The Industrial Revolution Flashcards
The domestic age industry
Before the Industrial Revolution (1750 & before), people made goods at home e.g. textiles were made using small spinning machines which people had in their houses or small workshops next to their houses.
Revolution
Revolution in history means a dramatic, major change in the way something is done - usually government or economy.
Textiles
Fabrics/ materials and items made out of these
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution is basically when the manufacturing of goods moved from people’s homes (cottage industry) into factories using huge machines powered by water and then steam. This completely changed the way people lived and worked.
Manufacturing
To make goods.
Mass produce goods
To make and produce items on a large scale; to produce a large number in a short space of time. This happened once factories were created.
Urban
Connected to towns and cities.
Luddites
Some people in the countryside did not like the changes to their way of life due to the Industrial Revolution & started to smash up the machinery that was taking their spinning and waving skill away.
Spinning frame
In 1769, a man named Richard Arkwright produced a machine called the ‘Spinning Frame’ which to fit into someone’s homes s new buildings, called factories, were constructed to house these new machines.
Water mill
Early factories were powered by water mills on rivers.
Robert Stephenson
In 1829, Robert Stephenson designed a new steam engine called the rocket. His technology was used to power the first locomotives. Railway lines were built across the UK, connecting industrial cities such as Manchester and Liverpool and enabling factory owners to move products around more quickly.
Cesspit 垃圾坑
Hole in ground for waste.
Cholera 霍亂
Disease caught from drinking water with sewage in it. It killed thousands of people in the 19th century. People had no idea what caused it until the work of John Snow.
Privy 廁所
Toilet; often used by many families in the street.
Water pump
People used to get water from a shared water pump in the street. Sometimes the water pumps were next the cesspits. Sometimes the sewage from the cess pit got into the drinking water & contaminated it
John Snow
During the 1854 epidemic, a doctor called John Snow proved there was a link between cholera and water supply. He realised there was a cholera outbreak amongst people who used the same water pump. He had the handle of the pump removed & the epidemic stopped. Later he discovered the water supply had been contaminated 弄髒 by raw sewage from a leaking cesspit.
Public health
Health & wellbeing of ordinary people.
Epidemic 流行病
A disease that affects a large number of people over a wide area.
Back to back housing
Very poor quality, cheap housing built by factory owners for the factory workers. They were cramped & had little space. They were terraced 使成梯田 with a tiny alley in between rows of houses.
Joseph Bazalgette
He designed a new sewage system in London meaning waste water could be safely taken away from the cities.
What was life like in factories?
It is tough. It’s very noisy and dusty inside which made people deaf and sick. Workers including children, worked long hours in crowded and unsafe conditions. They got low wages since most factory owners wanted to pay as less as possible. Additionally, they faced poor living conditions as long as factories owners only care about making a profit, not providing a comfortable place to live for them (back to back housing). Plus, most machines did not have safety guards and workers did not have a protective gear to wear.
What were the problems in towns in the 19th century?
There’s lots of problems.
1. Sewage trickled down the streets and into nearby rivers. Most families washed themselves in & drank water from the same rivers & so disease thrived in towns.
2. None of the houses had toilets indoors so many families used a bucket in the corner of a room. This would be emptied into the street.
3. The average life expectancy was 30. In some larger, dirtier towns it was much lower. E.g. in Leeds, the average life expectancy for an industrial working man was 19.
Describe 2 problems that were caused by the rapid growth of towns in the Industrial Revolution. (4 marks)
- Since there’s lots of people came to town and worked in the factories, they had to live somewhere to live. Factories owner built huge amount of cheap and poor quality back to back housing to rent for their workers. The back to back housing were cramped and overcrowded with many people sharing a one since the factory owners more interested in profit.If there were too many housing, it could lead to overcrowding, increased traffic congestion 擁堵.
- The increase use of coal as fuel, to power machinery and in the manufacturing of ion. Using so much meant that for the first time there was air pollution. Before this, water in particular was used for power. This caused problems because it was at this time that we started to damage the environment by burning fossil fuels and pollution was particularly bad in big cities such as London.
In what ways were the lives of people in Britain affected by the rapid growth of town? (8 marks)
In the 19th century, there were so many people move to towns and worked in factories. They washed themselves in the river and drank water from the river. It would be filthy and this is why cholera happened. Thousands died until John Snow discovered that. Contaminated water led to Cholera outbreaks. Subsequently, there was no rubbish collection, little bans, street cleaners, sewers or fresh running water.
