01 The Industrial Revolution and the Making of the Modern World Free Online FlashCards

What was the Industrial Revolution?

A long shift from economies based mainly on farming and handcrafts to economies increasingly organized around machines, factories, and wage labor.

Where and when did the Industrial Revolution begin?

It began in Britain in the mid-eighteenth century and spread during the nineteenth century to parts of Europe, North America, and elsewhere at different rates.

How did key machines transform textile production?

The spinning jenny and water frame increased yarn production, while the power loom mechanized weaving.

What changed with the factory system?

Production moved from homes and small workshops into workplaces where employers coordinated machinery, schedules, and workers, enabling larger-scale output.

What roles did coal and iron play in industrial growth?

Coal fueled steam engines, while improvements in iron production supplied materials for machinery, buildings, and railways.

How did transport networks support industrialization?

Steam-powered locomotives and ships, along with railways, canals, and improved roads, moved goods more quickly and reliably between sources, factories, ports, and markets.

Which industries and communication technologies grew in the later nineteenth century?

Steel, chemicals, and electrical equipment expanded. Growing rail networks increased demand for steel, while telegraphs and later telephones sped up communication.

How was industrial textile production connected to global systems of coercion?

Manufacturers relied on raw materials and overseas markets; textile production was tied to American cotton grown in part by enslaved people in the United States before the Civil War.

What forces drove urbanization during industrialization?

Factories, mines, ports, and railway centers attracted workers, while population growth and agricultural changes also encouraged migration from the countryside.

What housing and sanitation problems affected many industrial cities?

Rapid growth often outpaced housing and infrastructure, leaving many working-class families with crowded homes, inadequate ventilation, and limited clean water or sewage disposal.

How did industrialization reshape class and working life?

Factory owners and investors gained influence, while a growing industrial working class depended on wages and often faced long hours, low pay, repetitive tasks, and dangerous machinery.

What did the British Factory Act of 1833 establish?

The Factory Act of 1833 limited working hours for children in covered factories, required schooling for younger child workers, and established a factory inspectorate.