Introduction

The industrial revolution is the name given to changes occurring in the economy and society of Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, changes which, in different forms, have since spread to many other parts of the globe. The term derives from the comparison which contemporaries drew with the fundamental changes of the French revolution. Although one can find the origins of industrialisation in earlier centuries and although the changes were at a very incomplete stage by the mid nineteenth century, an unprecedented shift was underway which was to change the nature of human society for ever. We live today with its global consequences both the benefits to mankind (in higher living standards and life expectancy for many) but also with its darker side (the inequities and political tensions of capitalist world development, and the threat of ecological disaster). For these reasons the subject is a vital one to study and to understand.

"In the eighty years or so after 1780 the population of Britain nearly tripled, the towns of Liverpool and Manchester became gigantic cities, the average income of the population more than doubled, the share of farming fell from just under a half to just under a fifth of the nation's output, and the making of textiles and iron moved into steam-driven factories. So strange were these events that before they happened they were not anticipated, and while they were happening, they were not comprehended… The British economy from 1780 to 1860 was unpredictable because it was novel, not to say bizarre."

(D. N. McCloskey, 1981)

Breaking through the pre-industrial barriers to growth The industrial revolution certainly saw some dramatic changes in the economy and society of Britain. There was a huge increase in the numbers of people employed in industrial manufacturing, making goods of all kinds, but especially textiles, iron goods, metal wares and pottery, for both overseas and domestic markets. More of the working population also came to live and work in towns and cities in occupations such as petty trading, retailing, transport and domestic service as well as manufacturing. A smaller and smaller proportion of the working population, less than a third by the end of our period, came to live in the countryside and get their living from the land. In the early eighteenth century more than two thirds of the labour force had been in agriculture. Towns and cities, including relatively new centres of population and trade grew at an unprecedented rate, spurred by the high rates of population growth that accompanied industrialisation. Population growth spurts had happened in earlier centuries but a unique change occurred at this time because such growth did not usher in mass starvation or major increases in disease or mortality (such as had occurred during the Black Death in the 14th century, for example). During and after the industrial revolution, for the first time in history, population growth and economic growth were able to occur together over the long term and without the former snuffing out the latter. This is why the industrial revolution was such a watershed. The pre-industrial limits to both population growth and economic growth were destroyed.

Starting in the later part of the 18th century, there began a transition from previously manual labour and draft-animal–based economy towards machine-based manufacturing. It 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.

The introduction of steam power fuelled primarily by coal, wider utilisation of water wheels and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity. The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world, a process that continues as industrialisation. The impact of this change on society was enormous.