European industrial revolution
European industrial revolutionThe European Industrial Revolution was a time of drastic change. In England it became a transformation from hand tools and hand made items to machined and mass-produced goods. The growth of factories replaced the cottage industries and spawned the development of cities. Growing cities and factories led to changes in transportation, labor, and working conditions. These changes generally helped workers lives, even though initially there were more negatives than positives.
Before the Industrial Revolution England's economy was based on its cottage industry. Workers would buy raw materials from merchants, take it back to their cottages, hence the name, and produce the goods at their homes. This industry was efficient but the workers productivity was low. Subsequently, goods were high in price and exclusive to only wealthy people. The Industrial Revolution meant factories could mass-produce items at much lower costs than the cottage industries, making goods more affordable to consumers.
With the invention of the steam engine, a shift from rural waterwheels to steam engines as an industrial power source facilitated the emergence of factories and industrial cities. Factories started the process of urbanization by causing people to leave rural sectors and move to the cities looking for a better life. The increase in population in the cities caused overcrowding, pollution, and thus became a breeding ground for communicable diseases. Cities had a snowballing effect developing new business. New and improved transportation systems evolved.
The developments in transportation played an important role in industrialization. Growing cities necessitated investments to be made in improving infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and canals. This paved the way for industrialization which needed an efficient system to transport mass amounts of goods from factories to markets. As the sale of goods increased, factories' production needed to...
To view the complete essay, you be registered.