Essay --

In the late eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution made its debut in Great Britain and subsequently spread across Europe, North America and the rest of the world. These changes stimulated a major transformation in the way of life, and created a modern society that was no longer rooted in agricultural production but in industrial manufacture. Great Britain was able to emerge as the world’s first industrial nation through a combination of numerous factors such as natural resources, inventions, transport systems, and the population surge. It changed the way people worked and lived, and a revolution was started. As stated by Steven Kreis in Lecture 17, â€Å"England proudly proclaimed itself to be the "Workshop of the World," a position that country held until the end of the 19th century when Germany, Japan and United States overtook it.† A major cause for the Industrial Revolution was the enormous spurt of population growth in England. The increase in population meant that there were more people in surplus from agricultural jobs, and they had to find work in industrial factories. Enclosure brought forth a great increase in farming production and profits. Farming was improved through the use of crop rotation, enclosures, and the division on farms across England. Crops that were grown consisted of turnips, barley, clover, wheat. This improvement in farming caused a population explosion, which soon led to a higher demand for goods. The new means of production demanded new kinds of skills, new regulation in work, and a large labor force. The goods produced met immediate consumer demand and also created new demands. In the long run, industrialization raised the standard of living and overcame the poverty that most Europeans, who lived d... ...ndustrialization spread to the United States then across Europe. The BBC website indicates France, by contrast, was home to some of the finest scientific minds, but had an absolute monarchy which wielded great control over economic and political life. In Britain people believed that through industrial production they could create untold wealth - and the government believed that it was its responsibility to make this happen. In conclusion, the Industrial Revolution had profoundly impacted Europe in the 18th century. The Industrial Revolution also had considerable impact upon the nature of work, people, geography, and technology. It significantly changed the daily lives of ordinary men, women, and children. All of these factors came together in the late 18th century to create the unique conditions in England that culminated in the first-ever Industrial Revolution.