Dawn of the Industrial Age

Read the following except and answer the questions that follow
Dawn of the Industrial Age
For thousands of years following the rise of civilization, most people lived and worked in small farming villages. However, a chain of events set in motion in the mid-1700s changed that way of life for all time. Today, we call this period of change the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution started in Britain. The economic changes that Britain experienced affected people’s lives as much as previous political changes and revolutions had. In contrast with
most political revolutions, it was neither sudden nor swift. Instead it was a long, slow, uneven process in which production shifted from simple hand tools to complex machines. From its beginnings in Britain, the Industrial Revolution has spread to the rest of Europe, North America, and around the globe.

Life Changes as Industry Spreads
In 1750, most people worked the land, using handmade tools. They lived in simple cottages lit by firelight and candles. They made their own clothing and grew their own food. In nearby towns, they might exchange goods at a weekly outdoor market. 
Like their ancestors, these people knew little of the world that existed beyond their village. The few who left home traveled only as far as their feet or a horse-drawn cart could take them. Those bold adventurers who dared to cross the seas were at the mercy of the winds and tides.
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the rural way of life
began to disappear. By the 1850s, many country villages had grown into industrial towns and cities. Those who lived there were able to buy clothing and food that someone else produced.
Industrial-age travelers moved rapidly between countries and continents by train or steamship. Urgent messages flew along telegraph wires. New inventions and scientific “firsts” poured out each year. Between 1830 and 1855, for example, an American dentist first used an anesthetic, or drug that prevents pain during surgery; an American inventor patented the first sewing machine; a French physicist measured the speed of light; and a Hungarian doctor introduced antiseptic methods
to reduce the risk of women dying in childbirth.
Still more stunning changes occurred in the next century, which created our familiar world of skyscraper cities and carefully tended suburbs. How and why did these great changes occur? Historians point to a series of interrelated causes that helped trigger the industrialization of the
West. The “West” referred originally to the industrialized countries in Europe but today includes many more.

Agriculture Spurs Industry
Oddly enough, the Industrial Revolution was made possible in part by a change in the farming fields of Western Europe. From the first agricultural revolution some 11,000 years ago, when people
learned to farm and domesticate animals, until about 300 years ago, farming had remained pretty much the same. Then, a second agricultural revolution took place that greatly improved the qual-
ity and quantity of farm products.



Farming Methods Improve 
The Dutch led the way in this new agricultural revolution. They built earthen walls known as
dikes to reclaim land from the sea. They also combined smaller fields into larger ones to make better use of the land and used fertilizer from livestock to renew the soil.
In the 1700s, British farmers expanded on Dutch agricultural experiments. Educated farmers exchanged news of experiments through farm journals. Some farmers mixed different kinds of soils to get higher crop yields. Others tried out new methods of crop rotation. Lord Charles Townshend
urged farmers to grow turnips, which restored exhausted soil. Jethro Tull invented a new mechanical device, the seed drill, to aid farmers. It deposited seeds in rows rather than scattering them
wastefully over the land.

Enclosure Increases Output but Causes Migration 
Meanwhile, rich landowners pushed ahead with enclosure, the process of taking
over and consolidating land formerly shared by peasant farmers. In the 1500s, landowners had enclosed land to gain more pastures for sheep to increase wool output. By the 1700s, they wanted to create larger fields that could be cultivated more efficiently. The British Parliament facili-
tated enclosures through legislation.
As millions of acres were enclosed, farm output rose. Profits also rose because large fields needed fewer workers. But such progress had a large human cost. Many farm laborers were thrown out of work, and small farmers were forced off their land because they could not compete with
large landholders. Villages shrank as cottagers left in search of work. In time, jobless farm workers migrated to towns and cities. There, they formed a growing labor force that would soon tend the machines of the Industrial Revolution.

