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Industrialization in Canada

Published Online February 7, 2006

Last Edited March 14, 2017

International Context

While British North America experienced its own industrialization, international developments shaped the way Canadians first experienced it. Before Confederation , Canada was shaped by its mercantilist relationship to Great Britain. Mercantilism functioned on the premise that colonies would provide raw materials for the “mother country,” which would in turn export finished goods back to the colonies.

The First Industrial Revolution began in the mid-18th century in Great Britain. It was a period in which technological advances were made, such as the spinning jenny and steam power. It was also when innovations in machine tools led to a shift from agriculture to large-scale cottage industries in weaving and textiles . The First Industrial Revolution also brought the development of railways, iron ships and manufacturing tools. Britain was the first country to experience this phase of industrialization, an experience that began later in Western Europe, the United States, and Japan. After mercantilism was ended by the British in the 1840s, British North Americans began to engage in activities that led to early industrialization.

First Industrial Revolution in British North America: 1780s to 1860s

The shift from a largely agricultural and extractive economy to one that engaged in manufacturing was propelled by the shift from wind to steam power, and the embrace of new transportation technologies. In mid-19th-century British North America , early industry centred on the development of railways, which connected what is now Ontario , Québec and the Maritime Provinces and eastern United States. Early industrialization was also shaped by the creation of canals , such as Montréal ’s Lachine Canal (1820s), which facilitated the transportation of goods.

By the 1850s, some manufacturing, including small factories producing farm implements, tools and other metal goods, had developed in Montréal, Toronto and smaller centres. At the same time, advances in some sectors of the economy such as brewing , milling , textiles and shipbuilding reshaped economies and laid the basis for even greater industrialization. The early, petit bourgeois entrepreneurs of the First Industrial Revolution also reflected the growth of an emerging capitalist class, one that largely utilized small- to medium-sized family-run farms. Industrial investment in this period was often funded through British financing of bonds.

Second Industrial Revolution in Canada: 1860s to 1950s

The Second Industrial Revolution began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was marked by mass automation and the moving assembly line, large-scale factories and time management of workers. During this period, companies reshaped manufacturing , consumption, work and the urban landscape. The Second Industrial Revolution profoundly changed North America, especially the United States, where economies of scale — in the rail, steel , consumer goods and automotive sectors — transformed the economy. Along with further technological advances and developments in production processes, mass manufacturing came of age. In the automobile industry , entrepreneurs and industrialists such as Henry Ford revolutionized mass assembly by creating gigantic factories designed to turn out standardized, inexpensive and durable cars — a departure from the craft approach to manufacturing, which aimed to build luxury vehicles for wealthy customers. Mass production generated new markets for automobiles, and democratized both the production and consumption of cars.

This dynamic occurred in a host of sectors in the Canadian economy, from meat packing to farm implements to small-scale consumer goods to automobile manufacturing. Much of this industrial economic activity took place in Ontario and Québec , where early industry had been established. Extraction of natural resources , particularly coal , forestry , oil and gas , and metals, fuelled these sectors, and also illustrated the broader impact of manufacturing upon non-urban communities. There was also significant development of the coal and steel industries in Nova Scotia , along with some shipbuilding .

After Confederation in 1867, manufacturing sectors of the economy were protected by tariffs outlined in the National Policy (1879). The policy intended to create and nurture industry in Canada by levying a tax of up to 20 per cent on goods made in other countries. While it protected some industries , the National Policy also facilitated the creation of “branch plants.” Factories owned by companies with headquarters in a different country, mostly the United States, branch plants were established in Canada in an effort to leap over the protectionist tariff wall. By the 1920s, American branch plant operations dominated in some industrial sectors in Canada, including automobile assembly, but also in consumer products, chemicals and auto parts. The National Policy also fueled regional grievances. The West and the Maritimes argued that the policy unfairly benefitted industrialists, workers, bankers and the population of Central Canada.

The First World War accelerated the Second Industrial Revolution in Canada. State efforts to support the war effort led to interventionist policies that pushed the manufacture of munitions and arms, transportation and other support equipment ( see also Imperial Munitions Board ).

Industrial wage economies drew immigrants and other Canadians to cities, where most industrial activity was centred ( see Urbanization ). During the Great Depression , the majority of Canada’s population became urban. The shift to a wage-dependent economy resulted in tremendous hardship during the depression. Mass layoffs in the industrial centres made many question the capitalist system, of which industrialization was such a large part.

The Second World War ended the Great Depression, in that it sparked a massive intervention in the industrial economy by federal state planners. Those state planners established new industries and crown corporations and directed private industry to produce machinery, transportation equipment and armaments and munitions for the war effort. For instance, Ottawa created the Polymer Corporation , a crown company, to produce rubber for the war effort, which helped revitalize the chemical industry in southwestern Ontario. In places such as Windsor , Oshawa and Ajax , leading manufacturers such as General Motors of Canada provided equipment and vehicles to the Canadian government under contract. The production of consumer goods was suspended for the duration of the war. Meanwhile, shipbuilding boomed on the East Coast, and steel production dominated in cities such as Hamilton , Ontario. By the war’s end, Canada had achieved full employment.

