The Industrial Revolution

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by Andrew Perman | Friday 20th of January 2023

The Industrial Revolution


The Industrial Revolution is a potentially misleading term; it does not refer to a single, dramatic event but instead to a series of changes and developments over many decades. Britain was transformed from an agrarian economy where most lived off the land and society was dominated by a narrow political and social elite to an urbanised nation where the majority of the population were employed in manufacturing or industry. For roughly two hundred years between the 18th and early 20th centuries, there was an explosion of ideas and inventions that profoundly altered working practices and methods of production. The landscape became dominated by mills and factories and cities grew rapidly, with many social problems resulted from the vast influx of workers and their families to create densely populated metropolises. The revolution in production methods was accompanied by hundreds of thousands of miles of new transport systems, including canals, roads and railways that facilitated trade and improved communication. The changes were powered by both steam and coal, which replaced wood as the fuel of choice for the industrial age. 


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