The Agricultural and Industrial Revolution

•From Farm to Factory

 

•Agriculture and Industrial Revolution

From the middle of the 18th century onwards, Britain went through an Agricultural and Industrial Revolution.

•In the Agricultural Revolution, changes in farming methods resulted in more food being produced.

•In the Industrial Revolution, goods such as clothes were not made in factories, instead of in houses in domestic industry.

•What were the causes of the Industrial Revolution

•What was the Agricultural Revolution?

•The Agricultural Revolution consisted of changes made to the system and methods of farming, which resulted in more food being produced.

• What was Enclosure?

Since the Middle Ages, the three-field (or open-field) system was used in Britain. This system had many faults. All this changed during the Agricultural Revolution. The fields were now enclosed so that the three open fields and the common land were divided into farms surrounded by fences and hedges. This was called enclosure.

•New methods of Farming

1.Norfolk Crop Rotation: Charles Townshend developed this system.

1.Turnips and clover were now grown (as well as wheat and barley) so that all the land was used every year.

2.Turnips were fed to the cattle in winter.

•Inventions in the Cotton and Woollen Industry

•Manufacturing inventions: New Spinning and weaving machines were invented; they speeded up the making of cotton and woollen cloth.

•Steam Power: The Steam engine was the most important invention of the Industrial Revolution.

•Thomas Newcomen used steam engines to pump water out of mines.

•James Watt addad a fly-wheel so that his engine could be used to power machines in factories.

•Other Changes: Coal was used instead of charcoal for smelting iron.

•Abraham Darby used coke (baked coal) for smelting iron ore.

•Henry Cort invented puddling and rolling which improved the quality of iron.

•Henry Bessemer invented the Bessemer Converter, which lessened the cost of producing steel.

•What were the effects of the manufacturing inventions?

The main centres of growth were around the coalfields – Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow.

•How bad were living conditions in the cities? 

1.The houses of working-class people were grouped together as slums.

2.There was no piped water supply or indoor toilets.

3.There wee open sewers at the end of the streets.

4.Diseases such as cholera and typhus spread quickly.

1.Examples: Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

•How were improvements made in working and living conditions.

The pressure to make improvements in working and living conditions came from three main sources:

•Government reports (Blue Books), which showed how bad conditions were.

•Trade unions, which demanded improved conditions for workers.

•Some factory owners, such as Robert Owen and members of parliament, such as Lord Shaftesbury, who campaigned for improvements.

•What improvements were made to working and living conditions

1.Factory Acts and Mines Act

•The factory Acts and Mines Act reduced the number of hours people had to work.

•Inspectors were also appointed to enforce the rules.

1.Factory Acts and Mines Act

WHO WAS ROBERT OWEN?

Owen owned a cotton factory in New Lanark in Scotland. He provided good working and living conditions for his workers. He asked parliament to bring in factory reform.

2. Public Health

•Edwin Chadwick published The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population, which showed how bad living conditions were. This led to the passing of the Public Health Act, which set up Boards of Health. Their job was to clean streets, increase piped water supplies and build sewers.

3. Medicine

Discoveries in medicine improved the health of people.

•James Simpson used chloroform as an anaesthetic to lessen pain.

•Joseph Lister insisted on cleanliness to cut down of the spread of disease.

•Edward Jenner vaccinated people with cowpox to prevent them from getting smallpox.

How did life for the rich and the poor differ?

The Agricultural Revolution

•What was the Transport Revolution?

1.The older methods of transport were slow and expensive, and the loads that could be carried and small.

2.Roads: Thomas Telford and John McAdam introduced new road surfaces, which improved roads.

•Turnpike trusts were companies which took over the section of roads, introduced toll gates (turnpikes) and tolls and used the money to maintain the roads.

3. Canals: James Brindley built the first canal to carry coal from Worsley to Manchester.

•Aquaducts, tunnels and locks were used in the Canal Age – larger loads could now be carried.

