Essay - IH - 15 - 01 - 2024

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“In what ways do revolutions instigate transformative changes in societies?


1000 words
Include the following:

○ Impact on political and economic systems


○ Redistribution of wealth
○ Technological advancements
○ Resilience of new institutions
○ Participation of masses

Plan:
1. Idea fo a revolution
2. Role of a revolution in a society
a. Transformative changes
3. Examples of important revolutions
a. The 1st industrial revolution
b. Changes it brought to the british
4. Research question: To what extent did the start of the first industrial revolution in England during
1760 create a path for transformative changes in its society?
5. Political and economic system of britain before and after the revolution
a. Key differences to be highlighted
6. The technological advancements
a. Examples include the textile industry
b. How did these technological changes benefit the society
7. Development of new institutions after the revolution
a. Purpose of the institution
b. Advantages and disadvantages of the institutions
8. The role of the population in the creation of these changes across england and the society
9. Conclusion
a. Revisit the points
b. Justify to what extent…
c. Summarize into a statement
Essay:
Revolutions spark a profound change, giving birth to a new era as societies shed the old to embrace
transformative possibilities. Given this statement, we can understand that the idea of a revolution revolves
around the fundamental change in power within the government of a country through the help of mass
mobilization. It may also include social, economic and cultural changes. The role of a revolution isn’t specific
for each society as different types of changes can bring different benefits to the society and maybe even the
world. This means that the role of a revolution can be anywhere from challenging an established political
order, promoting equality, changing the social-political institutions, the culture and the economy of a
country, bringing technological advancements to the society etc. One of the first revolutions to create a
significant change in the world would be the 1st industrial revolution, which started in britain during the
1760’s and sparked a lot of technological advancements and helped the human race evolve in terms of the
economy, work environment, better living and working conditions and created a redistribution in terms of
wealth and the production of goods across the world. Keeping these transformative changes in mind the
research question for this essay would be “To what extent did the start of the first industrial revolution in
England during the 1760’s create an undeviating path for transformative changes in its society?”

Before the dawn of the industrial revolution, England was just a small country based on agriculture and
handicrafts, showing that the economy was particularly rural and that the livelihood of people was mostly
within small rural communities. The political system of England was also dominated by a lot of wealthy
property owners and the majority of the population didn’t seem to have any political power over the
country. However, the start of the revolution sparked changes in British society which created modern
democracy and fosters the development of modern economies as well. In terms of economic growth, the
industrial revolution created a change in the employment opportunities in England and created a more
distributed pyramid of hierarchy in British society. It also enhanced the working conditions for the laborers
due to the increased number of factories and the migration of cities from rural to urban areas. The major
change brought by the industrial revolution is the reform acts of 1832, which created the right for the
common man to vote in public elections and overthrew the power of the wealthy property owners. In
summary, the industrial revolution that occurred in Britain was a catalyst to transform the society from
agrarian to industrial, leading to important social and economic changes.

In terms of technological advancements, England was the first to spark profound changes in the industry
and manufacturing methods across the world. Some of these advancements include the watt steam engine
created in 1778 and lead to the dawn of the industrial revolution which marked the expansion of heated
water and was used in places such as factories, trains and steamships, to create exports and imports (trade)
within England and across the world in places such as europe and the united states. The power loom invented
during 1785 was also another form of transformative change in the textile industry since it created the
mass-production of high quality textiles. The cotton gin (1794) was also another technological advancement
which led to the mass production of high-quality cotton fibers in a less amount of time. Some of the other
technological advancements include the creation of gas-street lighting (1807), the invention of the
electromagnet (1825), the first photograph (1826) etc. which paved the path for transportation,
industrialization, living conditions and communication.

The first industrial revolution also led to the creation of new institutions in England which were deemed
necessary to support the transformative change in the economy, agriculture, handicrafts and machine
manufacturing. These institutions include labor unions, which were created as a result of exploitation of
workers and to create better working conditions for the workers. Business organizations also saw
development after the industrial revolution since it led to the creation of joint-stock companies, which
allowed for the pooling of resources and the sharing of risks. The growth of industry and trade during the
industrial revolution also led to the development of new financial institutions uc as banks and stock
exchanges which created investments and a proper flow of capital throughout England. Since there were a
lot of inventions throughout the course of the industrial revolution we could see the development of new
legal institutions such as patent laws which protected the inventors, their ideas and encouraged innovation
across the world. Lastly, the industrial revolution created changes in the education institutions in England
and throughout the world, such as technical schools and universities, which provided the skills and knowledge
necessary for the creation of an industrial economy.

The industrial revolution also involved the participation of masses in several ways. The development of
large factories led to the mass movements of people from the countryside to the urban areas in search of
employment in the emerging industrial sector. This profound shift from rural to urban areas led to the
creation of more demand for employment and therefore fostered a wealthy middle class and a huge amount
of people in the working class. The population of England still found employment in the factories,
contributing to the growth of urban centers and the industrial economy. To sum up, the industrial revolution
significantly altered the social and economic landscape of England, leading to the mass migration of people
to urban areas in search of employment, the rise of the working and middle class and the emergence of a
mass society with its own distinct characteristics.
In conclusion, the industrial revolution led to the development of new political economy, legal and
education systems, along with a wide array of technological advancements such as the watt steam engine,
the electromagnet etc. which increased efficiency and production of goods and services in england and
throughout the world in places such as Europe and America. Hence to answer the earlier research question,
we may say that the start of the first industrial revolution during the 1760’s in England paved an
undeviating path to transformative changes in the society to a greater extent.

Citations:
Cartwright, Mark. “Top 10 Inventions of the Industrial Revolution.” World History

Encyclopedia, Mar. 2023,

www.worldhistory.org/article/2204/top-10-inventions-of-the-industrial-revolution.

Chen, James. “Industrial Revolution Definition: History, Pros, and Cons.” Investopedia, 22 Dec.

2023, www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrial-revolution.asp.

Duignan, Brian, and Ernest Leong. “Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution:

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www.britannica.com/list/inventors-and-inventions-of-the-industrial-revolution.

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“faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu.” The Institutional Origins of the Industrial Revolution,

faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu.

Hughes, Tristan. “10 Key Inventions During the Industrial Revolution.” History Hit,

www.historyhit.com/key-inventions-of-the-industrial-revolution.
Kapás, Judit. “Industrial Revolutions and the Evolution of the Firm’s Organization: An Historical

Perspective.” Cairn.info,

www.cairn.info/revue-journal-of-innovation-economics-2008-2-page-15.htm.

“LCPS.” Social Effects of the Industrial Revolution, www.lcps.org.

Macon-Cooney, Benedict. The Industrial Revolution, Politics and Public Policy. 16 Dec. 2019,

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blic-policy.

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“Revolution: Definition and Causes | StudySmarter.” StudySmarter UK,

www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/history/modern-world-history/revolution.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Industrial Revolution | Definition, History, Dates,

Summary, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Jan. 2024,

www.britannica.com/money/topic/Industrial-Revolution.

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www.britannica.com/topic/revolution-politics.

“webpages.cs.luc.” Industrial Revolution and Its Impact on European Society,

webpages.cs.luc.edu.

“webpages.cs.luc.edu.” Mass Society in “an Age of Progress,” 1871-1894, webpages.cs.luc.edu.

Wikipedia contributors. “Revolution.” Wikipedia, 5 Jan. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution.

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