Origins and Key Sectors of the Industrial Revolution

Concept and Causes

1. Population growth: Advances in nutrition, hygiene, and medicine improved living conditions; therefore, the population grew. This population growth had two main consequences:
   • The demand for food and other goods increased.
   • There was a large workforce.
2. Agricultural improvements: Farms became more profitable due to the use of new machinery, better systems of crop rotation, and fertilisers. These developments encouraged industrialisation.
3. Trade expansion: The greater demand for goods and the absence of internal duties increased domestic trade. At the same time, Great Britain became the first sea trade power: trade profits, both domestic and foreign, financed industrial production.
4. Technological progress: New machines made the production of goods quicker and cheaper:
   • The spinning and weaving machines used in the textile industry.
   • The steam engine (Watt, 1777) was applied in many economic sectors: agriculture, mining, industry, and transport.
5. Financial support from agriculture and trade: Agriculture and commerce provided capital that was invested in industry. It was essential because industry needed significant capital to build factories and pay for raw materials, fuel, and workers' wages.
6. Favourable political system: Great Britain had a parliamentary monarchy; it allowed the bourgeoisie to participate in government and promote economic laws to liberalise industrial production.

Key Economic Areas of Industrialisation

There were three economic areas that were especially important:

1. Textile industry: Three aspects made the textile industry develop:
   • Technological innovations: Spinning and weaving machines increased production.
   • Raw materials: Wool and cotton.
   • Factories: Large buildings with many workers; the division of labour made production more efficient.
2. Iron and steel industry: There are two main aspects to consider:
   • Foundries needed significant coal to heat blast furnaces to melt and mould iron and steel, so the iron industry encouraged mining.
   • Iron and steel were used in different economic activities: building, railways, shipbuilding, machinery, and tools.
3. Transport: The use of the steam engine in ships and trains revolutionised communication. Stephenson invented the steam locomotive (1814), and railway trains enabled the transport of large quantities of goods and many people more quickly and easily.