4. Railways: Richard Trevithick designed the first small steam engine on wheels.

•The first goods train ran between Stockton and Darlington. The trains was designed by George Stephenson.

•The first passenger line ran between Manchester and Liverpool. George and Robert Stephenson’s Rocket won a competition to run along the line.

•Railways spread rapidly all over Britain – trains were a faster, cheaper and more comfortable form of transport. Trains led to the decline of coaches and canals.

A Factory Worker in the Industrial Revolution

How does the steam engine work

The Industrial Revolution 18th and 19th centuries

Rural Ireland in the 1840’s

Overview

1.Ireland was a mainly agricultural country in the 1840’s.

2.Landlords: There was 20,000 landlords. Some landlords were absentees (living in Dublin or England).

3.The landlords rented land to tenants who paid rent twice a year to the landlord’s agent.

4.Tenants: Large farmers rented over 30 acres. They hired labourers to work on the farm. They lived in two-storey houses.

•Small farmers – rented between 5 and 15 acres; they lived in thatched cottages; they depended on the potato as their main food.

5. Cottiers: These were labourers who rented a small plot of land – up to an acre – from a farmer; in return, they worked for the farmer to pay off the rent. They lived in one-room cabins.

6. Landless labourers: These were very badly off; they lived in mud cabins on the edge of towns; they depended on the potato for their food.

•Spailpeens were wandering labourers who travelled around looking for work.

7. Poverty and the workhouse: Poor people went to the workhouse for help. The British government set up Poor Law Unions (areas), each of which had a workhouse. Families were split up and conditions were bad in the workshouses.

•What were the causes of the Great Famine, 1845-50?

•The Progress of the Blight

•What help did famine victims get?

1.Indian corn: The prime minister, Sir Robert Peel, imported £100,000 worth of Indian corn (maize). The corn was sold through government depots. Some people called it Peel’s Brimstone because it was so hard to eat.

2.Public works: People were paid to work on roads and piers.

3.Laissez-faire: A new government led by Lord Jon Russell believed in laissez-faire – the view that if governments interfered in the economy, it would make matters worse. The government stopped buying corn, but expanded the public works schemes.

•

4. Soup Kitchens: These were first set up by the Quakers (or society of Friends). Soup was cooked in large boilers and given to the poor.

•The government then passed the Soup Kitchen Act too set up their own soup kitchens. Three million people were fed in the soup kitchens, but then the government closed them down and said people had to get help through the workhouses.

5. Workhouses: There were over 200,000 people in the workhouses, so they were very overcrowded and disease spread quickly.

6. Disease: People died from typhus and relapsing fever. More died from diseases, which were spread in crowded workhouses and towns, than from starvation. Disease affected rich and poor alike.

•Where did people emigrate to?

1.People left for Britain, America and Canada. 250,000 left in 1847. Some were helped by landlords; others sent one family member, to send money home.

2.Many people sailed in ‘coffin ships’ – ships in very poor condition where disease spread.

•What was the results of the Great Famine?

1.Fall in population: Population fell by 2 million, 1 million emigrated, 1 million died from starvation & disease.

•Cottiers/labourers worst hit; also west of Ireland.

•Population continued to fall after famine due to emigration.

2. Subdivision ended: Dividing up the farms between members of the family ended; farms given to eldest son & others migrated.

3. Decline of the Irish language: Irish speaking areas in west and south-west worst hit by death & migration. After the Famine, families learnt English for emigration.

4. Politics: People blamed the British Government for the Famine. Emigrants helped later groups, the Fenians, leaders of 1916 and the IRA against the British Government.

The Famine

Famine to Freedom

Fields of Athenry

Skibbereen

Oh father dear, I oft-times hear you speak of Erin's isle

Her lofty hills, her valleys green, her mountains rude and wild

They say she is a lovely land wherein a saint might dwell

So why did you abandon her, the reason to me tell.

Oh son, I loved my native land with energy and pride

Till a blight came o'er the praties; my sheep, my cattle died

My rent and taxes went unpaid,

I could not them redeem

And that's the cruel reason why I left old Skibbereen.

