The Industrial Revolution and its Impact on European Society

  • Why was Great Britain the first state to have an Industrial Revolution?

    • Great Britain was the first state time industrial revolution because they had new inventions, a good labor supply, and transportation.

  • Why did it happen in Britain when it did?

    • It happened when it did because great Britain's government was into business.

  • What were the basic features of the new industrial system created by the Industrial Revolution?

    • Technology was created and developed from the basic features of the new industrial system.

  • How did rulers and governments take advantage of industrialization of their countries to enhance their power?

    • crystal palace
    • more wealth and cheaper good for trade

  • How did Industrialization spread from Great Britain to the continent and the United States?

    • The Industrial Revolution was spread from Great Britain to the continent because they took the ideas of Britain

  • How did Industrialization in Europe and the United States differ from British industrialization?

    • The differences between Great Britain and the continent are that the continent lagged behind in technology, The continents countries' government played an important role in economic affairs, and joint-stock investment banks.

  • Why did Industrialization fail to take hold as quickly in eastern and southern Europe as it had in the west?

    • Decline in death rate due to a drop in famine, epidemics, and war. Food supplies also increase, evident in Britain's agricultural revolution.

  • How did Industrialization change the relationship between European countries and their colonies?

    • Because the colonized countries weren’t industrialized they remained growing goods such as crops and timber because which is what the mother country accumulated from them and in return the colonies would get processed goods. The mother countries continued to expand their empires as their economies expanded.

  • What effects did the Industrial Revolution have on the following:

    • urban life-industrial cities grew much too fast, and much of the growth occurred in the poorest neighborhoods. As poor migrants streamed in from the countryside, developers built cheap, shoddy row houses.
    • social classes (Bourgeoisie, proletariat)- the industrial revolution caused a larger difference between the poor and rich. The rich got richer and the poor remained the same struggling to look for housing and food while working high hours with low wages
    • family life- the industrial revolution caused many women to get out of the house
    • and start working in factories. Kids either remained in school or were sent to work because child labor laws were non existent.
    • standards of living- the standards of living were poor in the city as families shared small apartments with other families. Housing was scarce as well as money for these laborers

  • What were working conditions like in the early decades of the Industrial Revolution?

    • Long hours and low wages were the conditions these people faced in the early decades which caused talk though the labor union.

  • What role did women play in the Industrial Revolution and how were they and their families affected by it?

    • women entered the workforce in order to help support the family. A common feature of the Industrial Revolution, for working-class people, was the low level of pay that they received. As a result, women and children often worked in the factories and mines in order to help pay for the families cost of living.

  • How did the Industrial Revolution lead to changes in transportation and communication and how did this affect the lives of Europeans?

    • The ability to communicate across long distances improved dramatically during the Industrial Revolution. It began with the invention of the electrical telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1844. This system allowed for messages to be transmitted much quicker and cheaper than old methods.

  • What efforts were made to improve working conditions?

    • These unions used strikes to try to force employers to increase wages or make working conditions safer. Some unions worked on getting new laws passed.

  • Explain the following:

    • The Crystal Palace and Great Exhibition of 1851

      • Held in Great Britain
      • Sponsored by the monarchy, Six million + attended, 15,000 exhibitors (countries, artists, designers, manufacturers, shops), "To show the works of industry to all the nations"

    • Corn Laws (and the Repeal of the Corn Laws)

      • Made it illegal to bring in foreign corn - to make sure people bought British crops and allowed landowners to their prices up.

    • The Hungry 40’s

      • Cost of food higher, Famine across the continent, Irish potato famine slashed population in half, Mass deaths, people fleeing Ireland

    • Irish Potato Famine

      • a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852. With the most severely affected areas in the west and south of Ireland

    • Russian serfdom

      • an unfree peasant of tsarist Russia which meant an unfree person who, unlike a slave, historically could be sold only with the land to which he or she was "attached". Ccontontemporary legal documents

    • Factory Act of 1833

      • a series of acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to regulate the conditions of industrial employment. The early acts concentrated on regulating the hours of work and moral welfare of young children employed in cotton mills

    • Mines Act of 1842

      • an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act forbade women and girls of any age to work underground and introduced a minimum age of ten for boys employed in underground work.

    • 10 Hours Act of 18470

      • a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which restricted the working hours of women and young persons in textile mills to 10 hours per day.

    • Chartism

      • a working-class male suffrage movement for political reform in Britain that existed from 1838 to 1857. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement.

    • Luddites

      • a secret oath-based organization of English textile workers in the 19th century, a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery as a form of protest.

    • Edwin Chadwick

      • an English social reformer who is noted for his leadership in reforming the Poor Laws in England and instituting major reforms in urban sanitation and public health.