The industrial revolution Flashcards
Causes of the industrial revolution?
Increase in scientific knowledge, especially energy. Huge amounts of coal discovered to power factories and machines. Money to invest in factories. Increase in entrepreneurs. Less skilled workers working in farming, and working in more skill-requiring jobs. High birth rate: more people to work in factories. Agricultural revolution. New inventions. Huge, flourishing British empire. Huge navy for trading. Cheap food, raw materials. Steel and iron. Swift running water to power the first factories (water wheels). Importing food that everyone wanted. Political stability. Increase in hygiene (flushing toilet). Age of reason (Boyle and Sir Isaac Newton). Roads and canals built. Invention of the steam engine. Industrial enlightenment (sharing ideas in the Royal Society). Availability of knowledge. Tous (everyone wanted to invent and be a part of the revolution). Political liberty (parliament independent). British population approved, weren’t afraid of the change: believed in the creation of new wealth.
Can you name a scientific discovery?
The theory of natural selection by Charles Darwin.
Can you name an important invention? Explain it.
The steam-powered locomotive. It convinced people that steam power was a good thing, as it was much faster than previous inventions, and inspired many other steam-powered inventions, including factories. People could travel more efficiently and for greater distances. Goods could also be transported better and in much greater quantities. It also allowed for much more flexibility in the placement of factories, which no longer had to be placed next to mine fields or ports to work.
