The industrial revolution succeeded because it had enough fuel to feed its fire. Everywhere the revolution spread had the resources, workforce, capital, technology, and stable government needed to make it run. Britain, for example, had all of these things when it’s industrial revolution took off.
Britain had coal, iron and cotton to fuel its industry and waterway’s galore to transport the goods. In Britain, the old problem of transporting goods slowly over land via horses, costing a lot, was over. This thus allowed the masses to get goods, both domestic and foreign, they earlier wouldn’t dreamed of having regularly and so the demand for goods rose. Likewise, ideas could travel with new speed, enabling intellects to correspond and work off of each other's ideas with more ease. This allowed technology to be discovered quicker. With these new ideas and resources, new technology was created that made it easier to make goods. With this increased supply and demand, capital rose and thus people had reason to continue this routine of: buy, sell, buy, sell, free time, invent, buy, sell, buy, sell.
The workforce was supplied by the population boom from 1780 to 1851 and the Enclosure Acts of 1801. The population boom created a larger workforce of young men and women, and the Enclosure Acts kicked peasants off their land and gave that land back to the wealthy land owners who technically owned it. Granted, the Enclosure was caused by new agricultural practices (technology) being discovered, thus showing how the good of the industrial revolution came out of the bad of dislodging people from their homes. These families, similar to those in modern China, moved to the cities to try and find work.
Finally, Britain’s stable government was what allowed all of this to happen. As seen in Britain’s battle with France during Napoleon I’s reign, Britain’s isolation from Europe and strong navy is what helped keep it a strong government. However, it was Britain’s strong government that helped make sure that Napoleon never was able to understand marine battles and thus think that port blockades, for example, were a war crime.
In the end, the industrial revolution succeeded where the situation and times (aka ideas) were ready for it.
What do you think? Was there any other reason’s the industrial revolution succeeded?
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