The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of change. The period stretches over several hundred years, from 1780 to the end of the First World War in 1918, during which time there were numerous groundbreaking inventions.
In the following some of these inventions or ideas, which blossomed at that time strongly, are listed and described.

The steam engine:
The steam engine is one of the most important inventions that emerged from the period of the Industrial Revolution, as its invention had a very large, positive influence on industry. Its predecessor was invented in the seventeenth century by Thomas Newcomen, but in 1865 James Watt succeeded in significantly improving the performance and capabilities of the steam engine. Only then did the use of the steam engine first gain acceptance in Great Britain, and finally throughout Europe and the U. S. A. . It was mainly used as a driving machine for looms and spinning machines, but it was also used as a tractor in mines and in the textile industry. Only the invention of the steam engine made large factories and mass production possible.
A great advantage of the steam engine was that the engines no longer needed water, as they were now powered by coal. However, steam engines consumed a lot of coal, were very large and unwieldy, which is why hardly any steam engines are used today.

Heavy industry:
Heavy industry is a collective term for the mining industry, iron industry and steel industry. The reason why heavy industry flourished to such an extent at the time of the industrial revolution was largely steel and coal demand and shipbuilding.

Extension of traffic routes:
New inventions and discoveries during the industrial revolution made it possible to produce goods more quickly, and agricultural yields also improved significantly. The transport by horse-drawn carriages and barges required a lot of time and effort, so better means of transport and traffic routes were necessary for a fast and cheap transport of goods. Soon an important invention was made: the railway, which was first built in 1814. At first, it was used in mining, a few years later the railway was used as a means of transport for goods and people. The demand for iron and steel increased, and many workers were needed to lay the tracks and build the wagons.

New power sources:
In the course of the nineteenth century, three further sources of propulsion were invented: The electric motor, the petrol engine and the dynamo. Since a lot of coal was needed for the use of the steam engine, the use of these new drive sources was more advantageous. Thus, the steam engine was slowly replaced by the new inventions over time.

Assembly line production:
Inventions of many different machines and drive sources enabled fast and cheap production of goods. Among other things, the invention of the assembly line contributed to this, making work in the factory much easier. The fast production in factories is called “mass production”.

Changes in agriculture:
Harvesting machines and artificial fertilizers had a very significant influence on agriculture: machines made harvesting easier and artificial fertilizers improved yields. But only the rich farmers could afford that. In addition, the new machines replaced the work of many people, which is why many workers were made redundant.

Child labour at the time of the Industrial Revolution
Since there were many poor families in the cities, the children also had to work to contribute to the livelihood. Usually these children had to do a boring and monotonous job in factories from morning till evening. These children had no free time and worked under very bad conditions. They could not go to school and thus had no opportunity for a good education.

Medicine at the time of the Industrial Revolution
Through numerous inventions and discoveries in medicine (including various vaccinations and anesthesia, X-rays) hygiene improved, life expectancy increased, and the infant mortality rate decreased. So the population grew little by little.

Rural Exodus and Overpopulation at the Time of the Industrial Revolution
However, the industrial revolution also had its downsides: New inventions replaced many workers with machines, and they lost their jobs. Many rural residents felt forced to move to the city because they believed they could find work there and live in better conditions. But the so-called ‘rural exodus’ quickly led to overpopulation in the cities.