The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution is the change from an agrarian and maritime economy to an industrialised economic system, which started in Britain around the 1780s.

Arnold Toynbee wrote that there was a development of Economic Science in England that had four chief landmarks:
• The first is the publication of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations in 1776. Smith investigated the causes of wealth.
• The second is the publication of Malthus' Essay on Population in 1798, which considered the product of that revolution.
• The third is the publication of Ricardo's Principles of Political Economy and Taxation in 1817. Ricardo sought to ascertain the laws of the distribution of wealth.
• The fourth is the publication of John Stuart Mill's Principles of Political Economic in 1848. In this there was the influence which the rival system of Socialism was already beginning to exercise upon the economist.

In this period there was also an Agricultural Revolution which was linked to the Industrial Revolution. This happening was caused by the application of technology to farming methods. The manual labour was replaced with new machines and so more agricultural workers had to go into the towns in search of work.

The most important factors which facilitated the industrial transformation of Britain were the technological innovations. There was a new process for producing wrought iron, spinning-jenny, power-loom and the steam-engine was improved for steamboats and locomotives.

In addition there was a transport Revolution thanks to the spread of canals, roads, the first railways. The industries of iron, steel and textile were very important for the nation's economy.

Another revolution was in the social field because there was a new class of capitalists, which were alongside the wealthy merchant class.