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The cause of Industrial Revolution - Coggle Diagram
The cause of Industrial Revolution
Transport & Technology
Great prograss
-By 1830, one person could operate several factory machines and produce 3500 times more cloth than a person working at home could have done back in 1700!
-New machines which could be powered by steam and run 24 hours a day.
-Travel became quicker and cheaper.
-Steam trains and canal boats were used to transport goods and raw materials as well as people.
Canals and railways were built across Britain and linked all over a round
Agriculture & Farming
The growing population all needed feeding. There had been inventions such as the ‘seed drill’ which allowed farmers to plant seeds for their crops quickly, in a straight line and then cover them back over with soil.
This helped farmers to produce more food. Improved farming methods led to the soil becoming better for growing crops.
New ideas about how to breed animals led to more and better-quality meat. Overall, the quality and quantity of food improved to feed the growing population.
The British Empire
African people were taken as slaves to work in the Caribbean producing resources such as sugar and cotton – all products which could be sold back in Britain.
Britain’s colonies wanted to buy goods made in Britain such as iron, steel, pottery and cloth. Britain also made a fortune from the slave trade.
Britain could easily bring in raw materials from other countries such as cotton which could be turned into cloth.
Britain controlled countries such as Canada, India and Australia.
Britain built up its vast empire. These were countries around the world that the British had conquered, and the government took over.
By the late 1900s, Britain ruled over 56 other countries – these were Britain’s colonies.
Peacetime
Inventors
Some of the world’s greatest inventors lived in Britain.
They created wonderful machines that did things faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Steam engines and steam trains were developed with the help of James Watt and Richard Trevithick.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a world leading engineer and developed building techniques for bridges and railways. George Stephenson created his own steam powered train in 1814.
Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb and Alexander Bell the telephone.
Britain’s world class education system encouraged inventors like these men and entrepreneurs were more than willing to invest in their inventions to make money.
Population Growth
In 1750, there was roughly 10 million people in Britain. By 1900 there was over 40 million.
With a much better understanding of science, medicine and healthcare, children were becoming healthier and in general, parents wanted more children.
A bigger population meant that there was a demand for lots of different goods. People needed clothes, shoes, plates, clocks, tables….the list goes on.
The places that produced these goods needed to become bigger and so factories started to grow and provided even more work for the growing population – even using children as workers.
Raw Materials
-Britain was rich in some of the world’s most valuable raw materials and fossil fuels of the time.
By 1850, Britain produced two thirds of the world’s coal, half of the world’s iron, over half of the world’s copper and tin (mainly from Cornwall) and half of the world’s cotton cloth.
-No wonder Britain was called the ‘Workshop of the World’.
-These materials could be used to power and build new factories or sold abroad for a huge amount of money.
Banking & Business
-At the time, they will have bought raw materials (such as clay), made it into goods (such as tea pots) and then sold the goods for profit.
-At this time, there were many wealthy men who wanted to take a risk and begin their own businesses.
-Even more, the banks at the time were very happy to lend businessmen money so they could build new factories to make more goods.
-Entrepreneurs are businesspeople who are prepared to take the risk to invest their own money into a business with the hope of making lots more money from it.