Some pieces of information in the British Civ
The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain (1700- 1900)
Introduction:
During the 1700s and early 1800s, great changes took place in the lives and work of people in several parts of the world. These changes resulted from the development of industrialization. The term Industrial Revolution refers both to the changes that occurred and to the period itself.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain during the 1700s. It started spreading to other parts of Europe and to North America in the early 1800s. By the mid-1800s, industrialization had become widespread in western Europe and the northeastern United States.
The Industrial Revolution created an enormous increase in the production of many kinds of goods. Some of this increase in production resulted from the introduction of power-driven machinery and the development of factory organization. Before the revolution, manufacturing was done by hand or simple machines. Most people worked at home in rural areas. A few worked in shops in towns as part of associations called guilds. The Industrial Revolution eventually took manufacturing out of the home and workshop. Power-driven machines replaced handwork, and factories developed as the best way of bringing together the machines and the workers to operate them.
As the Industrial Revolution grew, private investors and financial institutions were needed to provide money for the further expansion of industrialization. Financiers and banks thus became as important as industrialists and factories in the growth of the revolution. For the first time in European history, wealthy business leaders called capitalists took over the control and organization of manufacturing.
Historians have disagreed on the significance of the Industrial Revolution. Some have emphasized that the importance of the revolution was in the great increase in the production of goods. They argue that this increase did more during the 1800s to raise peoples standard of living than all the actions of legislatures and trade unions. Other historians have stressed the negative parts of the revolution. They point to the overcrowded and unsanitary housing and the terrible working conditions created by rapid industrialization in the cities.
Some historians have even denied that the Industrial Revolution was revolutionary--that is, a period of great and sudden changes. These scholars insist that the basic elements of the Industrial Revolution can be traced back to developments in Europe hundreds of years before the 1700s.
Today, most historians agree that the Industrial Revolution was a great turning point in the history of the world. It changed the Western world from a basically rural and agricultural society to a basically urban and industrial society. Industrialization brought many material benefits, but it also created a large number of problems that still remain critical in the modern world. For example, most industrial countries face problems of air and water pollution.