Building the Global Economy

The phrase "the Industrial Revolution" describes the period from the end of the eighteenth to the later part of the nineteenth century when powered machinery was developed and applied to improve the material welfare of people.  At first look, it might seem strange to consider something that happened over a course of a century as "revolutionary".  However, similar to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, the length of time is less important than the size of the change set in motion by the Industrial Revolution.  The Industrial Revolution is important because it began the process of “modern economic growth” in which societies began to improve technology, became more productive and enjoyed a higher level of material wealth (i.e. stuff). The basic point is that for thousands of years before the Industrial Revolution almost everyone was poor. Then in the Industrial Revolution, parts of the world began to industrialize and started to become wealthy.  The importance of the Industrial Revolution was about more than applying powered machinery to the production process, it was about a complete transformation of society as people moved from living in small agricultural villages and working based on seasons to large industrial cities where the pace of work was set by clocks.  The full measure of the Industrial Revolution should be seen in the context that average people have been able to achieve a quality of life that was unimaginable even for the wealthiest people in the past. For example, who today would trade places with Louis XIV of France if it meant living with 17th century medicine, where a simple infection could kill you? Many things, like cars, airplanes, cell phones and antibiotic medicines – which are now so common that even poor people have access to them – could only be imagined a hundred years ago.  This process of technological improvement and increased productivity began in the Industrial Revolution continues today, allowing people to hope for an even more prosperous future.   

              The Industrial Revolution began in Britain, then spread to continental Europe and the United States and finally to the rest of the world.  The countries that participated in the Industrial Revolution experienced rapid economic growth that, over time, raised the standard of living of their populations.   More importantly the rate of economic growth associated with the Industrial Revolution was faster than the rate of population growth, meaning that industrialism was able to raise the standard of living of a population even when the population was growing.  This was the case with Britain during the Industrial Revolution when from 1780 to 1830 the British population doubled while the total production of industrial output increased by three fold.  However, while the industrial countries became wealthier, the non-industrial countries did not.  Economists describe the Industrial Revolution as the start of the “Great Divergence” when the industrial countries became much wealthier than the non-industrial countries.  Simply put, before the Industrial Revolution almost everyone around the world was equally poor – living barely above subsistence - and then some countries went through the process of industrialization and became much richer, while others stayed poor.  Industrial Revolution divided the world into rich industrial countries and poor non-industrial countries.  However, this division is not permanent, the process of industrialization is continuing to spread around the world and lifting millions out of poverty - this can be currently seen in China and India.

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Information on Unit Test - the test will consist of two parts:

The first part will involve four lists of terms of five from the unit and you will have to write a paragraph connecting the terms in two of the lists.  The list of terms will be based on the four parts of this unit.  The list of terms are listed below.

The second part will involve improving a Chat GPT paragraph with historic facts and concepts from the unit.  The review sheet has several examples of this type of problem.

Test Review Sheet - click here

Sample Chat GTP Question with Answer - click here