The industrial Revolution

The process of extraordinary development and radical transformation that took place in industry and commerce is called the industrial revolution , and that contributed to modify science and technology, means of communication and transportation, as well as the uses, customs and general conditions of human existence. «It caused, in the last one hundred and fifty years, advances of a material order that surpass those of the entire previous existence «This whole process began in the second half of the 18th century and also during the 19th century.

Causes

This was mainly due to :

To the intensive use of machinery in production (result of scientific and technological evolution).
To the investment of strong capitals (industrial capitalism); that is to say, that science was joined to capital.
To the desire to improve the living standards of the population.
To an excessive desire for profit on the part of businessmen.

This prodigious technical-economic advance profoundly transformed the living conditions of contemporary society , then, he contributed greatly to the progress of humanity; but, likewise, it also created serious problems of a social nature, sharp class conflicts, the same ones that are still valid until today.
The Industrial Revolution has its antecedents in the portentous Age of Machinism, that is, in that time of the formidable development of machines, of mechanical instruments, with a view to being used in large-volume and serial production. This would originate industrial mechanization.

The Age of Machinism

Machinism is an economic-social phenomenon that consists of the exaggerated use of machinery in industry , to such an extent that mechanical instruments have replaced man in production.
«Machinism modified, fundamentally, the industrial technique, the means of communication and transport, as well as the commercial organization, the uses and customs and the general conditions of daily existence. Thus, in the last 150 years, it has caused material advances that surpass those of all previous history» .

Stages of the Industrial Revolution

We distinguish two stages in the development of the industrial revolution, namely:

The First Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution, in its first stage, was characterized by the considerable achievements made in agriculture , the same ones that were related to the new cultivation techniques, the modern irrigation systems, as well as the use of fertilizers; all of this together with efficient and advanced tillage instruments as well as improvements in cattle breeding.
But much more important than the «agricultural revolution » was the rapid and vigorous expansion of British industry after 1750, a date that marks precisely the beginning of this first stage, especially of the textile industry. This was due to the series of mechanical inventions, especially that of the steam engine invented by James Watt, whose energy put the mechanical loom into operation, at the same time that it was also used in the mines and transport, as we will see later. go ahead.

The Second Industrial Revolution

It arises from 1850, that is, one hundred years after the start of the Industrial Revolution. This stage is characterized by the consolidation and formidable development of machinery , as, equally, by the invigoration of industrial capitalism; all this would generate, consequently, the surprising rise of the Big Industry. «The technical superiority of Western countries increased in the second half of the 19th century, allowing them to exercise great political, economic or cultural influence over the rest of humanity».
Elements that characterize the second industrial revolution
They are as follows:

Scientific research is mostly industry-oriented.
Discovery and exploitation of new sources of wealth such as electricity and oil.
It goes from the "Iron Age" to the "Age of steel and oil".
Technological progress is also converging towards the fields of chemistry and biology.
Greater concentration of capital (industrial capitalism), while monopolies arise.
Large capitalist companies replace personal companies.
In the field of electricity, new industries are competing in England, the United States of America and Germany.
There is a tremendous expansion of both means of transportation and communication.

Major inventions and discoveries

The main inventions and discoveries of a scientific and technological nature that contributed to the mechanization of industry and, consequently, to its formidable development until the end of the 19th century, were numerous and varied and appeared or occurred mainly in England, erected, in the largest industrial and commercial power in the world, in the first manufacturing center of the World. And, since the end of the last century, the United States of America has also experienced an unusual and prodigious development of its industry to the point of rivaling England. Shortly after, Germany would enter the scene, whose immense progress would surprise the world from the first decades of this century.
We give below some of such scientific and technological progress:

The machines for stripping, spinning and weaving cotton.
The steam engine, whose power generated by water vapor became a new source of energy, and once perfected by its inventor, James Watt, had three main applications:in the textile industry, mining and transportation, through the use of the mechanical loom powered by the steam engine, the steamboat and the steam locomotive (railway).
The use of electricity, whose basis is the electric motor, origin of electric trams, electric locomotives and electric lighting.
The invention of the telegraph, the telephone and radio telegraphy.
The invention of the lighter combustion engine, which used oil at the beginning and, later, gasoline, would also originate a revolution in the means of transport with the appearance of the automobile, the plane, the airship , the submarine, etc.
The substitution of iron for steel.
The investment of synthetic products.
The invention of dynamite.
The invention of the cinematograph and refrigeration devices
The invention of the sewing machine.
The construction of railways and road networks.
The construction of merchant and warships, etc.

Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

The main consequences of the Industrial Revolution were the following:

The Industrial Revolution constituted the origin of the Contemporary Society, that is to say, it originated deep changes in the life of the people, both in the economic and social order as well as in the political, scientific, and cultural order, since the end of the 18th century to the present.
The wealth of the world increased extraordinarily, and although the beneficiaries were mainly the industrialists and merchants, the poor also improved somewhat in their standards of living, both in terms of wages, food and clothing as well as with education and culture.
The population of the world increased considerably. Thus, in the XIX century, Europe went from 175,000,000 inhabitants to 400,000,000; United States of America, from 5,000,000 to 150,000,000; Argentina, from 4,000,000 to 21,000,000.
Further colonial expansion occurred. This was due to the purpose of opening new markets and, fundamentally, to obtain raw materials for the flourishing industry of their towns.
Industrial capitalism is born, while the power of the capitalist bourgeoisie is consolidated.
A massive and serial production of manufactured articles emerges, while mechanized agriculture offers extraordinary yields; this contributes to lower prices and facilitates their acquisition in greater volume.
A new society is born. The Industrial society, based on the existence of two social classes of antagonistic position:the industrial capitalist and the proletarian or worker.
Acute problems of a social nature arise, emanating precisely from class conflicts (class struggle), that is, from the struggle between the proletarians or workers and the capitalists or industrialists.