5.1: The First and Second Industrial Revolutions

The First Industrial Revolution

Overall, there were two industrial revolutions. The First Industrial Revolution primarily took place in Great Britain and largely involved the steam engine. The Second Industrial Revolution took place in most of western and central Europe, the USA, and Japan. This industrial revolution involved many innovations and transformed societies from top to bottom.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): British Cotton Mill by E.L. Hoskyn, in the Public Domain

The Industrial Revolution was not the result of any type of technological or scientific superiority in Europe. East Asia was just as advanced in both areas during the late 1700s. Rather certain environmental factors existed in England which were absent elsewhere. Most historians agree that there were five necessary inputs that are required for an industrial revolution: capital (wealth for investment), technology, an energy source, availability of labor, and consumers. By the late 1700s, Great Britain had all of these and became the birthplace of the First Industrial Revolution. The steam engine was used out of necessity in Britain during the early 1700s. There was a major need for fuel, and Britain lacked timber.  Huge coal seams were found in Britain, but they were flooded.  However, British craftsmen made significant improvements to the steam powered pumps to get water out of the mines. Overall, the steam engine became more useful because the British made incremental improvements. Europe had a technological edge in instrument production such as clocks, watches, and telescopes. So, the British used their precision and calibrating skills to make improvements in the steam engine. Then, Englishman James Watt’s 1781 engine was the first to produce rotary power that could be applied to drive factories, wheels, and propellers.  In the 1700s, the steam engine was used to mechanize the weaving and spinning of cloth which resulted in the mass production of textiles. Figure 5.1.1 shows rows of steam-powered weaving machines placed close to one another in a British cotton mill for the mass production of textiles. Does the technology pictured above look advanced?

People all over the world purchased manufactured cotton because it was comfortable to wear, cheap, and easy to wash. Mass-produced British textiles were also finer, stronger, and more uniform. As a consequence, by the early 1800s, Britain replaced India and China as the leading textile producer.  Then, the steam engine launched a transportation revolution. This technology made it possible to sail upstream as easily and quickly as down, causing an explosion of travel and shipping. The other transportation technology from steam power, of course, was the railroad, which was even more revolutionary than the steamboat. Land transport by train was substantially cheaper and much faster than transportation using horses and wagons.

Britain also had an abundance of capital—wealth that is invested to create more wealth was available to merchants and others who benefited from world trade. Great Britain had fuel in the form of coal to power the machines. Machinery and equipment were made out of iron which was also plentiful in Great Britain. Agricultural improvements in the previous century and the introduction of new staple crops like the potato, imported from the Americas, produced more food using less labor. Improved nutrition allowed Britain’s population to grow, increasing the number of people available for work in the factories. Tea and sugar from the Caribbean are appetite suppressants and provided British workers with the energy to work harder in factories. For mass production to occur, there needs to be a market for mass-produced goods and there was regional specialization. The colonies in the Americas served as markets for British manufactured goods and supplied key raw materials.  Even after independence, the United States remained a supplier of raw materials like grain, timber, cotton, and salted pork to the former “home country.”

Governments must have three major policies to promote an industrial revolution. First, a national bank with a national currency is necessary. A modern banking system allows investors to get loans and for smoother commercial transactions. Second, no nation has undergone an industrial revolution without protective tariffs on imported manufactured goods. Tariffs increased the price of imports to consumers, encouraging them to buy the now-competitive domestically-produced goods. Lastly, governments need to invest in and encourage infrastructure to create an integrated economy. The cities, the farms, and the mines all need to be connected for economic modernization to occur. Cities were growing, because the factories were located in the cities. Trains and/or steamships were needed to quickly bring millions of tons of food to feed the cities.

Why not China?

Relative Shares of World Manufacturing Output (1750-1900)

Year	1750	1800	1830	1860	1880	1900
Europe	23.2%	28.1%	34.2%	53.2%	61.3%	62.2%
United Kingdom	1.9%	4.3%	9.5%	19.9%	22.9%	18.5
Germany (German States)	2.9%	3.5%	3.5%	4.9%	8.5%	13.2%
United States	0.1%	0.8%	2.4%	7.2%	14.7%	26.6%
China	32.8%	33.3%	29.8%	19.7%	12.5%	6.2%
India/Pakistan	24.5%	19.7%	17.6%	8.6%	2.8%	1.7%

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Relative Shares of World Manufacturing Output (1750-1900) by Jordan Stanton is licensed CC BY and is modified from Journal of Economic History, 11 (1982) by P. Bairoch, in the Public Domain

Discussion Question

Based on data in Table 5.1.1, why would China’s share of manufacturing output decrease while manufacturing in Europe increased? 

