I. Origins of the Industrial Revolution
– Culmination of previous events that leads to industrialization
– Culmination of agriculture, commercial, military and science revolution
A. Geography
1. Importance of location Ports, coal, deposits, areas of free labor, areas with canals, good roads or short distances
a. This first begins in areas like Great Britain, Wales as considered by some.
b. Reason why Britain is well-equipped, it’s on a island, there’s all of those examples listed and also they have previous experience and have an abundance of resources such as coal
2. Importance of earlier traditions, especially in textile manufacturing
a. Britain is the first to industrialize because they have prior experience with textiles
b. It helps kick start indualization across Europe
B. Timing
1. England’s industrialization begin VERY early as early 1770, but it could also go as far back as 1750
2. Frances begins in 1800s
3. Germanys in 1810
4. Russia’s is not until the 1880s
a. The farther East you go, the longer it takes to develop and industrialized
C. Uneven Development
1. Because not all of the nations in Europe developed at the same time, there’s still parts that are agriculture based
2. There’s a conservative bias to business and industry
a. Ex: 19th century Russian villages
II. What Kind of Revolution?
A. A revolution in machines – driven by technology
1. There’s a rise in all new types of technology and machines
2. The biggest is the spinning Jenny (1764)
a. Increases in speed efficiency and scale
b. Before the process was slow and took to long
c. The spinning jenny is put in centralized location, factories, and they operate in a bigger capacity and offer a faster production
3. Replacement of human, water and animal energy by fossil fuels
a. “Contractors” back in the day, were paid by the work they produced in that day, because they work at their own pace it means that they are really ineffective, not productive
b. Factories are productive, their efficiency is very fast and can grow
4. The work of James Watts
a. He in 1774, pattens the first reliable steam engine, that can be a reliable source of power, which is powered by steam
b. The application of the Steam Engine greatly impacts the industry greatly in a positive manner
– Increases profits, productivity, creates more room innovation
5. Case study of The Cotton Gin created by Eli Whitney
a. The cotton gin in invented by an American in 1794
– It removed the problem that cotton had by removing the seeds out of the cotton in a faster and more effective way
– Initially, it was powered in the beginning by human labor, and then animals to eventually the steam engine
b. HUGE BOOM for the cotton industry but …
– Also has negative effects such as an increased in slavery and demand for more land to grow cotton
– After the cotton gins grows and expands, there was more efficiency in the cotton fields but there was also a demand in labor
– The long term consequences was cotton cultivation and the uptick in slave labor
B. Revolutionizing transportation
1. Canals and roads
a. Old fashion and too hard
2. The all important railroad: Stephenson’s “rocket” of 1829
a. Huge development placing steam engine on wheels
b. Railroads start replacing old fashion canals and the transportation of railways are paved
c. The railroads provide an economic boost and facilitate a continent wide system of communication and industry.
d. A consequence of the railroad: time zones
3. The penny postage was created, it was the fastest way to send mail all across Britain.
4. The creation of the railroad also brings the creation of the telegram.
C. Revolution in labor organization
1. Moving workers to machine sources of energy
a. Before the revolution, it was an agriculture-based society
b. after the industrial revolution, that all changes, people started shifting from their countryside work to factory work
2. First factories small, in countryside
a. Begin small and then get bigger and bigger as the time goes by
3. Wage work
a. The pay is different from what the were earning from their farms
b. They are paid on a daily basis and the work on average 6 days a week
c. Wages are quite low and steady, but they raise over the century
4. Time discipline
a. Time had to be respected, people had to leave on time
b. People worked anywhere between 12 to 16 hours a day and there were little ton no break time for the workers
c. Are abused by the employers, breaks are minimized, small lunch time
III. Class Society – Marx’s definition: class is defined by relationship to the means of production
– Defined by income levels (not birth or estates)
There is a distinctive class society, you can tell where someone was based out of their clothing and homes etc
– Wage labor v. subsistence, communal or barter economies
– Class can be read from: occupation dialect, clothing, housing, manners, etc
What your job, fashion sense, what kind of accent you have, etc.
A. The upper classes
1. The rich: aristocrats, factory owners, bankers, etc.
a. Tiny minority of the population, distinct from the old ruling order
b. Much of their position relies on the amount of capital they have
2. Some outsiders (for e.g. , Jews or Emigrants) too
a. They are often minorities that could have never been in the position they are in
b. Religious members are apart of this faction too
B. The middle classes (bourgeoisie for Marx)
– Income from a variety of sources:
– Professions (lawyer, bureaucrat, doctors, etc.)
– Manufacturing (owner, manager)
– Rentals (of land, townhouses)
1. New interiors and manners
a. Making their money by owning property
b. This is a new group, that growing in confidence and significance, and shape the processes of all society
c. Education is of importance, women stay at home, many of the values they have been spread
2. New urban settings – Paris
a. The big cities of Europe, are the epicenter of middle-class values \
b. Buying stuff and judging their items becomes an extraordinary part of European culture, (i.e. the brands you can afford)
c. They overshadow the upper class with their values.
C. The Lower Orders
1. The Peasantry
a. Still the largest group in Europe – they are farmers, work on the land
b. Variations in lifestyle and income – they rely on their labor for their own living, they are the working class , but later on people start leaving this life for a new change
c. Some still subject to starvation esp in ‘Hungry Forties” – due to weather conditions
d. Some still serfs (until 1861 in Russia)
2. Cottage workers
a. Cottage industry and small crafts still crucial, esp. In southern, eastern Europe
b. Shirking population, they work from home who survive on the past
3. Domestic workers – tend to all duties of the household
a. 1 in 5 workers in mid-century Britain
b. Often subjected to abuse – they were miserably paid, but had housing and meals
c. Hierarchy of their own – butler/scullery maid
4. Factory workers – the newest group
a. New kinds of work
b. New work discipline
c. New kinds of pay (wage work)
d. Women and the industrial revolution – the numbers are growing across all of society
e. As elsewhere, most children work
5. Other poor people – various types of people who can not find jobs/work, employed against their will, however thanks to the industrial revolution the numbers dwindle down
6. Workhouses and slums