Unit 4

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND LABOUR

MOVEMENT
 1.- THE ROOTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN

DEFINITION:
It’s called Industrial Revolution to
all the technological, economic,
social and cultural changes started
in Great Britain around 1780.

Traditional economy based on

agriculture or handicraft turned into
industrial production and
mechanisation.
These changes, initially economic,
altered social structures and mindset
of people.
1.1.- Why it started in England?

In the middle of 18th century there were special conditions to start Industrial
Revolution:

Demographic Agricultural Expansion Technological

revolution revolution of business progress
 Agricultural revolution:
CAUSES CONSEQUENCES

•Introduction of a new
cultivation-system: the
Increased the
Norfolk four-course
production of
system in which
food allowing
triennal rotation is
the
substituted for a
demographic
constant crop rotation
development

•Mechanisation of
agricultural work: seed drill,
mechanised harvester..
TRIENNAL ROTATION NORFOLK SYSTEM
Favoured industrial
development :
•Generalisation of the use of • Greater
fertilisers, natural and also production of raw
chemical. materials
• Benefits from
agriculture were
invested in new
industries.
 THE ENCLOSURE ACTS (1845)
CONSEQUENCES

•They were a series of

laws developed by the
It changed the
Parliament to turn
property of lands
common land owned by
so that rich land-
peasants into private
owners could
property owned by those
invest in the
rich land-owners that
innovations of
could afford to pay for
mechanisation
those lands.
in agriculture.
•In order to do this,
peasants were expelled
from their lands and Favoured industrial
these lands were development :
enclosed with fences. • A lot of peasants
lost the land and fell
into poverty.
• These peasants
migrated to cities
and provided the
first factories with
abundant workforce.
 Technological progress : mechanisation
CAUSES

THE FIRST MACHINES are created

in Great Britain: (mechanisms that
imitate a human ability fueled by a
different source of energy than
animal strength)..

Machines will be applied to

PRODUCTIVE PROCESSES
substituting manual jobs.

The first machine in industry

was the steam engine
perfected by James Watt in
1769.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xYk9cmhFHQ
CONSEQUENCES:

•With machines you can

produce more in less
time.

•This made the work

cheaper and the prices
decreased.

•Workshops were
substituted with
factories.
 How was the work in a factory?

There is a new division of labour. The worker

only does a specific task as the work is separated
in phases.

These tasks can be done by unskilled workers

with the help of machines. In fact, the work in
factories was done in many cases by children.

Work becomes something mechanical in a

routine that doesn’t give any satisfaction to the
workers.
 AN EXAMPLE OF THIS: THE ASSEMBLY
LINE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT-mVVprnbs
FORD T MODEL

HENRY FORD
 2. FIRST INDUSTRIES
TEXTILE INDUSTRY COAL AND IRON INDUSTRY

MEANS OF
TRANSPORT
 A).- TEXTILE INDUSTRY:

Raw material: cotton Some of the first machines were the mules.
Also the first factories were textile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7RAlNNgEQQ
Fábrica textil con telares movidos por la máquina de vapor
 B).- COAL AND IRON INDUSTRY

Its dedicated to the Its source of energy is the coal burned in

production of iron. ovens.
It was applied in many areas: construction weaponry, railways, etc.
THE EIFFEL TOWER built in 1889
3.- THE SPREAD OF INDUSTRIALISATION:
During 19th century
industrialisation
spreaded across
Europe, mainly in
France, Belgium and
Germany.

In USA
industrialisation
started from 1840.
4.- ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION

a) Revolution in transport

In 1807 FULTON applied the steam

engine to boats.

Robert FULTON
 The first
locomotive
was built by
Richard
Trevithick in
1804

It was used to carry

coal in the mines
But George Stephenson was the first to build a locomotive able of transporting
people and goods.

George
Stephenson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNn0LC_9imY
 Consequences of the revolution in transports:

•Big load capacity. Transport and

Enabled a great the products
development of inside that
trade and mobility of transport were
people. •Faster travels. cheaper.
 b) Development of capitalism

PARTNERSHIPS
• The capital os a company
is divided in different parts
or shares.
• The buyers of this shares
are shareholders or
partners of that company.
• The benefits (or losses) are
shared porportionally
depending on the
investment of each
partner.
 THE STOCK MARKET

It’s the place where shares are bought and sold.

EDIFICIO DE LA BOLSA DE MADRID

• BANKS → became key parts of the economy.
-> intermediates between individuals
and companies.

Clients put their Banks invest these

savings in the bank savings in businesses