Population Growth and Industrial Development in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Population Growth in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Since the mid-18th century, the increase in food production made possible a high population growth. Famines disappeared, and the population, better fed, had greater resistance to diseases and epidemics.

This growth was the result of changes in fertility and mortality. In the 18th century, birth rates rose from 32.5 per thousand at the beginning of the century to 37 per thousand at the end, due to the decline in marriage age and the number of celibate individuals, improving the economic situation.

The reduction in mortality was the result of better nutrition. The mortality rate declined by one-third, from around 32 per thousand in 1700 to just above 20 per thousand in the late 19th century.

Life expectancy increased, and by the late 19th century, it was around fifty.

The Development of Industry

There were changes in production systems characterized by the use of machinery and the replacement of animate energy sources with inanimate ones. Coupled with the need for greater control over labor, this caused the concentration of workers in factories. This process entailed the ruin of many artisans, as handicraft production was replaced by mass production.

Mechanization and the Rise of Factories

The mechanization of the production process began in the textile industry with the flying shuttle of John Kay (1733). New spinning and weaving machines were extended to the agricultural, mining, and metallurgical sectors. The final break came when the machines began to move through the use of hydropower. However, the steam engine, patented by James Watt in 1769, allowed for the dependence and limitations of traditional energy sources to be overcome.

Mechanization and the use of steam led to concentrations in factories and resulted in increased productivity and output, enabling lower costs and reduced prices.

Key Industries: Cotton, Coal, and Steel

The flagship sector of the Industrial Revolution was cotton. Cotton is a soft fabric, easy to wash, and, when produced in large quantities, was economical. Until the 18th century, cotton fabrics were imported from India, but the new industrialists soon realized the benefits of their manufacture. The second key area was coal and steel. Coal became the fuel of the great 19th century. It fueled the steam engine. As a result, coal production increased due to a series of innovations in mining, which involved an increase in productivity. The use of iron beams in the mines permitted wells to penetrate more safely, while the introduction of tracks and cars facilitated the extraction and transportation of ore.