By Andrew Readel
Introduction
Britain was the first country to experience the dramatic increase in industrial output known today as the “Industrial Revolution”. In doing so, it harbored the first initial inventions and processes that characterized the Revolution for much of the West. This allowed it to jump far ahead of other European countries in both sheer output and complexity, becoming a worldwide benchmark of comparison for countries that industrialized after. Consensus dictates that there is no defined set of hard dates for this period, due to the nature of slow technological progress, but that it can generally be defined as the years from 1760-1850. These dates capture the clearly visible effects of mechanized production on cotton textiles, the flagship industry of the Revolution that created other industries, and the related societal changes. One should distinguish this period from what is often called the “Second Industrial Revolution” – a period during the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries characterized by advances in steel manufacture, electricity and automobiles.
The focus of this research guide is on the initial period from 1760-1850. It aims to introduce the reader to the beginnings of the Revolution, the various emerging industries of the era and their effects on the greater British economy and society, particularly both old and new workers. Some of the major books on the topic are used to give a comprehensive overview of the Revolution before utilizing electronic secondary sources to delve into more defined areas of the age. Finally, the guide concludes with several primary sources from workers, merchants and a writer from the era and database sources to illustrate previously mentioned concepts and trends. The pros and cons of each source are analyzed throughout.
Overview
Mokyr, Joel. The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain, 1700-1850. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.
Also a forerunner in the areas of enlightened political thought and development, Mokyr attributes this aspect of Britain to being the primary cause of its substantial industrialization occurring before other countries. Adopting the assumption that economic change is directly tied to changes in political organization and thought, Mokyr traces the roots of the British Industrial Revolution back to the English Civil War and subsequent Glorious Revolution, saying that these events ushered in dramatic and necessary liberalizing political trends that paved the way for individual entrepreneurs and a thriving middle class. A truly comprehensive book, it discusses the pursuit of practical industrial and business knowledge and how it played out across various industries and impacted society, even the often forgot about service sector.
Landes, David S. “The Industrial Revolution in Britain.” In The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 41-124.
Landes also takes a fairly comprehensive approach to Britain’s initial industrialization during that chapter in his book concerning all of Western Europe to the present. A very detailed and numerical account, the author’s primary focus is on the drivers of change during the Revolution, noting the micro-level interactions between people and machines that often caused additional innovation or migration. Discussing a multitude of different industries such as agriculture, cotton, coal, steam, rail, and chemicals, Landes focuses on the relationships between them and how essentially cotton spawned the others. He also highlights the difficulty of old workers whose jobs were being replaced by machines and new workers who had to adapt to factory conditions. Partly due to its detail, the section only briefly discusses political institutions/trends, large-scale business and worker associations, and greater societal change.
Pollard, Sidney. “The Industrial Revolution in Britain.” In Peaceful Conquest: The Industrialization of Europe, 1760-1970. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1981. 3-45.
Utilizing a rather unique approach, Pollard analyzes the British Industrial Revolution through a regional lens. He begins by talking about the significant industrial areas of Britain during the initial period of 1760-1790, especially noting the burgeoning cotton industry that became centered in the Lancashire cities of Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Similar to Landes, he also discusses ancillary industries like coal, machine building, and chemicals, but shows how they helped to diversify the economy of Lancashire to the point where it could survive after the removal of any one of them. Moving to the period of 1790-1850, Pollard then speaks to the decline of industrial areas from the previous period (with the exception of Lancashire) and the rise of new economic regions. Considerably less detailed than Landes’ account and less comprehensive than Mokyr’s book, Pollard is only broad in a geographical sense and should be used primarily to understand where and when certain industries thrived in Britain.
Thematic Section – Secondary Sources
The History Learning Site
A website that is not affiliated with any nationally or internationally recognized institution but rather created for the sole purpose of teaching a comprehensive history of Europe; The History Learning Site should only be used to get a general overview of a topic before conducting further research elsewhere. It reads like a junior high school student wrote it, there are typographical errors and no references to any sources. Click here to read the site’s page on the cotton industry during the British Industrial Revolution. It does mention the important spinning and weaving inventions of the era and their output capabilities. However, due to the previous reasons it should not be quoted.
Galbi, Douglas. “Child Labor and the Division of Labor in Early English Cotton Mills.” Journal of Population Economics 10, no. 4 (1997): 357-375.
In this journal article, Galbi empirically analyzes through a mass of charts, statistics and primary sources the composition of the labor force in Revolution era cotton mills. He primarily analyzes child labor and women, postulating that the decreases in children employed in later decades can be attributed to the younger workers growing up and being retained in the industry due to their proven skills. Galbi suggests this with support from lots of wage numbers and an econometric statistical analysis that the vast majority of readers would probably be overwhelmed or bored by.
Thematic Section – Primary Sources
Fordham University – Internet History Sourcebook
Workers’ Petition against New Machines
The Internet History Sourcebook is a massive compilation put together by professors at Fordham’s History Department. Agglomerating primary source documents and educational materials from across the historical spectrum, the final database seems to be a very reputable project. Click here to see a 1786 Leeds wool workers’ petition against the usage of new machines that are putting them out of work. The only questionable aspect is that the page displays a transposed text of the actual document, meaning that it could be completely fabricated (although highly unlikely).
Fordham University – Internet History Sourcebook
Merchants’ Statement Defending Machines
Click here to see a 1791 statement by Leeds clothiers/merchants defending the use of new machines.
Fordham University – Internet History Sourcebook
Engels, Frederick. “Industrial Manchester.” In The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844. London: SS&Co., 1892. 48-53
Click here to read Engels’ famously vivid description of the worker living areas near the grimy River Irk in the heavily industrialized city of Manchester, Lancashire in 1844.
Other Sources and Data Sets
BBC History
Animation of George Stephenson’s Early Locomotive Engine – “The Rocket”
Fordham University – Internet History Sourcebook
Tables Illustrating the Spread of Industrialization
Click here to see a data set showing the impact of industrialization on a selection of European countries across several economic and output metrics and across time. It provides interesting insight into the relative industrialization of the important European nations by highlighting activity in a few key industries. This data set is non-exhaustive, however, and actually lacks information for other industries like chemicals and engineering.