Causes of the Industrial Revolution Agricultural Revolution Geography

Causes of the Industrial Revolution Agricultural Revolution Geography Freedoms Inventions/Innovation

The Agricultural Revolution • New crops & crop rotation improved nutrition & increased the food supply • New machinery & inventions increased labor efficiency & required fewer workers • The Enclosure Movement (in England) forced laborers off the land & into the cities causing urbanization • The steam engine allowed farmers to do many tasks without human labor which freed workers for factory jobs in the cities

What is this device? What does it do? How can it be more efficient?

How is it better than the one(s) before it? How did it increase efficiency? What is its impact?

What are they doing? Why are these guys wishing for a mechanical reaper? How would a mechanical reaper help them? What would the impact be of a new invention like the mechanical reaper?

What is this device? How is it better than the one(s) before it? How did it increase efficiency? What is its impact?

How did we become so efficient? • What is thing? ? ? ! • What does it do? • How efficient is today’s farmer?

Crop rotation • Growing new crops on the same land each year eliminated the need for fallow (idle) land • Turnips, clover & legumes (nitrogen-fixing plants) all improved the soil • Grains grown after legumes produced higher & more nutritious yields • Grazing land was also improved through legume usage

New Crops & Crop Rotation

The Enclosure Movement • Large landowners Enclosed their land & removed tenant farmers (sharecroppers) • Fencing replaced cattle & sheep herders • Large fields were efficiently worked with new & more efficient machinery • The excess population either migrated to urban areas (urbanization) or emigrated to other areas outside of Europe

Enclosures

Impact of the Agricultural Revolution • More & more nutritious food available for more people • Population increases • People are healthier & have large families • Fewer workers are needed on farms & many migrate to cities (urbanization) • New inventions make production more efficient, creating a surplus of food

The Steam Engine • Steam engines could be used to run threshers, sawmills, grinders, mills & pumps on farms • They also could be used in factories to replace water power & wind power • Steam engines were portable & could be used wherever there was water & fuel • Steam engines on wheels became locomotives & on water powered steam ships

Steam Engine Uses

Geography • Great Britain had a wealth of geographical features allowing it to industrialize before many other nations • Ample rivers, ports, iron & coal deposits and natural isolation gave Great Britain an advantage in the Industrial Revolution • A suitable climate for raising sheep & cattle as well as good soil for grain production increased raw material and food supplies • An irregular coastline also provided sheltered ports and coves for ships to dock • Gently rolling hills and suitable topography for settlement, factory development & agriculture

Geography in Great Britain

Freedoms • Great Britain had many individual freedoms not found in many European countries • The Magna Carta had granted Britain a limited monarchy, not an absolute monarchy like many other European nations • Individuals were free to travel, trade & invent new machines • Parliament helped to fund new inventions, factories & businesses • New economic thinking like laissez faire economics increased distribution of wealth and increased social mobility • Parliament encouraged building railroads, canals & ports to increase of travel

Invention & Innovation • Inventions like James Watts’ steam engine increased availability & efficiency of power sources for mines & factories as well as for transportation. • The steam locomotive increased transportation efficiency in coal & iron mines • The cotton gin, spinning jenny, water frame & power loom all increased efficient production of textiles • The division of labor & factory system led to rapid increases in factory production • Mass production led to cheap, uniform goods available to all people • Capitalism encouraged business owners to be competitive & innovative

Inventions & Innovations

Impact of all of these factors • The Agricultural Revolution led to increased food supply, more available workers and urbanization • New inventions led to cheaper, uniform goods available for more people • Naturally occurring resources gave Great Britain an advantage in being the first to industrialize • Individual & Government freedoms allowed British citizens to own businesses & factories & to produce and trade as much as possible increasing the wealth of the nation as a whole