Activities

 

Complete the following notes. They will give you an outline of the information contained in the passage. The main points, relations of cause-effect, illustrations etc. are clearly indicated in the text by logical connectors. Look out for them. 

 

•  (par. 1) The Industrial Revolution .......................................historical process ...................................................................................................................................................……………………………………………………………………………………..……………………….

led to growth of two systems of thought:

 

1) Economic science                      2) ...Socialism ................................ 

 

a)Adam Smith

b)Malthus

c)Ricardo

d) John Stuart Mill           

 

 

 • (par. 2-3) Facts of Industrial Revolution. 

1)Growth of population

2)Agrarian revolution

 

 

• (par. 4) Decrease in rural population.

causes:     1)  Destruction of the common field ...................................................

     2)   Enclosure...................................................................................................

     3)   Consolidation of small farms into large ......................................................

• (par. 5) Agricultural advance.

cause — more scientific approach:

e.g.         Improvement of the breed of cattle

              Introduction of rotation of crops

               Invention of the steam-plough

             agricultural societies

• (par. 6-7) Growth of industry.

causes;

1) mechanical inventions in textile industry

e.g.  Spinning-Jenny

        Water frame

        Cromptom's mule

        Self-acting mule

 

 

 

 

most important:

                        steam engine

                         power-loom

 

 

2) mechanical revolution in iron industry

e.g.  

                     Invention of smelting by pit-coat

                     Application of the steam-egine to blast furnaces

 

3) improved means of communication

e.g.  

                    Canal-system  

                    Roads improved under Telford and Macadam 

                    railroad

 

results:   1)  ..Change from indipendence to dependence .................................................

     2) substitution of factory system for domestic system.

 

• (par. 8) Revolution in distribution of wealth:

rise in rents caused by

1)Due to money invested in improvements

2)Enclosure system

3)Consolidation of farms

4) high price of corn

social changes in country life:

• (par. 9) Social changes in manufacturing world:………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

consequences:

 1)creation of two new social classes ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2…centralization of the wealthness in a few minutes…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

3) class conflict.

• (par. 10) Misery of working people often caused by:

 

1)fall in wages

2)condition of labour

3)rise of prices

 

Arnold Toynbee's text deal with the Chief Features of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution is definied as an historical process. The essay explain the radical change brought by the Industrial Revolution and how the Medieval regulations were substituted with with the birth of two differents systems of thought: ECONOMIC SCIENCE and SOCIALISM. Referring to Economic Science the author lists the title of four importants texts connected with the development of this system of thought.

In the 2nd and in the 3rd paragraph the writer analyzes the growth of population and the crysis of agrarian revolution.In the following paragraph he explains that the destruction of common field system of cultivation, the enclosure and the consolidation of small farms into large that forced farmers to move and found work in the city's industries are the causes that made the decrease of rural population. On the other side there were some positive changes in the agricultural world; in particular there were more scientific approaches, the breed of cattle was improved, the crops rotation was generally introduced, the steam-plough was invented and agricultural societies were instituted. In the 6th paragraph the essayist underline that some mechanical discoveries helped the substitution of domestic system with the factory one; the most important invention of that time was steam engine. Tonybee in the following paragraph explain the reader the improvement in the means of communication; in particular he writes about the canal system, the turnpike road and the railroad and he notes that the means of communication improvement caused an extraordinary increase in commerce also because securing a sufficient providing was easier. In 9th and 8th paragraph he notices that the rise in rents , caused by money invested in improvements, enclosure system, farm's consolidation and high price of corn, leads many farmers to held their farms under beneficial leases which made them able to make large profits, and that's the reason why their character and habits changed. People in that period lived in a deep misery, caused by work's condition, the rise of prices and the trade fluctuation.The historian concludes the essay underlining that, how the Industrial Revolution effects show, wealth and well-being aren't strictly connected and often, something producing wealth may not produce well-being.