Industrial Revolution 12

The term industry comes from the Latin word Industrius - meaning to be active or diligent. (Stearns, p. 2). Social thinkers and writers during the 18th Century spoke of an “industrial revolution” to bring about positive changes in their economic world. This idea seemed to parallel the revolution occurring in the political world. The Industrial Revolution, which lasted from 1760 to 1850, started and evolved in Great Britain.   The largest and most important improvements would bring about new ideas that fueled the reformation of the economy. The Industrial Revolution was a time period in which virtually every aspect of life improved. Ideas of thought were based on the economy changing from that of an agrarian society to one of industry. The changes would have a huge impact on the agriculture, the manufacture of textile, the introduction to inventions, and social reformation.
The Industrial Revolution originated and took off in Great Britain. During this time in the world Great Britain had a fortunate combination of natural, economic, and cultural resources. It had abundant supplies of coal, rivers, and developed canals, all which are important to the revolution itself. Britain also had a growing supply of available capita. There were well developed banking and credit institutions as well as private wealth. The British banking systems were secure which made the capita more readily available for new economic enterprises and business during the revolution. It also made the transfer of money and goods a lot easier. It enabled importing of goods such as silks and cottons. Also, the profits from the British slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean helped fuel industrial investment. It has been pointed out, however, that slave trade and West Indian plantations provided only 5% of the British national income during the years of the Industrial Revolution (Ashton, p. 63). Another reason the industrial revolution took off in Britain was because of its geographical...