Industrial Revolution (definition and characteristics)

Known worldwide for all the derivations that came from there, the Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of a momentous change in the economy, which I noticed in a very short time that higher production, higher profits for companies and higher growth for the country.

In this sense, it is known as a process of enormous economic and social metamorphoses that occurred in the 18th century.

What is the Industrial revolution?

It was the process of change experienced in Great Britain that later spread throughout Europe, in which its economy stopped being based on crafts and agriculture to be based on industry. Understanding that at the time there was an economy based on agricultural and artisan work, mainly constituted by self-consumption, with productivity very low for there to be the commercialization of the products obtained.

Great innovations developed in the industry were implanted, which allowed a great advance in the Europe of the time. Productivity undertook a great growth hand in hand with the machine, used in multiples, which brought rapid progress.

Facts that helped the industrial revolution spread

• The political system that prevailed at the time.
• The agricultural modernization that brought the mobilization of many peasants to the big cities in search of work, with which the companies secured cheap labor.
• Financing of factories by the bourgeoisie, who had enough wealth for it.
• Obtaining economic benefits thanks to the dominance of the market.
• Willingness of the bourgeoisie and the landed aristocracy to invest in industry and commerce. Those who came to control Parliament and from there enacted laws that affirmed economic freedom and protected markets.
• The road and river network was good and ensured the supply and distribution of both raw material, as of manufactures.
• Emergence of technical and machinery innovations that replaced traditional tools for faster and faster work efficient.
• Promotion on the part of the universities, in intellectual and practical training, which transcended in research and experimentation.
• Sufficient availability of energy sources to make the new machines work.
• Abundance of raw materials, especially for the development of the textile industry, which was one of those that first took off.

Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution

The famous industrial revolution evolved production techniques, bringing with it the replacement of manual work in many tasks and opened the way to new sources of energy. The first industries involved were those of the textile, metallurgical and chemical areas.

Its main characteristic was the idealization of a mechanized factory system, moving from manufacturing simple to a more complex one, greater number of machines and less manual labor, which implied large-scale production scale. This process of change was very important, it constituted the passage at the time, from the rural to the industrial, it was also a time of great and important inventions.

Its characteristics are highlighted as follows:

Inventive revolution

Inventions that transcended, such as the steam engine, from James watt, which constituted an economic and powerful form of energy, brought great improvements to society, was the basis for the creation of the locomotive, and steam ships, changing the way of transporting goods, they were also used in manufacturing, allowing large-scale manufacturing that until now was limited by labor Handbook.

Technological changes also include the use of steel and coal as energy sources, the emergence of spinning and weaving machines, and the creation of specialized techniques for the development of the work and hand of construction site.

In 1807 the first steamship was built and in 1825 the first railway, with these two great inventions, travel time and transportation costs decreased. On the other hand, exchanges increased, that is, the market increased, which in turn caused an increase in production.

Social revolution

It leads to remarkable social changes, which result from the rapid growth of cities and exodus from rural areas. Also accompanied by strong population growth.

The business owners, (bourgeoisie) became the wealthiest group, it also gave room to a bourgeoisie middle, made up of professionals, officials and merchants AND the lower bourgeoisie made up of employees and shopkeepers.

Factory workers made up the labor force and were known as the urban and industrial proletariat.

At first, their living conditions were very harsh, as they lacked laws to set and regulate working conditions.

Cultural revolution

Cultural changes are noted in the growing interest in knowledge in any of its branches, there are a large number of scholars who They revolutionized with incredible creations, on the other hand, the need for skilled labor was consolidated, so they bet on specialization Of the same.

Agricultural revolution

The changes in agriculture were based on the use of new and modern tools, very different from the basic ones used. In the manual process that was used to carry out, the land until then was exploited in plots of use common.

With the industrial revolution, the fields were brought closer together and what is now known as private property was established, se stopped allocating land for livestock and cattle breeding began to be carried out in stables, with this it was achieved higher efficiency in the processes of the field and begins to take advantage of agriculture as a market.

These changes conclude with the agrarian society and impose a new industrial agrarian society, based on the modernization of agriculture.

To conclude, it is worth highlighting the birth of the economic system known as capitalism industrial, which is a very productive industry based on machinery.

Around the factories small cities grew and prospered and the big cities grew even more, thanks to the industrial concentration existing in them, which attracted migrants from the countryside to they.