Causes and consequences of the Industrial REVOLUTION

Throughout history, certain events have occurred that have changed the world, some of these events being related to a great economic transformation. Of these transformations, the best known is the Industrial Revolution, which brought a change from an economy close to agriculture to one more related to industry, making society move towards a more capitalist system. For all this, we must understand that the Industrial Revolution was key to the history of humanity and, therefore, in this lesson from a Teacher we are going to learn about the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution.

Index

1. What is the Industrial Revolution - Summary
2. Causes of the Industrial Revolution
3. Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

Before talking about the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution, let's get to know better what this historical fact consists of.

We know how

The transformations that nations suffered due to the Industrial Revolution were so complex and profound that it is often said that humanity had not suffered such enormous advances since the Neolithic era. This is because since that time the society had been slave or feudal, focused on agriculture as an economic engine, but after the Industrial Revolution society changed to focus on industry, moving to capitalism.

There are many elements that made this revolution take place, but we must talk about the importance of railway, the arrival of electricity, modernization in agricultural tasks and livestock and the arrival of machinery that helped make the work of the industry easier. The arrival of these elements completely changed the way the largest nations in the world function, completely transforming societies.

Stages of the Industrial Revolution

We must keep in mind that the Industrial Revolution can be divided into two, although some thinkers consider them to be different transformations:

1. The first stage is the call First Industrial Revolution, which took place at the end of the 17th century in the United Kingdom, with the change from the absolutist monarchy to a liberal one, and the creation of the textile industry.
2. The Second Industrial Revolution It took place between the middle of the 19th century and the First World War, and was marked by technological advances. of the great Western powers, and by the emergence of imperialism as a great change within the capitalism.

Like any event in history, to talk about the Industrial Revolution we must talk about the causes that caused it, being important for understand what the world was like at the time. We must understand that the world before the revolution was undergoing great changes, with the end of feudalism and absolutism, and a step to liberalism and capitalism that needed an enormous economic transformation, which was the Revolution Industrial.

The main causes of the Industrial Revolution fwere the following:

• A kind of Agrarian Revolution, marked by the enormous technological advances that techniques related to work in the field had. This caused large landowners to buy large areas of land, which needed less labor due to new techniques. This caused there to be surplus labor, bringing the end of the peasantry as the job with the highest number of job demands.
• Society had advanced thanks to the best medicines and because the larger crops meant that the population was better fed, so demographics suffered enormous progress. This larger population meant that a greater number of manufactures would need to be manufactured for the growing population, and therefore their production had to increase.
• The need for less labor in the countryside meant that many peasants will leave for the cities, where they began to work in factories to earn a living. This made life more and more urban and less and less rural, disappearing rural as the center of the world, and enormous cities emerged that brought together a large part of the population world.
• The European governments, and especially the English one, supported people who decided to undertake industry-related jobs, since they understood that these new jobs were going to increase wealth. For this reason, many of the first industrial businesses were owned by politicians or even Parliament itself.
• The bourgeoisie English began to have a strong presence in the area, possessing great wealth and properties, which allowed them to start industrial businesses. In an increasingly capitalist world, the bourgeoisie understood that they had to bet on this new industry if they wanted to consolidate their strength in society.
• Shortly before the Industrial Revolution, the United Kingdom had achieved important colonies, where they were common properties such as wood or fabric, so these elements reinforced a new industry. At this point the nations They looked for natural resources in their colonies, which would help them generate a new industry.
• The new technologies They were a key factor for society, bringing great changes and the appearance of advances that allow feats never seen before. An example was the world of transportation, with elements such as the railway, which allowed improving transportation and therefore commerce.
• The end of the power of the nobility caused the population to seek new ways to climb the social classes, and industrial businesses seemed to bring great wealth to those who bet on them. From this the richest bourgeoisie was born, which were the businessmen, but also other groups of people who were between the businessman and the worker, being a kind of middle class.
• The transportation improvements They made it easier to trade between nations, achieving a great expansion in international trade, and increasing profits by not having to focus so much on the national market. International trade became a very important mechanism within society, being the basis of a market that gave enormous benefits, and that caused conflicts between nations to control land to be minor.

These are the most notable causes of the Industrial Revolution that led to the beginning of this historical event that changed the world forever.

To continue with this lesson on the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution, we must talk about the consequences that this process brought, since it was such a big and relevant event that it changed the way of seeing the world. The Industrial Revolution is considered one of the biggest changes in history of humanity, at the end of the revolutions during Prehistory, so we must understand that its consequences were enormous, bringing a totally different world.

The main consequences of the Industrial Revolution were the following:

• The Industrial Revolution was very important for the rise of capitalism, being an economic movement that was largely based on industry. In this system, businessmen manage money and hire workers to work in their factories, being the first the upper classes by possessing the money, and the second the lower classes by depending on the businessman to work.
• The way of working has changed, since work in the fields was more varied, while work in factories was more repetitive and monotonous. Furthermore, the workers stopped having control of their work, since in the field they could decide, while in the industry they had to maintain a constant form controlled by the employer.
• The abuses suffered by the workers caused them to join together in groups, such as unions, over the years, causing the labor movements, that over time cause revolutions and enormous changes in society. These groups of workers were very relevant to capitalist society, being the only thing that was capable of protecting the system from the power of the businessmen, defending the rights of the workers.
• The population left for the cities, causing them to increase their population, while the rural world was losing its influence. Rural society was losing its role, and people were becoming more and more urban-oriented. This caused rural life to lose all its influence within the world, with cities becoming larger and larger, and with a greater amount of power, with a more powerful economy, and that centralized all the powerful classes of the nation.
• The arrival of new means of transportation brought great changes in the world, making it much easier to communication between nations. Among these, the railroad was especially important, which brought train communications between different countries, causing the way they related to each other to be very different.
• Groups focused on money and work were born, such as the banks or chambers of commerce. These little by little had more power, as the country depended on the decisions they made, especially the banks which kept the money reserves of the entire country, and therefore his word was very important to see the functioning of the economy in the region.
• The bourgeoisie became the greatest power in the world, controlling all sectors of the world, and being in charge of nations, even ahead of kings and presidents. We could say that the bourgeoisie was the substitute for the nobility, occupying its role as a privileged class, with power, which could command lower social classes, and who took advantage of the work of others to generate wealth.

And these are the most notable consequences of the Industrial Revolution that initiated a new way of seeing and understanding the world.

If you want to read more articles similar to Causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Chaves Palacios, J. (2004). Technological development in the first industrial revolution.
• Fernandez, L. AND. Í. (2012). Brief history of the Industrial Revolution. Nowtilus.
• Kemp, T. (1976). The industrial revolution in 19th century Europe. Fontanella.