The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the mid-18^th century. Society was transformed as people moved from the countryside to the towns to work in factories.

Two events in the early 18^th century helped to make the Industrial Revolution possible. The first was Abraham Darby’s discovery that coke was a better fuel than charcoal for smelting iron. The second was Thomas Newcomen’s invention of an improved steam engine, used for pumping water out of coal mines. It was now possible to produce more coal and better-quality iron for industry.

Until the 1760s, most goods were hand-made by people working at home or in small workshops. Metalworkers made nails, pins and knives, and spinners and weavers produced woolen and linen cloth. But the 1700s saw a rising demand for cotton cloth, which at first was imported from India. Later, raw cotton was imported, for manufacture into cloth in Britain.

In 1733, the invention of a flying shuttle speeded up the weaving process so much that spinning wheels could not produce enough yarn to keep the weavers supplied. Then, in 1764, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, which allowed one person to spin eight threads at once. This was followed five years later by Richard Arkwright’s heavy spinning frame, which was powered by water.

Factories were built near fast-flowing streams to house these new machines, and the cotton industry boomed. By 1790, James Watt’s improvements to the steam engine meant that steam power could be used to drive machinery. This also increased the demand for coal to heat the water to make steam, and for iron to make the engines and other machinery. Canals (and later railways) were built to bring raw materials to the factories and take finished goods away. Towns grew rapidly, but housing and working conditions were often very poor and many people suffered from hunger, disease, or accidents at work.

SPINNING JENNY

James Hargreaves, inventor of the Spinning Jenny, was a poor spinner. He named his new machine after his daughter Jenny. Other hand-spinners feared his machines would put them out of work, and destroyed them.