James Watt’s Steam Engine
James Watt’s Steam Engine
The Industrial Revolution is one of the most important “events” to ever occur on this planet (definitely top 3). It changed everything. But, it had to start somewhere. And, for the Industrial Revolution, that means Great Britain. British people aren’t better than you (see 1776), but they had the perfect ingredients for this movement to begin. Check the map below for more. But, they had a perfect storm of 'capital' (wealth), natural resources (waterways, coal, iron), and ingenuity (James Hargreaves - spinning Jenny; James Watt - steam engine; Robert Fulton - steamboat) . So, it begins here. It also begins in and around the textile industry. Don’t think that the Industrial Revolution started with oil and skyscrapers… it was more like steam and better ways to make clothing…
Objective:
D. Explain how environmental factors contributed to industrialization from 1750 to 1900.
Theme:
D. ENV (Environment)
Skills:
D. ENV
Explain how environmental factors contributed to industrialization from 1750 to 1900.
Historical Development
A variety of factors contributed to the growth of industrial production and eventually resulted in the Industrial Revolution. Most of them had to do with the movement of good & people like, railroads & steamboats via direct access to rivers and canals. This allowed for a large geographical distribution of coal, iron, and timber. This led directly to a sharp rise in localized populations-- a process called urbanization. More people meant a heavy demand for agricultural productivity, which, encouraged more innovations and inventions. All of this enlarged the Europe's and America's share of global wealth and increasing a demand for foreign natural resources & accumulation of capital. However, the development of the factory system, which concentrated production in a single location shifted in how humans lived, worked and interacted with the environment.