Week 6 - The Industrial Revolution

Question 1

Define the Industrial Revolution and identify the broad timeline and geographical elements of it.

Answer 1

*Process of change: agrarian society to industrial society
urban living replaced rural and agricultural existence
*Mechanization of manufacturing processes - lead to standardization of machinery and parts in factories around the world
*First Industrial Revolution (1750s – 1830s) - UK, primarily started in textile manufacturing and then expanded to other industries
*Second Industrial Revolution (1830s – 20th cen.) - increased industrial mechanization in places such as US/Can and late era industrial capitalism
- 1st IR for Canada started around 1830s in maritime provinces, spread later in 19th and 20th centuries particularly around the time Canada became a country

Question 2

Identify why Britain was the first country to undergo an Industrial Revolution, and recognize what factors contributed to this.

Answer 2

The first country to undergo a revolution was Britain, for several reasons, including:

• the accumulated effects of their agricultural revolution (mid 18th to mid 19th century large increase in food production sustained expansion and boosted trade, less farmers needed because of increased use of machines);
• a large supplies of coal to power steam technology;
• the geography of the country, which facilitated a vast shipping culture;
  -a positive and peaceful political climate that permitted investment and financial confidence
  -Britain won the colonial contest, and had a vast colonial empire that provided economic resources.

Question 3

Identify and recognize the timeline and key developments of the Industrial Revolution and the factors that contributed to Europe’s early industrialization.

Question 4

List and describe the technological and infrastructure developments brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

Answer 4

• use of new basic materials, i.e. iron and steel
• industrial application of other materials such as coal and steam
• better materials and richer fuels contributed to industrialization by creating steam engine that used coal and iron, integral machine that powered factories, locomotives, and ships
• new energy sources; from organic methods (i.e. horse drawn forms of transportation) to inorganic forms such as electricity, petroleum, coal, steam, internal combustion engine
• hallmark of industrial revolution was application of manufacturing technology to creation processes
• new machines like spinning jenny used to create textiles at a much quicker pace in places like Toronto
• new modes of organizing production i.e. from home to the factory
• new modes of transportation - i.e. rail transportation powered by coal ans steam
  -Application of science to industry i.e. scientific production management approach that moved production scale to more of an assembly line style, timing and monitoring time to produce goods on these assembly lines, taylorism

Question 5

Identify how everyday experiences and material goods have been influenced by the Industrial Revolution.

Answer 5

Many of the modern conveniences we experience today–including cheap consumer goods, automobiles, and electricity–are a direct result of the developments of the Industrial Revolution.

Question 6

Identify and recognize the social and environmental impacts of the Industrial Revolution.

Answer 6

• population growth, urbanization, migration
• people began working outside the home in larger numbers than before, resulted in decline of cottage industry (style of manufacturing where people worked inside their homes as a domestic unit)
• increase in production outside the home and deskilling of working class due to need for widespread labour in factories
• this influenced rise of child labour, where children were regarded more as workers, which persists in modern day in some regions around the world
• Growth of middle classes; rising income inequality - “The Great Escape” (desire to leave increasingly polluted/diseased cities and escape for leisure and health purposes)
• Communication and consumer revolution along second wave
• Improved quality of life for many around the world
• Emergence of public health initiatives to try to curb pollution created by factories - led to increased sanitation efforts/research into causes & spread of infectious diseases

ENVIRONMENTAL
- Myth vs reality; humans just began to alter the environment, but human generated climate change has been recorded across time i.e. deforestation during ancient Greece approx. 500 BCE continued with Romans
-Resource extraction and depletion
-Habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, mass extinctions. from over hunting/fishing
-Water, air, and sound pollution. i.e. in London where waste was dumped into the river Thames (e.g. The Great Stink of 1858 drove people out of London; Killer Fog 1952 resulted in 10 000 deaths from air pollution)
-Infectious diseases in industrialized areas– cholera from spoiled water, smallpox, typhoid fever, the bubonic plague.
-Increased carbon emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels.
-Contaminated food chains (due to micro plastics) and industrial waste.

Question 7

Identify the timeline and regional specifics of Canada’s Industrial Revolution