Impacts on the Workplace and Relations between Labour and Capital

The growth of mass manufacturing in the late 19th century reshaped work profoundly. By the time of the 1889 Report of the Royal Commission on the Relations of Labor and Capital in Canada, it was clear that waged labour had become the key form of work for many Canadians. Yet the working conditions that they experienced and the wages they earned were, more often than not, less than ideal. Workplaces were dangerous, unsanitary and often cramped. Industrial accidents were common. Wages and hours were punishing, with child labour a common practice. Tobacco , textiles , heavy manufacturing and a host of other industries were part of an industrial system that exploited workers ( see Working-Class History ).

Organized labour emerged in the late-19th and early-20th centuries to challenge the exploitation of the working class. Differences within the labour movement — between craft and industrial unions — over who should be part of organized labour often fragmented these efforts. But unionization and the fight for better wages and working conditions continued. By the Winnipeg General Strike (1919), Canada faced a resurgent workers’ movement, one that was challenged by corporate interests and the government, who repressed workers’ organizations through the legal system ( see Labour Organization ).

During the Great Depression and the Second World War , the labour movement grew and challenged the capitalist system. Organizations such as the Canadian Congress of Labour and new unions such as the international United Auto Workers successfully organized industries and ensured recognition and rights for unions. They launched mass strikes and sit-down protests at workplaces across the country during the war. Changes in the legal system, such as the 1946 decision of Justice Ivan Rand to ensure union dues whether or not all employees were part of a union, also helped to facilitate the establishment of industrial unions in Canada ( see Rand Formula ). Industrial workers fought for collective bargaining , minimum wages , pensions , vacation pay, workplace benefits, legislated working hours, and legislation to protect against unemployment , workplace accidents and discriminatory hiring practices.

As early as the late 19th century, Canadian families had begun to shift from a farm-based economy to one based on industrial work and wages in urban areas. This required all family members to work for wages, either in factories (often fathers and children, but increasingly women, as well), or at home, where women took in boarders, cleaned and did piecework to stretch the family income. Wages — as opposed to subsistence farming or the selling of crops — became the primary form of work for Canadians, particularly after the 1920s. This reflected the profoundly class-based system of the industrial economy, which placed the means of production in the hands of a small group of wealthy elites .

Post-Industrial Age

In the 1950s, industrial work was at a peak in Canada. Cars, airplanes, steel, chemicals, appliances and other consumer goods were manufactured in Canada. Industrial labour constituted the largest segment of the male working population, one that was privileged by state policies that encouraged the male breadwinner ideal. By the 1960s and 1970s, approximately 30 per cent of the Canadian working population was in a union, often an industrial union . Major firms and manufacturing companies such as Massey-Ferguson , Bombardier , General Motors of Canada , the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation and A.V. Roe Canada Limited dotted the industrial landscape.

Between the 1960s and the 1980s, automation, new production processes and productivity advances started to change the nature of industrial work, leading to greater dependence on technology and worker efficiency. At the same time, competition from newly industrialized or reindustrialized nations in Europe and Asia challenged Canadian manufacturers to remain competitive and to innovate. Starting in the 1960s, both in Canada and, more significantly, in the United States, deindustrialization began to occur, particularly in the industrial Midwest.

After the 1990s, deindustrialization became a significant factor in economic discourse, particularly in Ontario, where much of the industrial economy was located. Some of this deindustrialization was caused by trade agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade / World Trade Organization , and regional trade pacts such as the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (1989) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (1994). Those trade deals effectively dismantled the protectionist approach of the National Policy . Meanwhile, automation, innovation and productivity increases meant that fewer workers were necessary to produce manufactured goods.

In the post-1973 period, following the Arab-led oil embargo that helped spur inflation and economic decline in much of the West, many durable goods and consumables were increasingly made outside of Canada, or North America. In the 2000s, auto assembly in Ontario faced restructuring and decline. The 1965 Auto Pact , a managed trade agreement that provided some guarantees for production in Canada, was found contrary to international trade rules, and the North American economy faced the financial crisis of 2008–09 ( see Recession ).

By the 1970s, the computing revolution and digital technology had transformed the workplace. This impact was multifaceted. With an increasing amount of industrial work done by automation, including robotic processes, manufacturing work became less of a segment of the industrial economy. At the same time, computerization shifted much of the modern economy into the service sector, with retail , banking and finance, communications and other aspects of the economy outpacing manufacturing.

