RENAISSANCE TECHNOLOGY

The period from the mid-14th century to the beginning of the 17th was the age of the
Renaissance, so called because it represented rebirth (re-naitre) of interest in the Greece
and Rome of Classical antiquity.

The Renaissance is regarded today as one of the most creative and glorious periods of
human endeavor. Yet in terms of the history of technology it perhaps does not rank as high as
the Middle Ages with its power revolution and its agricultural innovations. In terms of the
basic inventions and improvements made in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance did little more
than to increase their size and scope. Machines became larger and more intricate and
production increased, but there were few basic innovations. Yet, as we have seen, there
were two major innovations during the Renaissance, i.e., gunpowder and printing, which were to
have immense consequences for the development of Western civilization.

 AGRICULTURE
 WINDMILLS AND OTHER POWER DEVICES
 METALS
 THE RISING STANDARD OF LIVING
 TRANSPORTATION EXPANSION
 TEXTILES
 CLOCKS AND INSTRUMENTS
 WARFARE
 PRINTING

SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

The First Phase: The Renaissance (1440-1540)

In the use of science, by contrast, the Renaissance, marked an era of decisive achievement. The
scientific effort of the early Middle Ages had faded away, largely as has been suggested,
because no practical use could be found for it. The achievements of the Renaissance
navigators did provide just what was necessary - a secure and growing field of application. From
now on science was secure; it had become a necessity for the most vital, active, and
profitable of enterprises - for trade and war. Later it could extend its services to manufacture,
agriculture, and even medicine. The overall importance of the Renaissance was that is marked the
first break-away from the economy, the politics. Science was beginning to make its mark on
history.
The Marriage of the Craftsman to the Scholar
Technicians and artists were no longer so despised as they had been in classical or medieval
times. The enhancement of the status of the craftsman made it possible to renew the link
between his traditions and those of the scholars that had been broken almost since the
beginning of the early civilizations.

1
The Second Phase: Science During the First Bourgeois Revolution (1540-1650)
In the field of science, the period includes the first great triumphs of the new observational,
experimental approach. It opens fresh from the first exposition of the solar system by
Copernicus and closes with its firm establishment - despite the condemnation of the Church
through the work of Galileo. It includes in its scope Gilbert's description in 1600 of the earth as
a magnet and Harvey's discovery in 1628 of the circulation of the blood. It witnesses the first
use of the two great extenders of visible Nature, the telescope, and the microscope.
The Third Phase: Science Comes of Age (1650-1690)
 Foundation of Scientific Societies
 Science Becomes an Institution
 Science Establishment

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473-1543)

• Priest,
mathematician, and astronomer who proposed that the sun was stationary in the
center of the universe and the earth revolved around it.
• Heliocentric model.
• Wrote the book "On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres" in 1543.
TYCHO BRAHE (1546-1601)

• Mapped
the stars.
• Documented a new star or "nova".
JOHANNES KEPLER (1571-1630)
• Developedthe laws of planetary motion.
• He abandoned his perfect circle model and discovered that an ellipse (an oval shape
with two foci) could precisely predict planetary movement.
• Planets do not move in uniform speeds in their orbits.
• Wrote the book "Astronomia Nova" in 1609.
GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642)
• Italian
scientist who was the early practitioner of the experimental method or the
scientific method.
• Contributed to the science of motion through an innovative combination of experiment
and
mathematics.
• The telescope he invented was used to see magnified, upright images on the earth
and published his initial telescopic astronomical observations in 1610 in a brief
treatise entitled "Sidereus Nuncius".
RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650)
• French philosopher and mathematician.
• Wrote "Meditations on First Philosophy" in 1639, in which he provided a philosophical
groundwork for the possibility of science and concluded, "Cogito ergo sum" (I think,
therefore I am).
2
 FRANCIS BACON (1561-1626)

• Being famous for having made an important connection between geometry and algebra.
• Together with Bacon, he stood in the point between medieval and modern science.
• English philosopher, writer, and stateman.
• One of the leading figures in natural philosophy and in the field of scientific
methodology.
• Emphasized the essentially practical side of the new movement, its applications to the
improvement of the arts, its usefulness in bringing about a more common-sense
appreciation of the world around them.
ISAAC NEWTON (1643-1727)

• English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, and author.

• One of the widely recognized as the most influential scientists of all time and a key
figure in the scientific revolution.
• Wrote the book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy in 1687.
• Formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period
during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial
and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s,
manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines.
Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass
production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine,
played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of
transportation, communication and banking. While industrialization brought about an
increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for
some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working
classes.

