What?: The rapid change between hand production to machine production.
Where?: Began in Great Britain and spread to the rest of Western Europe and America
When?: Early 1800’s
Who?: English inventors and entrepreneurs. Adam Smith, James Watt and Henry Bessemer for example.
How?: Transitioning from hand production or the domestic system to machine production or the factory system.
Why?: A surplus of available workers and the right combination of resources allowed England to develop industry, which led to faster production and shorter transport times.
Results: Great Britian becomes a global industrial, economic and military power.
Importannce:
1) Money becomes more important than land.
2) England and Western Europe have an insatiable (unable to satisfy) need for raw materials.
3) The middle class grows in wealth and power.
4) The gap between the owners and the working class widens.
5) Urbanization, there is a population shift from the farms to the cities.
Related Terms:1) Proletariat, 2) Bourgeoisie, 3) Industrialization