in dangerous and unpleasant factories and mines
3. Alienation
4. Traditional communities broken up by large waves of emigration
5. New technologies (steel, chemicals, explosives, barbed wire, internal combustion engine and mass production) attributed to WWI

Question 26

What’s the benefit (with proof) of Second Industrialisation?

Answer 26

1. Incomes were rising
2. Work-hours slowly reduced
3. Nutrition and housing were slowly improving
   Evidence:
   1870-1914 infant mortality declined by 50% in France
   Life expectancy at birth increased from 40 to 50 years in Britain (bc of rising incomes, accessiblity to food, housing quality clothing, water, sewage and medical care increased too)

Question 27

Elaborate on household technology and human welfare

Answer 27

Household technology
allowed economic agents to:
-cook food
-sew clothing
-take care of babies and the elderly the way they knew that time

Human welfare
reduced death rate after 1870 by:
-growth in understanding nature of infectious disease thanks to Pasteur, Koch and associates
-establishing preventive techniques for infectious diseases
1) filtering, boiling and chlorination of water
2) proper cooking, cleaning and preservation of food

Question 28

What were the factors that enabled industrial revolution?

Answer 28

1. Technology: GPTs
2. Demography: Demographic Transition Models