Oh well do I remember that bleak December day

The landlord and the sheriff came to take us all away

They set my roof on fire with their cursed English spleen

I heaved a sigh and bade goodbye to dear old Skibbereen.

Your mother too, God rest her soul, fell on the stony ground

She fainted in her anguish seeing desolation 'round

She never rose but passed away from life to immortal dream

She found a quiet grave, me boy, in dear old Skibbereen.

And you were only two years old and feeble was your frame

I could not leave you with my friends for you bore your father's name

I wrapped you in my c�ta m�r in the dead of night unseen

I heaved a sigh and bade goodbye to dear old Skibbereen.

Oh father dear, the day will come when in answer to the call

All Irish men of freedom stern will rally one and all I'll be the man to lead the band beneath the flag of green And loud and clear we'll raise the cheer,

Revenge for Skibbereen!

The Agriculture and Industrial Revolutions

Key Points

In the early 1700’s , the majority of people in Britain lived in small villages in the countryside. However, by the year 1800, great changes take place. Agriculture changed dramatically resulting in the production of more food and better quality food. More and more people left the countryside and moved to the growing industrial cities where thousands of new jobs were being created. Britain became the most advanced industrial nation in the world. A vast network of canals, railroads, bridges and roads was also constructed. A small number of people became extremely wealthy but for the vast majority of people, life was often difficult living in the rapidly growing cities such as Manchester.

Learning objectives:
In this Unit the key areas to study are as follows-

• What happened during the Agricultural revolution?
• Why did the Industrial revolution begin in Britain?
• The lives of factory workers in the new industrial cities.
• The main developments in transportation.

A person working in a factory

You are John Smith

• You live in the city of Manchester
• Moved there from the countryside for a job
• You work in a large textile factory
• Factory uses steam-power engine
• All your family work there

Your typical day

• Start work at 6AM sharp
• Fine imposed if you are late
• Work 12-14 hours per day
• Only allowed two breaks
• Work 5 days and half day Saturday

Your job in the factory

• You are called a mechanic
• You look after the machines
• Must keep them always running
• Had two young boys to help you

Your fellow-workers

• Most are women and children
• They get paid less than men
• Work very long hours also
• Overseer in charge
• Children often punished  if not working

Your working conditions

• Factory is really noisy
• Also very hot and poor ventilation
• Many of workers develop health problems
• TB, typhoid and smallpox are very common
• Also many bad accidents
• Fingers and arms often caught in machines
• No compensation for these unfortunate workers

Your home

• You live in a small house close to factory
• Whole row of terraced houses owned by factory owner
• You pay rent for the small, red-brick house
• Two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs
• No garden - tiny backyard instead
• Whole area is very overcrowded and noisy

The problems you have to deal with

• Very poor water quality
• No proper sanitation
• No proper sewers - open drains instead
• Lots of fog and factory smoke in winter
• People are always sick and constantly coughing
• Many little babies die in their first year
• You share outside toilets with nine other houses
• You also share a water tap with nine other families

Your pastimes/entertainment

• Sometimes you drink gin and ale
• You also go to bare-knuckle fights
• You like to gamble on cock-fights
• You are on your factory football team
• You play against other factory teams
• You take your family on two day-trips to the seaside every summer

Review Questions

1. What were the main reasons for the rapid growth of the population of Britain after 1750?
2. What were some of the main problems with farming in 1750?
3. What was meant by "enclosure"?
4. What advantages did it bring for farming?
5. What were some of the other key changes in farming?
6. State 2 differences between domestic and factory industry
7. State 5 main reasons why Britain became the "workshop of the world"?
8. What was the source of power used by the first factories?
9. Why was James Watt so important?
10. Describe the working conditions in the very first factories and mines?
11. Why were the factory acts passed in the early 1800's ?
12. Who were the chartists and what did they demand?
13. Explain why Robert Owen was so important?
14. What were turnpike trusts?
15. Why were Thomas Telford and John MacAdam so important?
16. How did Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson contribute to the transport revolution?
17. What were some of the main changes brought about as a result of the development of the train?

