THe Emergence of Industrial society in the west, 1750-1900
Western society was dominated by two themes: political upheaval, and the spread of Western institutions and values to settler societies. By 1914, monarchies had been overthrown, and parliamentary democracy expanded. More individuals voted. European settler societies became important international players in an altered world balance of power. Western society experienced dramatic cultural changes. The transform-ation can be subdivided: from the late 18th century, a growing crisis caused a host of changes; experimentation with change occurred between 1775 & 1850: & from 1850 to 1914, a more mature state was reached.
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Industrial Revolution Summary
- The loss of the American colonies didn’t spell the end of Britain’s empire. Just the opposite: after the American Revolution, the Brits went on to build the largest empire in history. It was powered by the Industrial Revolution, a period of unprecedented change in the technology of production—that is, making stuff. It began in Britain in the late eighteenth century then spread to France, Germany, and the United States.
- The first step was the invention of new mechanical systems for the mass production of things such as textiles, including the spinning jenny, patented in 1770, and the power loom, patented in 1783. These allowed manufacturers to turn cotton into thread and to weave it into cloth hundreds of times faster than before. The new mechanical systems used power from waterwheels and windmills.
- The second step was connecting the new mechanical systems to steam engines, replacing waterwheels and windmills with a more reliable source of energy. Steam engines had been around since 1698, when Thomas Savery patented a crude model based on a pressure cooker. In 1769, a self-taught Scottish engineer, Thomas Watt, added a separate condenser to cool steam, vastly increasing efficiency.
- The third and final stage was the invention of machines for making other machines, which really kicked the Industrial Revolution into high gear. Now manufacturing power increased exponentially. The first systems for making “machine tools” emerged in Britain in the 1820s and 1830s. One example was a boring machine, for making perfectly round cylinders for steam engines, readapted from Dutch technology for boring cannons.
- The Industrial Revolution also required large amounts of money to start new ventures, such as building factories. This influx of money fueled the growth of lending institutions, or banks, which could issue paper money and invest in new businesses. The practice of borrowing and lending money, or “capital,” to create and expand businesses came to be called “capitalism,” and its practitioners, "Capitalists."