During the 1700s, the Qing Empire (1644-1912) in China was the global economic powerhouse. So, why was there no industrial revolution there? For the most part, China did not undergo an industrial revolution because conditions that existed in Great Britain were lacking in China.  China did not have this same type of regional specialization that the British Empire had where one region focused on manufacturing while other regions produced raw materials. There can be no mass production on a factory scale if there is no market for factory-produced goods.  The Chinese were focused on expanding their own land frontiers, and about 10,000,000 peasants established farms in western China.  This westward expansion of the Chinese frontier was based on agriculture and home handicraft production which reproduced patterns of production found in the more densely populated areas in eastern China. Therefore, families in the West produced their own textiles, and trade with the East was limited.  The Chinese ideal was that men would plow and women would produce cloth. So, there was a family division of labor instead of geographical economic specialization.

The technology between Europe and China was about equal in 1750. In fact, the Chinese understood the basic scientific principles involved in steam engine technology. However, the Chinese did not need to use coal since there was no timber shortage in China. Once Western Europe advanced technologically, the Chinese government did not put in place policies that would transform the Chinese economy. During the 1800s, the Qing Empire kept in place the exam system and government-run schools which focused on Confucian texts rather than applied sciences. 

The Second Industrial Revolution

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Bowery at Night by William Louis Sonntag Jr, Museum City Library of New York in the Public Domain

Beginning in the 1830s, countries throughout most of western and central Europe, the USA, and Japan initiated the Second Industrial Revolution. This was a much more radical transformation of society from top to bottom. Economic transformation entailed building a modern transportation system, communication system, education system, and advanced health system. Agriculture was also modernized during the Second Industrial Revolution. New products of the Second Industrial Revolution included chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electrical goods, synthetic dyes, aluminum, and vehicles like cars. Steel, which is more malleable and stronger than iron, became an essential metal for ship-building and railways.  Additionally, new energy sources were used. Oil, which powered the internal combustion engine, and electricity were cheap energy sources like coal.  The painting in Figure 5.1.2 depicts the Bowery, a neighborhood in New York City at night during the late 1800s. The image shows crowded sidewalks on both sides of the street with horses, carriages, trolleys, and trains. What do you see that is modern and what does not appear modern? There were also advances in science and medicine. For the most part, science was a hobby for amateurs during the 1700s. However, by the mid-1800s, the scientist was a professional who was employed by universities, the government, hospitals, businesses, or some other institution. This was when research and development became an essential component of industrial development. Also, Louis Pasteur discovered that bacteria caused diseases, and he promoted the use of vaccines. Soap production increased dramatically as people began to bathe more.

The Second Industrial Revolution also transformed financial systems. Mass production required a tremendous amount of wealth and the modern corporation became a powerful institution to raise capital by selling stocks and bonds. Previously, most businesses were family owned and corporations had only been used for commerce. The size of these new companies was enormous. Additionally, the gold standard facilitated global trade.  Discoveries of gold in California, Africa, and Australia resulted in an influx of currency and credit into the global economy.

For the most part, very few countries underwent this tremendous economic transformation. Industrial growth was also limited in Latin America for two reasons.  It was the first region to embrace free trade policies. Therefore, these countries abolished most tariffs protecting local producers. The governments of Latin America wanted to focus on exporting primary products with a policy known as export-led growth. They just wanted to import whatever manufactured goods they needed.  Also, there was political instability in Latin America at this time which created a bad climate for major investment.  So, Latin America, Asia, and Africa became exporters of primary products which consisted of agricultural goods and minerals. For the most part, Latin American governments made a conscious decision to promote primary product exports. However, European imperial powers forced most of Africa and Asia to focus on primary product production by 1900. Over time, the prices of primary products dropped enormously because of overproduction. Too many regions were producing products like coffee. However, the price of manufactured goods, such as the automobile, remained stable or increased. Nevertheless, primary products from Latin America, Asia, and Africa were essential for the industrial development of western and central Europe, the USA, and Japan.  The primary product workers tended to be non-white and worked under oppressive conditions which usually included some form of coercion whether it was outright slavery or debt peonage.

Review Questions 

• Why did the Industrial Revolution originate in England?
• How did the Industrial Revolution affect Asia, Africa, and Latin America?