Industrial Revolution: Economic Change, Tech Innovation, and Workers' Life, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica Industrial Revolution: Economic Change, Tech Innovation, and Workers' Life e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION • Economic change At the end of the 18th century, (economic) changes took place in England that transformed the country from an agricultural to an industrialised nation. After the Black Death the population increased and the agriculture was intensified. First, open fields were enclosed into smaller portions of land to make more efficient arable farms. The soil was drained and made more fertile. Animals were bred selectively, therefore producing more meat. Economic activity was gradually diversified, especially through the manufacture of woollen cloth. People began acquiring more goods. Clothing marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution because mass consumption of machine-made goods started. Cotton was the leading sector of industrialisation. • Technological innovation During the 18th century there was a succession of technological innovations that improved the productivity of workers. Thomas Newcomen invented a practical steam engine, which made pumping water out of coal mines possible; James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny that increased the spinning efficiency; James Watt patented a steam engine that was more powerful and wasted less fuel. Edmund Cartwright's loom linked cloth manufacture to water and steam power. As a result, cheaper products met the growing demand for goods. Heavy investment in technological development increased and innovation became linked to energy generated from coal. People shifted from the rural South to the North and the Midlands, and small towns, the so- called 'mushroom towns, were constructed to house the workers near the factories. • The workers life In the industrial cities water and air were polluted by smoke and filth. Women and children were highly prized by employers because they were paied less and were easier to control. The children were small so they could move more easly in mines or between the machines. Industrial labour imposed new work patterns that were determined by the machine and a rational division of labour, so it not dipended on the weather or the change of season. The workers worked for about 65-70 hours per week. The prices for food rises so the health of people deteriorated and this increased the mortality.