Revolution

THE transformation of industry and the economy in Britain between the 1780s and the 1850s is called the ‘first industrial revolution’*. This had far-reaching effects in Britain. Later, similar changes occurred in European countries and in the USA. These were to have a major impact on the society and economy of those countries and also on the rest of the world. This phase of industrial development in Britain is strongly associated with new machinery and technologies. These made it possible to produce goods on a massive scale compared to handicraft and handloom industries. The chapter outlines the changes in the cotton and iron industries. Steam, a new source of power, began to be used on a wide scale in British industries. Its use led to faster forms of transportation, by ships and railways. Many of the inventors and businessmen who brought about these changes were often neither personally wealthy nor educated in basic sciences like physics or chemistry, as will be seen from glances into the backgrounds of some of them. Industrialisation led to greater prosperity for some, but in the initial stages it was linked with poor living and working conditions of millions of people, including women and children. This sparked off protests, which forced the government to enact laws for regulating conditions of work. The term ‘Industrial Revolution’ was used by European