Britain: Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution

Before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, most people resided in small, rural
communities where their daily existences revolved around farming. Life for the average
person was difficult, as incomes were meager, and malnourishment and disease were
common. People produced the bulk of their own food, clothing, furniture and tools. Most
manufacturing was done in homes or small, rural shops, using hand tools or simple machines.
Facts about the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period between the late 18th Century and early 20th Century,
which saw rapid growth in mechanisation, industrial production and change in society.
Two stages of Industrial Revolution

3
  The first stage of the Industrial Revolution (1770-1870) – Centred on steam, water, iron
and shift from agriculture.
 The second stage of Industrial Revolution (1870-1914) – New technologies of
electricity, development of petrol engine, oil, and greater use of cheap steel.
Key features of the Industrial Revolution
 Population shift – moving from rural agriculture to work in factories in cities.
 Mass production of goods, increased efficiency, reduced average costs and enabled
more to be produced.
 The rise of steam power, e.g. steam trains, railways and steam-powered machines.
 Industrial and scientific discoveries enabled a revolution in our understanding of the
material world.
 Rapid industrialisation had a cost in terms of pollution and poor working conditions for
labour.
Reasons for the Industrial Revolution
 New technologies dramatically improved speed of transporting people and goods. The
first Intercity railway was built in 1830 between Liverpool and Manchester. The railways
enabled more freight to be transported cheaply and quickly.
 In 1700, it took four days to travel from London to Manchester, by 1870, it took four
hours.
 Application of steam engines. The development of the steam engine was critical for the
Industrial Revolution. It enables steam trains, but also steam-powered pumps and
machines, which increased the productivity of labour.
 Agricultural revolution enabled higher food output from fewer farm workers, leading to
surplus workers who could go and work in factories. This revolution in agriculture was
due to new techniques like crop rotation, selective breeding, economies of scale from
bigger farms and better transport.
 Growth in global trade. Helped by Britain’s effective shipping capacity and Empire,
which was a source of raw materials.
Important discoveries/inventions in the Industrial Revolution
 Edmund Cartwright’s power loom (1787) enabled mass production of cloth.
 Steam engine (developed by James Watt 1760s) further transformed the cotton
industry and later steam trains.
 Smelting iron. A new method of producing iron, developed by Abraham Darby (1678-
1717). This new method used coke rather than charcoal and enabled higher
production. Iron was used for building and railways.

4
  Steam train. Richard Trevithick invented the first working steam train 1806. George
Stephenson’s Rocket 1829, important for convincing people of the potential of steam
trains.
 Machine tools. Prior to the industrial revolution, metal was fashioned by hand, which
was very labour intensive. Machine tools, such as cylinder boring tools and the milling
machine, enabled mass production of things like cylinders for steam trains.
 Chemicals. Chemicals, such as Sulphuric acid and sodium carbonate was important in
many industrial processes, such as bleaching cloth, and other products, such as soap,
and paper.
 Cement. Portland cement was important in new engineering products, such as the
Thames tunnel.
 Tarmacked roads. Thomas Telford and John Macadam developed better roads, with
firm foundations, drainage and a smooth surface.
 Telegraph Wire – 1837 invented by Samuel Morse
 Bicycle – 1839
Problems of the Industrial Revolution
 Pollution was a major problem in the industrial revolution, caused by burning coal, high
population density and no regulations on factories.
 The West Midlands became known as the ‘Black Country’ because of its landscape of
dark foundries, furnaces and smoky atmosphere.
 Average life expectancy in 1837 was in the high 30s(1). But, it was lower for those
working in factories.
 Child labour. Many children worked long hours for very low pay. They were also
susceptible to maimed limbs, poor health and early death.
 Higher concentration of workers in new mill towns led poor sanitation and outbreaks of
infectious diseases, such as cholera.
 The slave trades. In the early part of the Industrial Revolution, some industries, such as
cotton were still dependent on the slave trade.
Benefits of the Industrial Revolution
 Although many who worked in factories were poorly paid and suffered bad conditions.
Real wages did rise significantly through the Nineteenth Century.
 Agriculture was given poor returns and farm laborers often very badly paid.
 Life expectancy also rose in the Nineteenth Century, as some diseases, such as
cholera were brought under control.
 First government regulations. The conditions of the Industrial Revolution encouraged
governments to pass laws on child labor and introduce first basic safety legislation.

5
  Education and health care. The terrible conditions of the industrial revolution sparked
moves to provide more education and health care. Local school boards started to offer
free education to your children.
 Movement of people. Prior to the industrial revolution, people rarely moved from the
area they were born. The industrial revolution enabled people to travel further afield.
 Wealth led to philanthropy. Some of the great industrialists who amassed a fortune
from the industrial revolution (e.g. Andrew Carnegie, J.Rockefeller, J.P.Morgan), turned
philanthropist and gave their wealth to charitable projects, such as libraries and health
care.
Western Imperialism

Figure 4.1 SEQUENCE OF PHASES IN THE

DIFFUSION OF WESTERN SCIENCE

The FIRST PHASE of the transmission process is characterized by the European who visits
the new land, surveys and collects it flora and fauna, studies its physical features, and then
takes the results of his work back to Europe.

Second Phase – COLONIAL SCIENCE

colonial science is dependent science. At the phase-2 stage the scientific activity in the new land
is based primarily upon institutions and traditions of a nation with an established scientific culture.

THIRD PHASE - INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC TRADITION

Marked by a conscious struggle to reach an independent status, most scientists will not
personally achieve all of these goals, but there will be general agreement that an overt
effort should be made to realize them.