The revolution in agriculture also made a large contribution to the progress of the industrial revolution. One of the ways, and, indeed, the main way, in which it did this was by inventing the closed field system. Unlike the conventional farming methods using the open field system, this system was much more efficient. This meant that less people were needed to produce the same amount of food that traditional methods would have done, in less time. That led to more people leaving their careers in farming and moving to cities in search of work in a factory. Also, the industrial revolution helped the agricultural one because it made advances in technology like steam-powered machines for farming, making farming yet more efficient and reducing the work force needed.
Coal and iron were a major help to the revolution because they made way for new technologies and structures using iron. This improved both transport and quality and life of factory and home machines. A big advance was made in the production of iron goods when Abraham Darby I discovered that coke, already used in the brewing industry, was a much more efficient and less expensive fuel than charcoal. Abraham Darby II was the first to make iron products by casting it (pouring it into a mould), rather than hammering it into shape (wrought iron). Abraham Darby III specialised in making things out of iron that had never been attempted, for example, the first ever iron boat and the first ever iron bridge. The Darby family gave the name of Coalbrookdale to the area where they lived. These advances in metalworking were an important part of Britain’s industrialization. Because of them, iron, a cheap, strong and abundant resource, could be used for things like machinery in many industries.
Another key aspect of the revolution was that Britain had many individuals who were willing to risk all the money they had to create factories that could mass-produce items. These inventors and entrepreneurs set up many factories. There were also people like Richard Arkwright who invented a new type of cotton spinning machine. This replaced the old spinning-jenny type of spinning wheel, where one person would sit at it and spin cotton. Entrepreneurs set the basis for the revolution with their factories and inventions and, therefore, were extremely important for the occurrence of the revolution.
At the time when the industrial revolution was going on, Britain Sir Richard Arkwright had control over a large number of countries. This meant that there was a lot of cheap labour and lots of extra raw materials at Britain’s disposal. This gave opportunity for England to make good of the new technologies coming about during that period. This helped towards creating the new machines, buildings, and transport routes involved in making a new business enterprise. As the country’s resource extraction methods were not very efficient, an additional source for raw materials was extremely useful for obvious reasons.
During the revolution, the government was in a state of laissez-faire (to leave alone) meaning a greater diversity of products could exist and be tested. This simply meant that there were no restrictions on trade and production. Adam Smith put this policy forward in 1776 in his book “The Wealth of Nations”. He argued that private competition, free from regulation and intervention on the government’s part, produces and distributes wealth much better than a government-controlled market. This enables tax-free trading and so prices for English products abroad and foreign products in England are cheaper and, therefore, people will continue to buy them.
In the revolution, most of the causes were Adam Smith linked in some way or other. For example, the entrepreneurs are directly linked to the population increase because when population grows; demand for certain products increases and more entrepreneurs are needed to ser up factories. The revolution in agriculture also created more demand for products and machines and, thereby, creating a larger demand for inventors and entrepreneurs who are willing to put the inventors’ ideas into practice. The “new world” (i.e. the east) was becoming more and more explored and, due to more long haul trading routes being needed, better and faster boats were required, once again increasing the demand for new inventions. There are many, many more connections that can be made between the causes of the industrial revolution; however, I think that the most important cause was the fact that there was such demand for advancement. The least important cause, however, is very difficult to determine. This is because, when one goes down the scale of importance, there are multiple reasons for how important a cause is. However, I think that the least important cause is the fact that Britain was at peace. This cause did not contribute much to the revolution, nor would it have taken much away, had the country been at war. This is for the reason that, even at times of war, there is technological demand. At war, in fact, there is greater demand than ever and so, having war may have even sped up the revolution.