Essay - Industrial Revolution Throughout the History of Humankind There Have Been...

Industrial Revolution

Throughout the history of humankind ********** have been times when advances made were so dramatic that they changed the course ***** history. One of those periods is called the industrial revolution. It represents a period ***** time when technological advances made dramatic changes in people's lives.

The ***** revolution was a time of cultural and technical changes dur*****g the 18th and 19th centuries. During this period, the economic base shifted from manual labor to industrial production and manufacture. This shift was sped along by a variety of events, but two inventions had significant impact: the steam engine and the cotton gin (Wikipedia, p. 1). Supporting these inventions were a variety of technological and ********** factors. For instance, *****rs developed the ability to use metal in ***** construction of machines, which made them able ***** withstand increased sources ***** power (*****, p. 1). Social changes included ways to decrease the spread of disease, which resulted in a higher survival rate for children, which meant a larger workforce (Wikipedia, p. 1). In addition, political ***** in England, ***** experienced the industrial revolution first, encouraged a move to more mechanized production. Before the industrial *****, ecnomy depended on farming with a few speci*****lized tradesmen to make crucial items, such as wagonwheels. Those who supported ********** through business focused on trade, not manufacturing (Hooker, p. 1).

Political and social changes in England resulted in an aris*****cracy with less *****fluence than it still ***** in other European countries. Gradually, capitalism became the basis of social value, and acquisition of wealth ***** ***** important ***** social st**********g at birth (Hooker, p. *****). This shift was supported by *****'s extensive trade with its colonies. The country did not impose taxes on commerce, unlike other ***** countries, which made it more ********** for England to focus ***** business, manufacturing and ***** as ***** to gain wealth. But in add*****ion, ***** was pre-eminent in world trade because of the acquisition of colonies all over the ***** due to explor*****ion or as ***** spoils ***** war (*****, 1). ***** colonies ***** England were interdepentend; over 50% of what England sold overseas in the middle of the 18th century went to ***** American *****. England also enjoyed extensive trade with South America, and of *****, India (Hooker, p. 1).

In 1712 the first of ***** major inventions was developed -- a ste*****m engine designed to pump water out of the coal mines, as ***** w***** becoming the fuel ***** choice in Engl*****. The eng*****e was inefficient and had only one pis*****n, so it ***** expensive to run, and at *****, no one recognized *****s full potential (*****, p. 1). However, in 1763 James W*****t, in Scotland, ref*****ed the engine and made it practical for additional uses. By 1800 nearly 300 of ***** improved engines had been *****, and steam engines rapidly replaced water power as the major source of power in the rest of Europe as well as in England (Hooker, p. 1).

During the same ***** of time,