Introduction
Currently, in the 21st century, the vast majority of the world population no longer needs to think of how to produce enough rice to survive the winter. Rice, fruits, berries, and many more items are available at the nearest store. Electricity, cars, accommodation in the downtown, 12 years of free education – all of these things are now possible to obtain due to the Industrial Revolution, 1750 – 1850. In this paper, two items that helped to develop the Industrial Revolution will be considered.
Main body
The Revolution happened at the same time in Latin America, the US, and France. John Green defines Industrial Revolution as “an increase in production brought about by the use of machines and characterized by the use of new energy sources” (“Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32.” 00:02:14 – 00:02:22). Having started in 1750, it occurred across the globe, but it originated in Europe, in particular, in Britain. Apart from possessing freer political institutions and a relatively small population, the country at that time was more advanced in the cultural and scientific realms than others.
Britain had some advantages that allowed it to develop exponentially. First, Britain had a coal that was cheap to mine and was later used in machines to lower the production costs (“Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32.” 00:08:42 – 00:08:48). However, coal production was deadly since the mines were often flooded, which did not prevent people from producing it. Second, the wages in Britain were high in comparison with other countries (“Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32.” 00:08:14 – 00:08:30). As Allen states, “Wages were high, and energy was cheap. These prices led directly to the Industrial Revolution by giving firms strong incentives to invent technologies that substituted capital and coal for labor” (Allen). Thus, the factures’ profitability increased due to the cheap coal production, its use in machines, and the people’s willingness to work.
Conclusion
With this in mind, there is no need to highlight that the major part of modern conveniences is available due to the Industrial Revolution. Cheap coal and high wages contributed significantly to elaborating, promoting and using machines, and, thus, in the Revolution development. Having started in 1750, it occurred in the major part of Europe and then extended to the whole world. Electricity, cars, free education would not be available without the Industrial Revolution.
References
Allen, R. C. The Industrial Revolution: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press, 2017.
“Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32.”YouTube. 2012. Web.