Notes

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century when major changes in society happened.

Started in British

18th century there began a transition started with the mechanization of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal.

Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways.

Industrial Revolution varies with different historians. Eric Hobsbawm held that it 'broke out' in Britain in the 1780s until the 1830s or 1840s, while T. S. Ashton held that it occurred between 1760 and 1830

Timeline of British Industrial Development

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1733: John Kay's 'Flying Shuttle' invented; it increases the speed of textile weaving machines

1767: James Hargreaves's 'Spinning Jenny' invented; it greatly increases the output per person

1769: Richard Arkwright's 'Water Frame'

1779: Samuel Crompton takes out a patent for spinning by 'mule'

1780s: 477 inventors' patents registered (in the 1710s there had been only 38) Value of exports from Britain (mostly manufactured goods) top £10 million for the first time (in the

1700s they had been less than £5 million)

1782: James Watt's rotary steam-engine invented; it enabled concentration of power away from fast-flowing streams and thus aided growth of industrial towns

1783-4: Henry Cort's 'puddling' process allowed coal, rather than charcoal, to be the main fuel used in iron refining

1786: Edmund Cartwright's power loom invented; it promises to increase speed of weaving, but is not widely introduced to textile areas until 1820s

1802: The value of exports of cotton goods exceeds those of woollen ones for the first time

Why Britain first?

it is a small country with many navigable rivers and good mineral deposits

Britain has a diverse climate, enabling
good-quality wheat to be grown

Advance in trading

Population doubled in the eighteenth century

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