The Industrial Revolution

1. Why was Great Britain the first nation to industrialize?

Britain was the first nation to industrialize because it was the best organized European state of the time. Not only did it have the necessary raw materials for its industries, but it also had the market for the products from its industries. Because of the large market for its products, there developed the need for mass production of goods to satisfy the demand from consumers. This created a situation where industries developed in cities and led to the end of the cottage industries which had until then dominated the local market. The new ways of production created new jobs, which made people migrate to the urban areas where they worked in the industries for money. Britain had an abundance of coal which was used in the running of its factories, ensuring that it had a head start over the other European nations.

2. What accounts for the spread of the Industrial Revolution to the European continent and to the United States?

Because of the frequent trade ties, as well as the free travel within Europe at the time, it was easy for the Industrial Revolution to spread to the European continent. Ideas from the revolution, therefore, spread to the continent through this means ensuring that the other European nations also developed their own industries. The revolution spread to the United States because of the large number of immigrants from Europe who brought the knowledge with them. Moreover, the revolution may also have developed independently in the United States due to the fact that all the conditions necessary for its development were present in the United States as they were in Europe. It can be said that the ideas from Europe came to be further developed in the United States as this nation came to have industries of its own.

3. How did the Industrial Revolution affect the lives of working people?

The lives of working people came to change significantly due to the revolution as many of them moved from the rural areas to the urban areas to find work in the factories. While in the factories, they worked under extremely harsh conditions and there was hardly an age limit to those who could work since even children got employed. Because of the large numbers of people willing to work within the factories, the factory owners tended to pay remarkably low wages, and many of those who worked for them thus remained poor.

4. What were conditions like in industrial cities during the nineteenth century?

The conditions in the nineteenth century industrial cities tended to be extremely poor because of the fact that they were filled with factories which polluted the environment. The industrial cities tended to be highly segregated with the wealthy living in places away from the pollution in opulent houses. The factory workers, on the other hand, tended to live in poor accommodations, what would be considered slums, close to the factories and whose lives revolved around their work with little else to do for leisure.

5. What role did the state play in the Industrial Revolution?

The state played a significant role in the industrial revolution because it ensured that the domestic industry had a stable market for its products. This was done through the acquisition of colonies, which provided a market for all the excess products produced by the industries. Moreover, the acquisition of colonies also meant that the industries in the home country had a steady supply of raw materials which enabled them to produce more manufactured goods for the market. The state ensured that its industries were protected from stiff competition from the industries of other countries as this would lead to their collapse.