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Period: to
The Early Industrial Revolution, 1760-1851
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James Hargreaves's Spinning Jenny
In 1764, James Hargreaves invented a new machine that was capable of spinning eight threads of cotton. Cloth workers realized that the new inventions would threaten their jobs. So, they broke into his house and destroyed the machine. When the invention was introduced to the world, the Agricultural Revolution was slowly unwinding. Spinning Jenny resulted many agricultural labourers to lose their jobs since they were no longer needed. -
Richard Arkwright's Water Frame
In 1769, Richard Arkwright, seeked to produce a larger spinning machine that could keep up with the demand. His invention became known as the water frame. It is called water frame because it needed energy from a water mill to power it. Therefore, he created a factory for the first time. This caused men and women to split up their work. The women would go to the factory where the water frame is installed. The men stayed at home to produce the weaving. -
Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations
On March 9, 1776, Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher published The Wealth of Nations, one of the most influential book on market economics. This book was written in opposition to the mercantilist system. The essence of Smith’s thesis was that man’s natural likelihood toward self-interest results in prosperity. Smith believed that a nation needed three elements to bring about universal prosperity; Enlightened Self-Interest, Limited Government, Solid Currency and Free-Market Economy. -
Boulton and Watt’s Steam Engine
In 1785, the Boulton and Watt steam engine was introduced to the world. It was one of the earliest rotative steam engines to be built. James Watt made many innovations that later helped the efficiency of engines. It was installed in Whitbread’s London brewery in 1785, and it powered equipment for grinding and pumping water. Few innovations are the separate condenser and the parallel motion mechanism. This invention had impacted the mass consumerism, working life, and natural environment. -
French Revolution
The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1799. During this period, French citizens redesigned the country’s political landscape, eradicating institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. It was influenced by Enlightenment ideas. The revolution failed to achieve all of its goals and resulted in a massacre. However, it played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. -
Alessandro Volta’s Battery
In 1800, after many experiments, Volta developed the voltaic pile. Alessandro Volta was one of the admirers of Galvani and was a professor in University of Padua. The original voltaic pile was made of a pile of zinc and silver discs and between them, a piece of soaked cardboard was placed. A wire connecting the bottom zinc disc to the top silver disc could produce sparks. This invention allowed scientist to produce steady flows of electric current. -
Stephenson’s Rocket
In 1829, the Father of Railways, George Stephenson built the first modern steam locomotive, Rocket. In 1829, railway owners created a competition to find the best locomotive. One of the requirements was that it should be under six tonnes so it doesn't destroy the rails. Stephenson’s Rocket achieved a record of 36 mph and took the prize. The main features were a multi-tubular boilers and direct coupling. Rocket expedited the industrial revolution. -
Factory Act of 1833
In 1833, the Parliament passed a Factory Acto to improve conditions for children working in factories. Many young children had to work for very long hours in factories where conditions were horrific. The act says, no child workers under nine years of age, children of 9 -13 years to work no more than nine hours a day, children 13-18 years to work no more than 12 hours a day. This act did not fully stopped the mistreatment. However, it showed that the Parliament tried to protect the young children -
Wheatstone and Cooke's Telegraph
In 1837, Cooke and Wheatstone invented a five needle telegraph system which was installed on the London and Blackwall Railway. It used a diamond grid of twenty letters with five needles arranged across the middle, deflection of any two needles would point to specific letters on the grid. It was also used for messages regarding the general business of the railway and also for public messages. This system only lasted a year, later replaced by a two wire system. -
Irish Famine
A period of mass starvation in Ireland between 1846-50. It started with the potato blight which arrived in September of 1845. The blight quickly became prevalent in the potato fields. Peasants who ate the rotten potatoes quickly became sick and soon enough, entire village was affected. Starvation combined with diseases such as typhus, dysentery and cholera devastated the population. However, the reaction of the British government was inadequate. More than a million people died. -
Cited Sources
http://www.intriguing-history.com/spinning-jenny-industrial-revolution/
http://www.saburchill.com/history/chapters/IR/010.html
http://www.saburchill.com/history/chapters/IR/011.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/adam-smith-wealth-of-nations.asp
https://maas.museum/event/the-boulton-and-watt-engine/
http://www.batteryfacts.co.uk/BatteryHistory/Volta.html
http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution
http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/george-stephenson
http://www.sciencemu -
Cited Sources
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-act/ http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventions/a/Wheatstone.htm
http://people.seas.harvard.edu/~jones/cscie129/nu_lectures/lecture5/elecmag_tel/needle_tel.html
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/irishfamine.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/sadlier/irish/famine.htm
