Causes of the industrial revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a process that began in the second half of the eighteenth century in England and that produced a great change in the economic and social structures that served as the basis throughout the nineteenth century. It is one of the most important events that revolutionized the way of working and living that we had around the world. But why did it happen? In this article we are going to discover the causes of the Industrial Revolution so that you understand the factors that allowed society to evolve and could produce much faster, reducing costs and, therefore, further stimulating the capitalist economic system.

What was the Industrial Revolution

Before beginning to enter into the proper causes it is important that we have clear what the Industrial Revolution consisted of . In the middle of the XVIII in England a series of changes of technological nature began to gestate and that allowed to improve the productive system that had existed until then. These productive improvements also made it possible for the economy to improve, since it was possible to produce more in less time and, therefore, obtain more benefits.

It started in England but in the 19th century it expanded throughout the world, improving the productivity of the countries, making them more competitive and with greater market freedom. The agricultural era was surpassed by the appearance of machines and different technological developments that made it possible to work faster, replace human work with that of machines and achieve much higher benefits.

The steam engine was one of the great inventions that occurred in the industrial revolution as it allowed trade by land thanks to the appearance of the steam train that managed to unite different countries at a much faster speed. The mechanized industry arose that supposed a huge advance in the production chains because they worked faster.

In addition we should not overlook that the Industrial Revolution made capitalism prevail as a predominant economic system, something that lasts to this day.

Stages of the Industrial Revolution

Historiography has divided this period into two stages depending on the impact it had on society.

• First stage (mid-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth): is the one that takes place only in England.
• Second stage (from the middle of the XIX to the IGM) is when the influence expands through the world territory reaching countries like France, Germany or USA.

What are the causes of the Industrial Revolution

But why did this revolution take place? To understand this moment of history it is important that we know what are the causes of the Industrial Revolution and that allowed the productive, economic and social system to evolve so that today we can live in the technological era in which we live.

Economic wealth

In the middle of the eighteenth century England had a great capital thanks to its commercial relations with other countries around the world. The sixteenth century trade was no longer a regional exchange but had been opened to the whole world and, therefore, two centuries later in Europe had accumulated great wealth due, in part, to the discovery of America and the business that they did thanks to the colonies.

This meant that both the state and small investors could give money so that large industries could prosper and they could start researching new technologies.

Increased demand

In the XVIII century, population growth was experienced and, therefore, more products were needed in order to satisfy the increase in demand for different products. This demographic increase stimulated the creation of clothing, food, furniture, and so on.

In addition, at this time some Latin American countries became independent from the Spanish, something that allowed more countries to have commercial relations with them since before it was only allowed to Spanish companies. Having no own industry, these nations needed to buy it from foreigners and England benefited greatly from this new demand.

Boom of the working class

In the countryside, the Industrial Revolution is known as the Agrarian Revolution and it is because machinery and farming techniques were implemented that no longer required the labor of so many workers. Therefore, this caused many farmers to be left without work and, therefore, were willing to join the factories to work.

Ascent of the bourgeoisie

The class of the bourgeoisie was increasingly consolidated in the countries of the first world, an enriched sector of the population that, in addition, could reach positions of both political and social power. This led to the development of economic and political laws in pursuit of the great production and that follows the basis of the bourgeois mentality: making the most of the investment, seeking to increase the benefits .