Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Industrial Revolution Essay The industrial revolution throughout the 19th century that brought forth significant changes the world’s economy, past and present. Technology and science were big reason for the boom in the economy. It was because of the industrial revolution. Industrialization helped pave the way for how Nations are built today. The industrial revolution is the reason for improvements in the middle and lower class, advances in technology, improving economies, and led to the expansion of Imperialism (Stearns, 2010). Industrialization perhaps had the most impact of the economic state of the world and its successes are still seen today. The industrial revolution (between 1750 and 1914) brought upon colossal change; people started to discover faster more efficient ways of producing goods. This growth in production led to new product ideas, new transportation methods, and more factory jobs (Stearns, 2010). Industrialization was built on the idea of capitalism and involved risky investments that proved to have a high return. New businesses forms emerged through expanded joint-stock companies and banks to help mobilize the rising capital. There was also a growth in the population due to the agricultural revolution and urbanization took place (Mokyr, 2007). This was not all good. Sickness and disease was very common due to pollution and poor irrigation/plumbing systems. This was a problem that was solved because of invention during the industrial revolution improving the quality of life and the life expectancy. Science and technology are really the key successes to the industrial revolution. One example of this is the invention of the steam engine by James Watt (Stearns, 2010). This literally changed everything and paved the way for the invention of new equipment. The steam engine was used in boats and factories. The engines in boats allowed for new discoveries of raw material. This was prevalent in Africa where the Europeans could now travel through rivers that were before uncharted. Another example is that the new source of power led to drastic improvements on factories and machines. There was a surplus of goods and improvements on the transportation systems, especially the railroads, took off during the industrial revolution (Mokyr, 2007). This new technology allowed for more entrepreneurs to become inventors. Invention came one after the other that would continually improve the industrial systems, which is still the case today. The industrial revolution was a period of scientific and technological growth. This inspired people to develop new ideas and turn them into inventions. This period of change helped pave the way for the current economy of the world and how it continues to grow. We now have larger manufacturing capabilities, better medical facilities, and a borderless system, in terms of delivery of products. Large cities can also be contributed to the industrial revolution. Urbanization also took off during this period. As a result of the industrial revolution economies flourished. It allowed for resources to be developed faster for sale not only locally but globally. The effects of this period are still relevant today in economics. New scientific breakthroughs and invention are being developed almost every day it seems. The industrial revolution is an important time in history and the effects can still be seen today through industry and education. Without the revolution one can only imagine what economy and the world would be like today. References: Stearns, P. N. (2010). World history in brief, volume 2, major patterns of change and continuity: Since 1450. (7th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 337-416). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson College Div. Mokyr, J. (2007). The european enlightenment, the industrial revolution, and modern economic growth. (Masters thesis)Retrieved from http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~jmokyr/Florence-Weber.PDF