Industrial Revolution

In 1776, Adam Smith published the "Wealth of Nations" which promoted capitalism and
argued against mercantilism. He reasoned that a free economy would benefit both the
government and consumers, providing the government with more resources from trade
and allowing consumers to purchase more products for cheaper. The Industrial Revolution
began in Britain in the 18th century and led to the invention of machines such as
the spinning jenny, steam engine, and machine gun. These inventions would spark
the technology age of European history and increase the speed of progress dramatically.

Prelude

The Industrial Revolution was able to begin in Britain for a variety of reasons.
For one, Britain was the only major European power to not be invaded by Napoleon.
Everywhere Napoleon attacked he spread nationalism and liberal ideals, which caused
chaos in conquered countries. Britain avoided this and thus was not set back like
other countries. In addition, Britain's large natural coal deposits provided a reliable
power source for industrial factories and machines.

Major Inventions

One of the first major improvements caused by the Industrial Revolution was the
spinning jenny. It mechanized the textile industry and increased production immensely.
In addition, the steam engine was invented in 1712 and increased both the speed and
ease of transportation. Because of this, more people traveled outside their city
of birth than ever before. A factory system was developed that made cities the target
of urbanization, drastically increasing the population of industrial cities. Mechanized
devices such as machine guns also improved warfare.

Social/Economic Effects

Industrialization led to both a loss in jobs and increase in employment. Women,
who were often the ones working in textiles, lost their jobs due to male workers
taking over mechanized textiles. However, it also opened up new opportunities for
less skilled workers, as factory systems often utilized versions of crowdsourcing.
The Industrial Revolution led to an economic boom as it occured during a shift
towards free-market capitalism.