11 The Industrial Revolution (1750–1914)

Before you start

Main focus

The Industrial Revolution was one of the most dramatic examples of how new technological developments can completely change the ways we work and live.

Why it’s relevant today

In our own times we have become used to new technology, but studying the beginnings of industrial society helps us to understand many of the environmental and societal problems the world faces today.

Inquiry questions
  • What were the conditions in Britain that preceded industrialisation?
  • What were the main inventions and innovations that drove the Industrial Revolution?
  • How did the Industrial Revolution change the pattern of human settlement?
  • How did the Industrial Revolution change the lives of ordinary men, women and children?
  • How did the Industrial Revolution change the world in the longer term?
Key terms
  • Domestic system
  • Factory system
  • Global warming
  • Infrastructure
  • Settler colony
  • Standard of living
Significant individuals
  • Edmund Cartwright
  • James Watt
  • Jethro Tull
  • John Kay
  • Richard Trevithick
  • Robert Owen
Pronunciation

Jethro Tull

Richard Trevithick

Let’s begin

The Industrial Revolution not only changed industry in Britain, Europe, America, Australia and elsewhere; it also changed society itself, and the way people lived. In just 100 years, the Britain of farms and country estates transformed into a modern industrial society. In the following years, industrialisation spread to other countries in Europe, and transformed places as distant as America and Australia. The Industrial Revolution broke society’s reliance on animals, wind and water. Scientists discovered new forms of power and new machines. Businesspeople invested in new technologies and with them dramatically increased production. This increase created demand for more efficient ways of transporting the raw materials for factories. The invention of the railway and the canal system meant that people, as well as goods, were more easily transported. In thousands of traditional villages, craftspeople were no longer needed and they moved to cities to work in the new factories.