Population Multiplies 
The agricultural revolution contributed to a rapid growth of population. Precise population statistics for the 1700s are rare, but those that do exist are striking. Britain’s population, for
example, soared from about 5 million in 1700 to almost 9 million in 1800. The population of Europe as a whole shot up from roughly 120 million to about 180 million during the same period. Such growth had never before been seen.
Why did this population increase occur? First, the agricultural revolution reduced the risk of death from famine because it created a surplus of food. Since people ate better, they were healthier. Also, better hygiene and sanitation, along with improved medical care, further slowed deaths
from disease.

New Technology Becomes Key
Another factor that helped trigger the Industrial Revolution was the development of new technology. Aided by new sources of energy and new materials, these new technologies enabled business owners to change the ways work was done.



An Energy Revolution
During the 1700s, people began to harness new sources of energy. One vital power source was coal, used to develop the steam engine. In 1712, British inventor Thomas Newcomen had
developed a steam engine powered by coal to pump water out of mines. Scottish engineer James Watt looked at Newcomen’s invention in 1764 and set out to make improvements on the engine in order to make it more efficient. Watt’s engine, after several years of work, would become a
key power source of the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine opened the door not only to operating machinery but eventually to powering locomotives and steamships.

The Quality of Iron Improves 
Coal was also a vital source of fuel in the production of iron, a material needed for the construction of machines and steam engines. The Darby family of Coalbrookdale pioneered new methods of producing iron. In 1709, Abraham Darby used coal instead of charcoal to smelt iron, or separate iron from its ore.
Darby’s experiments led him to produce less expensive and better-quality iron, which was used to produce parts for the steam engines. Both his son and grandson continued to improve on his methods. In fact, Abraham Darby III built the world’s first iron bridge. In the decades that followed, high-quality iron was used more and more widely, especially after the world turned to building railroads.

Watt, Horsepower, and Watts 
By preventing the loss of steam, Watt made steam engines more efficient and more powerful. He also attached a flywheel, converting the back-and-forth motion of the pistons into a circular motion to power not only pumps but all sorts of machinery. To market his engines, Watt needed to be able to describe their power. The best source of power at the time was horses. Watt found that a horse could lift 550 pounds of coal 10 feet (30 m) in 10 seconds, or 33,000 pounds per foot (0.3 m) per minute. He defined this value as one horsepower. Horsepower is still used for engines; trucks and SUVs today average more than 200 horse-power. Watt’s name was later given to a measure of
power: the watt. Common light bulbs measure 60 to 100 watts. One horsepower is equal to 745.56 watts.

James Watt
How did a clever Scottish engineer become the “Father of the Industrial Revolution”? After repairing a Newcomen steam engine, James Watt (1736–1819) became fascinated with the idea of improving the device. Within a few months, he knew he had a product that would sell. Still, Watt lacked the money needed to produce and market it. Fortunately, he was able to form a partnership
with the shrewd manufacturer Matthew Boulton. They then founded Soho Engineering Works in
Birmingham, England, to manufacture steam engines. Watt’s version of the steam engine shown
here had a separate condensing chamber and was patented in 1769. Eventually, a measure of
mechanical and electrical power, the watt, would be named for James Watt. How might the Industrial
Revolution have been different if Watt had not found a business partner?

From Hand Power to Steam Power
For centuries, people used their own energy to provide the power for their work. While the idea of using steam power came about in the seventeenth century, it was not until
engineer James Watt improved the steam engine that it could be applied to machinery. His financial partner Matthew Boulton, a successful manufacturer, proclaimed:
“I have at my disposal what the whole world demands,
something which will uplift civilization more than ever by
relieving man of all undignified drudgery. I have steam
power.”

(define): anesthetic

(define): enclosure

(define): James Watt (who was he and what impact did he have)

(define): smelt

(checkpoint) Why was the Industrial Revolution a turning point in world history?

(checkpoint) How did an agricultural revolution contribute to population growth?

(checkpoint) What new technologies helped trigger the Industrial Revolution?

(assessment) What were the immediate and long-term effects of the agricultural revolution
that occurred in the 1700s?

(assessment) How do you think population growth contributed to the Industrial Revolution?

(assessment) Explain how new sources of energy, specifically coal, contributed to the Industrial Revolution.

(assessment) What events helped bring about the Industrial Revolution?