Answers

1. People began to live longer because great advances were taking place in medicine. Also the birth rate was increasing and babies had a much higher rate of survival in the crucial first years . People began to eat better food such as potatoes which were high in nutrition.

2. Many people still farmed using methods from the Middle Ages. Everything was done by hand which was slow and crop yields were low. Animal and plant diseases were very common.

3. This meant that for the very first time, large areas of the countryside were enclosed by proper fences.

4. It made farming more efficient as a farmer had all his fields close together in one unit. Before this, strip farming meant that fields were spread over an area.

5. New machinery was introduced such as the Seed-drill which was invented by Jethro Tull. It was a major improvement on the old system of scattering seed by hand because it put seeds straight into the ground where birds could not find them.  A better system of crop-rotation was introduced which increased food production by making sure that no field would lay idle for a year. Another important development was that better breeds of farm animals were introduced to the countryside and this also produced better meat and milk etc.

6. Domestic industry means producing goods such as clothing and footwear in your own home. It was a very slow process. In a factory, hundreds of workers could use large machines to produce vast amounts of cloth and other products. It worked out to be much faster and cheaper.

7. Britain had vast supplies of the coal and iron-ore needed for the new factories. Britain also had many overseas colonies which provided cheap raw materials such as cotton from India and large markets to sell the finished products. Another key fact is that Britain had people who were willing to invest and take risks as well as some wonderful inventors.

8. The very first factories used water-power. This meant they had to be built beside rivers and often in out of reach places in order to have a sufficient water flow to turn the giant water-wheels.

9. He was an engineer from Scotland who was the first to perfect a better type of steam-engine that could turn the giant wheels used in factories
10. These factories could be built in large towns and cities. Workers had to work very long hours for low pay. Women and children made up a large part of the workforce. Factory floor was extremely noisy, damp, humid. Many workers developed health problems. There were many accidents in these factories. Most workers had a 6 day work-week.

11. To put pressure on employers to reduce the amount of hours that people had to work, especially women and children. It was quite difficult to enforce or make progress as many of the large rich industrialists were also the same people who controlled the Parliament.

12. They were the people who demanded better rights for workers.

13. He was a factory owner from Scotland who was concerned about the health and welfare of his workers. He provided them with good housing and a school for children who were not allowed to work in the factories.

14. These were special Companies in Britain who set up a system of collecting tolls to use roads. Some of the money collected was then used to ensure that the roads were properly surfaced and maintained.

15. They were both road engineers who developed a better road system by using both stone and gravel and a good drainage system.

16. Trevithick was the first to develop an engine that could run on wheels which of course was the first train. Stephenson developed this further and went on to develop a train that could pull a load and then a passenger train called the “Rocket” that was capable of the great speed of 8 miles per hour.

17. Trains were of great importance to the development of the Industrial revolution. Heavy goods such as coal or iron ore could be easily transported to factories. Farm produce could be delivered much faster to the great centres of population. People could afford to travel outside of their own area for the very first time. People could go on day-trips to the seaside for the first time. Thousands of new jobs were created.

Turning Point: The Industrial Revolution

Farm labourer during The Agricultural Revolution

Take the Revision Test.
The Agricultural Revolution
http://www.etest.ie/AfoTest/TestPopUp.cfm?skincode=78&CurrentLA=En&dKey=TakeTest&cs=1103

The Industrial Revolution

 http://www.etest.ie/AfoTest/TestPopUp.cfm?skincode=78&CurrentLA=En&dKey=TakeTest&cs=1100

The Transport Revolution
http://www.etest.ie/AfoTest/TestPopUp.cfm?skincode=78&CurrentLA=En&dKey=TakeTest&cs=1092


Historical Debate
'The British Government tried to commit genocide in Ireland during the Great Famine.'
 Use your textbook and the internet to present the case, for and against, this motion.
This can be done either In Word or PowerPoint.