Increased Supply Of Food And Raw Materials example essay topic

Industrial Revolution (Extra Credit) The era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period in which fundamental changes occurred in agriculture, textile, metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure in England. This period is appropriately labeled "revolution", for it thoroughly changed the old manner of doing things and bringing up new techniques. Constantly improving the ways in which things were made, which had effects of cutting costs and improving quality and efficiency was revolutionary about the era. The changes that occurred during this period occurred gradually. Industrial Revolution did not happen suddenly; it happened spread out the centuries. It wasn't only inventions but mostly improvement and new techniques to present inventions.

Advances in agricultural techniques and practices resulted in an increased supply of food and raw materials, changes in industrial organization and new technology resulted in increased production, efficiency and profits, and the increase in commerce, foreign and domestic, were all conditions which promoted the advent of the Industrial Revolution. The improved yield of the agricultural sector can be attributed to the enclosure movement and to improved techniques and practices developed during this period. A common practice in early agriculture was to allow the land to lie fallow after it had been exhausted through cultivation. Later it was discovered that the cultivation of clover and other legumes would help to restore the fertility of the soil. Prior to 1760 the manufacture of textiles occurred in the homes, by people who gave part of their time to it.

It was a tedious process from raw material to finished product. Many of the stages of production were performed by women and children. The supply of raw material for the woolen industry was obtained domestically. In the cases of silk and cotton, the raw materials were obtained from foreign sources, such as, China, the West Indies, North American and Africa. John Kay's flying-shuttle, which enabled one weaver to do the work of two, and Richard Arkwright's roller spinner, which was to make spinning more efficient and James Hargreaves' jenny, a device which enabled the operator to simultaneously spin dozens of threads, was readily adopted.

Arkwright and others developed the water frame. Coal was the one of the most important material during Industrial Revolution. It was the black gold of the eighteenth century. Underground mining was extremely dangerous and risky.

Improvements in coal mining came in the form of improved tunnel ventilation, improved underground and surface transportation, and the use of gunpowder to blast away at the coal seams, and improved tunnel illumination through the use of lamps. Improvements in the iron industry came in the early l 8th century. Abraham Darby successfully produced pig iron smelted with coke. Finished products, raw materials, food and people needed a reliable, quicker and less costly system of transportation. Canals and rivers had long been used as a means of internal transportation. The greatest complaint of industrialists was that they could not get enough raw materials or fuel, or could they ship their finished products fast enough to keep up with demand.

In 1829 George Stephenson won a prize for his train "The Rocket", which was the starting point of fast transportation. Railway was one of the great boom activities of British Revolution. The development of steam power was undoubtedly the greatest technical achievement of the Industrial Revolution. James Watt is credited with the invention of the steam engine. Industrial Revolution was great changes in industry technology but from human aspect things were not always good. The Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist" is one of the best examples that gives you a view of the living conditions in this era.

Cities filled with immigrating families from countryside to towns caused to overflowing and London was particularly crowded. People crowded into already crowded houses. There was air pollution from chimneys, bridges and factories that used steam to power their machines. Burning coal produces a lot of dirty, black smoke. Many factory workers were children. They worked long hours and were often treated badly by the supervisors or overseers.

Sometimes the children started work as young as four or five years old. Oliver Twist was working at a countryside house as a servant very little. The coal mines were dangerous places where roofs sometimes caved in, explosions happened and workers got all sorts of injuries. While thousands of children worked down the mine, thousands of others worked in the cotton mills. Ragged children roamed the streets with no regular money and no home to go to. The children of the streets were often orphans with no one to care for them.

They stole or picked pockets to buy food and slept in outhouses or doorways. Oliver Twist was got into stealing by a group of thieves. Also in the movie there was a clear view of classifications of people.