The 18th Century: The First Industrial Revolution

Technology brought the “ready-to-wear revolution” to the people. The spinning jenny and the power loom makes mass production of clothing effortless. Various clothing and sizes were now available to everyone. The value of clothing and jewelry declined due to overproduction.

The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was arguably the most important turning point in history. It transformed the manufacture of goods from craftsmanship to commercialism, exponentially increasing output and decreasing production cost leading to prosperity and an unprecedented supply of goods for the markets of the world. Industrialization and mass production was the fuel which ignited the flame of capitalism which was already established creating bringing sweeping changes in wealth and its distribution. Within a few generations the very fabric of society was virtually remade as millions left the farms and villages of the countryside for jobs in the cities. This monumental change did not immediately sweep

The earliest factories in England came up by the 1730s and, with the technology enabled production processes like carding, twisting, spinning and rolling became faster and easier consequentially, between 1760 and 1787 raw cotton imports to British cotton industry rose from 2.5 million pounds to 22 million pounds. On the contrary, the traditional market of cotton cloth from India witnessed a steady decline from 30 per cent around 1800 to 15 per cent by 1815 and to 3 percent in 1870s. While exports of cloth declined rapidly, export of raw materials increased equally fast. Between 1812 and 1871, the share of raw cotton exports rose from 5 per cent to 35 per cent. This was not something triggered by the industrial revolution but the protectionist measures of the British t which imposed tariffs on cloth imports. The creation of cotton mill by Richard Arkwright brought processes under one roof and management, allowing better supervision, quality control, and the regulation of labour. Thus not only the trade the way business of production was handled also underwent a quantum change.

The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney, was a mechanized way to remove to sticky green seeds from the fluffy white cotton balls. (Eli Whitney Museum) The hand powered cotton gin was a huge advancement, but the larger versions of the cotton gin which were pulled by a horse, could produce much more. According to Whitney, "One man and a horse will do more than fifty men with

In the late 1700s the invention of new machines launched the first wave of industrial revolution. New technology

The Industrial Revolution was a time period of rapid growth in society. Referring to the 1700’s century in England where the output of machine made goods greatly increased. Prior to the changes made during the Industrial Revolution, workers often manufactured products in their homes using handtools and basic machinery. However, industrialization marked a shift of labor from small farms in rural areas to large factories in cities and was a time of new products, inventions and methods of work.The results of the Industrial Revolution led to many positive outcomes because new cultivation methods spread rapidly around the world. The Industrial Revolution made a significant political, economical, and social change throughout Europe. The Industrial

Introduction of the factory system was earth shattering and increased manufacturing for the cotton and iron industry which effected cities and the population distribution. There were four inventions that changed manufacturing and the way people worked. Some inventions included the spinning Jenny, Crompton’s Mule, and the Self acting Mule, and the Water Frame. “In 1764, Hargreaves invented a new spinning wheel. He called it the spinning jenny in honor of his wife. This simple machine allowed one spinner to work six or eight threads at a time.” (course reader 102) The Spinning Jenny was a machine that helped the people sew clothes faster. Then came Cromptons Mule, “In 1779, Samuel Crompton combined features of the spinning jenny and the water-frame

Eli Whitney was the inventor of the cotton gin and a pioneer in the mass production of cotton. Whitney was born in Westboro , Massachusetts., on Dec. 8, 1765, and died on Jan. 8, 1825. He graduated from Yale College in 1792. By April 1793, Whitney had designed and constructed the cotton gin, a machine that automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber.

Within ten days Eli Whitney was already starting his first attempt to invent a machine to help this problem. Whitney failed the first try but tried a second time and succeeded. Therefore, the creation of the cotton gin developed.

During the 18 century, in Britain occurred the most important phenomenon that changed the history, Industrial Revolution. It was a major turning point in their history but in the world’s history as well because the impact of the inventions changed the economical, social and political field forever. The standard of living increased therefore the population had increased.

In the late 1780’s, when the industrial revolution started in London, London was a powerhouse for thread, because of Arcrai, he invented the modern factory, and the motorized spinning wheel, you could put a lot in a single factory, powered by Human Labor, Water, Wind, or Animals, which allowed mass production.

There were two key inventions that had a huge impact on the Industrial Revolution. John Kay, an English engineer invented the flying shuttle. They flying shuttle was a machine that made cotton workers capable of weaving much faster. Kay received the patent for the flying shuttle on May 26, 1733. Thirty-one years late in 1764, an English carpenter name James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny. This machine multiplied the amount of yarn produced. The only setback was that the spinning jenny produced only one type of yarn needed for weaving (Bruno 158). Then another inventor, Richard Arkwright, made the water frame. This invention made it possible to produce the other type of yarn needed and required much waterpower. The new spinning machine that Arkwright invented was made of a frame, which was too large and too expensive to fit in a small cottage. In The Timetable of Technology, it states that Arkwright is the founder of the modern factory. He is named the founder because he built a house for his new water frame, and then employed one thousand people to work the spinning machine. This new factory started operating in

It reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn, with one worker able to work eight or more spools at a time. As technology improved this grew to 120. This invention greatly improved the speed and quality of cloth in the 1700’s. This made it possible for English people to get clothing cheaper and in less time.

Europe wanted to keep all this progress to itself, so anyone who had worked around the machinery could not leave the country. It was illegal, and if they were apprehended, they could be punished severely. Nonetheless, a certain Samuel Slater took the plans for a cotton mill and fled Britain in the year 1789. He quickly traveled to the United States, where the Revolution would soon expand and pop, like the balloon. Slater went first to Rhode Island, where he opened up a cotton mill powered by a waterwheel. His work was peculiar and new to the Americans, but once they realized how productive it was, and how much more available the textiles were, they loved the new mills. Machines could make more goods at a lower price. The ready availability of cotton, threads, and clothing. Slater had brought ideas for the new mechanical looms and spinning engines as well, and people liked the ideas. After people realized how productive Slater's new mills were, factories for all different kinds of goods and products started popping up all over the United States. The new factories, which used Adam Smith's division of labor theory, required a large amount of manpower. The more people worked, the more productive it was to own a factory.

After the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment of the 16th and 17th centuries, much of Europe began to embrace progress. This new worldview led to the Industrial Revolution, a period beginning in the late 18th century and lasting through the 19th century in which England experienced economic expansion and a burst of new, major inventions that earned England great industrial power. However, this transformation did not come without issues. The problems of the Industrial Revolution, including horrific living conditions and a loss of humanity, were largely unrecognized by the English government at first, but after years of reformers, writers, and foreigners bringing attention to these issues, the English government acted to successfully