CAMBRIDGEASHISTORYREVISION

THEINDUSTRIALREVOLUTIONBY1800

2.2 WHATFACTORSENCOURAGEDANDDISCOURAGEDINDUSTRIALISATION

FROM1800TO1890?

RAILWAYSRichard Trevithick: 1804 – used steam to power a railway at Penydarren ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil (Wales).George Stephenson: 1825 – Stockton to Darlington Railway; 1830 – Manchester to Liverpool Railway.Isambard Kingdom Brunel: built Great Western Railway.Investment: people invested in railway companies in hope of making profits; railways provided faster and cheaper transport, reducing price of food and other goods.

RAILWAYS cont.Development in Britain: by 1900, the railway system in Britain covered most of the country.Development in France: began after 1852; by 1900 the French network was still smaller than Britain’s.Development in Germany: began in late 1830s; led to improvements in trade and industry.Development in Russia: had a large network by 1900, but had little impact on the economy because of vast size of the country.

TARIFFS AND TRADEBefore the Industrial Revolution: trade was largely local; farmers supplied local markets.Impact of railways: opened up new markets, e.g. farm produce could be transported in large quantity to distant towns; food shortages became less frequent; prices fell.Britain: no internal tariffs.France: Napoleon abolished internal tariffs – made trade with France cheaper.Germany: consisted of different states, each of which charged tariffs on goods moving between them; 1834 – Zollverein removed tariffs between 18 member states; this allowed more rapid industrialisation; Prussia became the leading economic state.

CAPITALISMInvestment: people invested in industrial or transport projects in the hope of making profits.Joint Stock Companies: protected investors against possible losses on their investment.Banks: larger banks replaced smaller ones.‘Old’ and ‘new’ money: old money = money made from ownership of land; new money = money made from industrial, transport or financial investments.

RESISTANCE TO CHANGESkilled craftsmen: opposed mass production as a threat to jobs; Luddites smashed machines.Nobility: suspicious of the effects of industrial change, which undermined their social status.Landowners: objected to railways crossing their land.