Introduction
Most people associate revolutions with overthrowing the government and creating new countries. However, one of the most influential revolutions of all time affected a different area of life. The industrial revolution is defined by the transition to new manufacturing methods that allow us to have the many products and services we consider a given nowadays. The goal of this paper is to outline what developments led to this revolution.
The Mechanisms behind the Industrial Revolution
It is important to note that before the industrial revolution, Europe, India, and China were the leading regions in terms of innovations. However, it was Europe that started the transition to a new manufacturing process, despite the other two countries having more citizens and more inventions under their belt. There are two main reasons that researchers give for this unexpected development of Europe becoming the leader of the industrial revolution.
The first explanation is the abundance of coal in European countries. This natural resource was used for many earlier inventions. Inventors relied on coal as getting this resource was fairly cheap through the means of the mining as the only complication was getting water out of the mines. That could be achieved with the help of a steam engine, powered on coal, which created an endless cycle that kept the fuel affordable.
The second reason is Europe’s high wages at the start of the industrial revolution. The promise of money gave inventors the incentive to create the mechanisms that started the transition to a new manufacturing process. While it is not clear why the wages were higher in Europe than they were in Asia, a possible reason is a difference between the region’s attitude towards marriage. Generally, European people were dissuaded from starting families until they had enough money to feed everyone, which resulted in a lower birth rate and a population that Europe could sustain.
Conclusion
Despite three countries being of equal standing at the beginning of the 18th century, it was Europe that became the leader of the industrial revolutions. While researchers cannot agree on the reasons that led to this development, the most popular theories attribute this region’s rise to coal and high wages. These two items gave inventors the incentive and the economic power to create the mechanisms that started the transition to a new manufacturing process.