Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th century, marked the emergence of industry and the consolidation of capitalism, generating major changes on the planet.

The Revolution Industrial began in England in the second half of the 18th century, with the emergence of machines. This allowed the establishment of industry and the consolidation of capitalism. The forms of production and labor relations have been radically transformed, and workers have begun to experience an intense exploitation of their workforce.

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Industrial Revolution Brief

The Industrial Revolution began with the emergence of steam-powered machines.
England was the pioneer country in this process, as it gathered political, economic and social conditions to do so.
The beginning of this revolution took place in the second half of the 18th century.
This process caused profound transformations in the lives of workers.
Workers' dissatisfaction with the precariousness of their work resulted in the emergence of unions and labor movements.

Industrial Revolution Video Lesson

What was the Industrial Revolution?

Industrial Revolution is the name by which we know the period of great technological advance that began in England at the end of the 18th century. The technological innovations carried out in England allowed the emergence of the industry . Its spread throughout Europe and the rest of the planet contributed to the establishment of capitalism.

There is no specific date that defines the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, as there is disagreement among historians regarding this chronology. Some point out that the 1760s was your kick off , although others theorize it was the 1780s.

Despite this disagreement in the dating of the event, one thing is unanimous:the Industrial Revolution radically transformed the society . This is because labor relations have changed profoundly, as has the production of goods, which has become faster. Technological development has also contributed to shortening distances.

The starting point of the industry in England was through the industry textile , and the first large machines of the period were designed to expand the production of clothing. This was achieved through the development of loom machines, such as the spinning frame , which allowed a person who wielded it to be able to weave dozens of threads at the same time.

The expansion of production through machines contributed to the reduction of wages and allowed the profits obtained by the owners of industries to be used in the development of new technologies . This was also the case, for example, with the railways, which began to be built in the 1830s throughout the English territory.

This means of transport, then more efficient, was financed, therefore, with money from the profit of the owners of industries. The railways in England made it possible to reduce travel time and made it possible to increase the capacity of produced goods. In short, industries could invest in increasing productivity because there was an efficient way to transport their goods.

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English pioneers in the Industrial Revolution

As mentioned, the Industrial Revolution had its starting point in England, as it was where the first machines that fostered industrial development appeared. A number of factors explain why England was such a pioneer nation.

One can start with the fact that England had one bourgeoisie that invested in the development of capitalism in the English economy. This bourgeoisie established itself in power in the country at the end of the 17th century, shortly after the Glorious Revolution, which consolidated a constitutional monarchy.

Through this, the English bourgeoisie was able to invest in its economic development, always aiming to serve its own interests. In the long run, this transformed the English economy, t ornating the country into a commercial power . Historians set a milestone for the English economy:the Navigation Acts, enacted by Oliver Cromwell in 1651.

This law strengthened English trade and weakened the trade of other shipping , as it determined that goods bought or sold by England could only be transported by English ships. This guaranteed profits for the bourgeoisie, allowing it to accumulate capital, which was used in the development of industry.

In addition to having capital to invest in the development of machinery, England had labour in abundance . This is because in recent centuries the country has been going through a process of expulsion of peasants from their lands, which took place through the Laws of Enclosure (Enclosure). Acts ).

These laws drove out the peasants and s of lands in who lived to convert them to pasture for raising sheep, animals that provide an important raw material for the textile industry. Dispossessed of their land, the peasants had nowhere to survive and, therefore, headed to the cities in search of employment.

In the cities, the available employment became that of textile factories . Workers had no option to reject such an occupation, since without income they would have no housing and, without housing, they would be considered vagrants, that is, framed under the Vadige Law, a law that punished people caught wandering on the streets.

Finally, it should be remembered that England had large reserves of coal and iron , two fundamental raw materials for the development and operation of machines. Some historians also raise the fact that England had a relevant number of intellectuals and scientists that contributed to the country being able to host the innovations of the Industrial Revolution.

Worker's Life in the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution brought great changes to the planet and allowed the development of industry and capitalism, as we have already seen. In addition, the lives of workers, a group that formed the lowest strata of English society, also changed radically.

We can cite the fact that theprocess of producing goods has been changed and moved from manufacturing to machine-making . This means that the work is no longer artisanal to be industrial, as before the clothes were produced manually. With the machines, this process began to happen in an industrialized way.

Thus, it was no longer necessary for the worker to have great manual skills, as the work was no longer artisanal. The machine was easily controlled and any worker could handle it. In practice, the work was no longer specialized and this generated significant salary reduction .

The salary reduction was by no means accompanied by a reduction in the cost of living. Thus, workers had the same expenses, but received much less than they received in the years prior to the emergence of machines. Added to this is the fact that many workers had extremely long working hours.

The work could extend over 16 hours , with a lunch break, every day of the week. In addition, workers could not miss work, because if that happened, their salary would be reduced. Finally, the desktop was not secure and machine accidents were frequent.

This precarious situation at work caused workers to gather in unions , whose intention was to organize themselves to defend the rights of the working class. The unions started to fight for salary increases, reduction in the daily workload, vacation rights, etc. Two prominent workers' movements of the period were Luddism and Chartism.

Stages of the Industrial Revolution

Traditionally, historians have divided the Industrial Revolution into three phases, with this context of the emergence of the textile industry in England 18th century matches to first stage . At that moment, the man started to use machines that worked by means of steam and hydraulic energy.

From the 19th century, started monday phase, that was marked by the expansion of the Industrial Revolution . During this period, the industry prospered in other parts of the world, such as the United States and Japan, and new sources of energy, such as oil, began to be used. This allowed advances in technology. The highlights of this phase are the use of combustion engines and the popularization of the use of electric energy.

Finally, the third phase started in the second half of the 20th century , being marked not necessarily by industrial advancement, but by technological and scientific development, which allowed the emergence of new technologies and considerable advances in areas such as medicine. In the third phase of the Industrial Revolution, the distances were drastically reduced due to the great advance in the means of transport.

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Industrial Revolution in Brazil

Industrialization in Brazil came late. At the end of the 18th century, when the first industries appeared in England, Brazil was not allowed to have any type of manufacture . Consequently, Brazil was prevented from having industries in its territory, a scenario that only changed with the arrival of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil.

The first great cycle of industrialization that Brazil went through took place in the second half of the 19th century, in the period that remained marked for the investments of Baron from Mauá . Also known by his name, Irineu Evangelista de Sousa, this industrialist gained prominence for investing in the construction of railroads in Brazil and in the creation of a shipyard where steam ships were manufactured.

However, a great cycle of industrialization in Brazil only took place between the 1930s and 1950s and it happened thanks to incentives made by the governments of Getúlio Vargas and Juscelino Kubitschek.