What was the Industrial Revolution?
Back in the early 1700s, Britain was still a largely agricultural nation. The few manufactured goods were made in small workshops or at home. As a result of Britain’s world trading, the cotton industry developed and everything changed.
At first water power was used to drive spinning and weaving machines, and factories and mills were set up. New towns were built to provide homes for these workers. Steam engines were adapted to provide power to factories.
The railways and canal system were developed. The other key development was the smelting of iron using coke rather than wood. Britain was able to exploit the raw materials from her overseas empire to become one of the world’s most prosperous industrial nations.
Which inventions changed the world?
The invention of practical steam engines was the most significant advance in the 1700s, providing power for the Industrial Revolution. The first steam engines were massive stationary devices that pumped water from flooded mines, but they were soon adapted to power ships. At first, wooden ships were converted and driven by massive paddlewheels, but gradually steel-hulled vessels with propellers were introduced.
The first steam locomotives appeared in the early 1800s. They carried goods and allowed people to travel to the factories where they worked. Trains were an important means for social change because, for the first time, people could travel quickly and visit areas that were previously too far away.
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