MCorte - The Industrial Revolution - The Industrial Revolution by Arnold Toynbee

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In this text I would talk about the Industrial Revolution: so I'm going to explain chief features and his importance.
The Industrial Revolution is generally known as a period from 18 - 19 century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation and technology had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of his time. This expression was probably used for the first time by Arnold Toynbee but it was already use by Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Engels. This process started in the end of the 17 century mainly in Britain the in Europe.
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution is linked to a number of important innovations. First at all it was very important the development of the textile industry: new machines were invented(most important the "Spinning Jenny") and this new technology was applied to spinning worsted yarn for textiles. Continuing about this, the most probably famous invention of this period was the steam engine by James Watt in 1775:it was used not only to power pumps but also to power other type of machines such as the cotton mills and ironworks. Moreover it was important the development of the iron industry, caused by introduction of the coke in the stages about treatment of iron but also for the new most important industries of the time.
In terms of social structure, the Industrial Revolution consisted in the grow of a new middle class of industrialist and businessmen contrasting the class of noblemen lacking in initiative. Ordinary people could find some jobs in the new industries, even if under strict working hours and conditions(10-12 work hours). New process of industrialization caused the rise of the new factories, symbol of the modern city, also because a lot of workers migrated into the cities in search of employment. For this many people began to ask for getting better the workers conditions, forming the first socialist movements. There were also a lot of problems about child labour, even if already before the Industrial Revolution: when they were four years old they were employed and forced to work in very harming conditions and with few salary. Due to the possible harms and to the many accidents, most of them died in the factories or took some illness. Moreover the living condition were extremely variable but the most common one was the squalor of the lives of the workers: they lived in poor and small houses in cramped streets, lacking of public health. (conditions of hygiene and health improved just from 19th century).
The Industrial Revolution was not received very well by public opinion. It is important referring to the movement of the Luddites: The rapid industrialisation of the English economy cost many craft workers their jobs. The movement started first with lace and hosiery workers and spread to other areas of the textile industry owing to early industrialisation. Many weavers also found themselves suddenly unemployed since they could no longer compete with machines which only required relatively limited (and unskilled) labour to produce more cloth than a single weaver. Many such unemployed workers, weavers and others, turned their animosity towards the machines that had taken their jobs and began destroying factories and machinery. These attackers became known as Luddites, supposedly followers of Ned Ludd, a folklore figure. The Luddites rapidly gained popularity, and the British government took drastic measures using the militia or army to protect industry.