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Industrial Revolution

By: History.com Editors

Updated: March 27, 2023 | Original: October 29, 2009

The Industrial Revolution was a period of scientific and technological development in the 18th century that transformed largely rural, agrarian societies—especially in Europe and North America—into industrialized, urban ones. Goods that had once been painstakingly crafted by hand started to be produced in mass quantities by machines in factories, thanks to the introduction of new machines and techniques in textiles, iron making and other industries.

When Was the Industrial Revolution?

Though a few innovations were developed as early as the 1700s, the Industrial Revolution began in earnest by the 1830s and 1840s in Britain, and soon spread to the rest of the world, including the United States.

Modern historians often refer to this period as the First Industrial Revolution, to set it apart from a second period of industrialization that took place from the late 19th to early 20th centuries and saw rapid advances in the steel, electric and automobile industries. 

Spinning Jenny

Thanks in part to its damp climate, ideal for raising sheep, Britain had a long history of producing textiles like wool, linen and cotton. But prior to the Industrial Revolution, the British textile business was a true “cottage industry,” with the work performed in small workshops or even homes by individual spinners, weavers and dyers.

Starting in the mid-18th century, innovations like the spinning jenny (a wooden frame with multiple spindles), the flying shuttle, the water frame and the power loom made weaving cloth and spinning yarn and thread much easier. Producing cloth became faster and required less time and far less human labor.

More efficient, mechanized production meant Britain’s new textile factories could meet the growing demand for cloth both at home and abroad, where the British Empire’s many overseas colonies provided a captive market for its goods. In addition to textiles, the British iron industry also adopted new innovations.

Chief among the new techniques was the smelting of iron ore with coke (a material made by heating coal) instead of the traditional charcoal. This method was both cheaper and produced higher-quality material, enabling Britain’s iron and steel production to expand in response to demand created by the Napoleonic Wars (1803-15) and the later growth of the railroad industry. 

Impact of Steam Power 

An icon of the Industrial Revolution broke onto the scene in the early 1700s, when Thomas Newcomen designed the prototype for the first modern steam engine . Called the “atmospheric steam engine,” Newcomen’s invention was originally applied to power the machines used to pump water out of mine shafts.

In the 1760s, Scottish engineer James Watt began tinkering with one of Newcomen’s models, adding a separate water condenser that made it far more efficient. Watt later collaborated with Matthew Boulton to invent a steam engine with a rotary motion, a key innovation that would allow steam power to spread across British industries, including flour, paper, and cotton mills, iron works, distilleries, waterworks and canals.

Just as steam engines needed coal, steam power allowed miners to go deeper and extract more of this relatively cheap energy source. The demand for coal skyrocketed throughout the Industrial Revolution and beyond, as it would be needed to run not only the factories used to produce manufactured goods, but also the railroads and steamships used for transporting them.

Transportation During the Industrial Revolution

Britain’s road network, which had been relatively primitive prior to industrialization, soon saw substantial improvements, and more than 2,000 miles of canals were in use across Britain by 1815.

In the early 1800s, Richard Trevithick debuted a steam-powered locomotive, and in 1830 similar locomotives started transporting freight (and passengers) between the industrial hubs of Manchester and Liverpool. By that time, steam-powered boats and ships were already in wide use, carrying goods along Britain’s rivers and canals as well as across the Atlantic.

Banking and Communication in the Industrial Revolution

In 1776, Scottish social philosopher Adam Smith , who is regarded as the founder of modern economics, published The Wealth of Nations . In it, Smith promoted an economic system based on free enterprise, the private ownership of means of production, and lack of government interference.

Banks and industrial financiers soon rose to new prominence during this period, as well as a factory system dependent on owners and managers. A stock exchange was established in London in the 1770s; the New York Stock Exchange was founded in the early 1790s.

The latter part of the Industrial Revolution also saw key advances in communication methods, as people increasingly saw the need to communicate efficiently over long distances. In 1837, British inventors William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone patented the first commercial telegraphy system, even as Samuel Morse and other inventors worked on their own versions in the United States.

Cooke and Wheatstone’s system would be used for railroad signaling, as the speed of the new steam-powered trains created a need for more sophisticated means of communication.

Labor Movement 

Though many people in Britain had begun moving to the cities from rural areas before the Industrial Revolution, this process accelerated dramatically with industrialization, as the rise of large factories turned smaller towns into major cities over the span of decades. This rapid urbanization brought significant challenges, as overcrowded cities suffered from pollution, inadequate sanitation, miserable housing conditions and a lack of safe drinking water.

Meanwhile, even as industrialization increased economic output overall and improved the standard of living for the middle and upper classes, poor and working class people continued to struggle. The mechanization of labor created by technological innovation had made working in factories increasingly tedious (and sometimes dangerous), and many workers—including children—were forced to work long hours for pitifully low wages.

Such dramatic changes and abuses fueled opposition to industrialization worldwide, including the “ Luddites ,” known for their violent resistance to changes in Britain’s textile industry.

Did you know? The word "luddite" refers to a person who is opposed to technological change. The term is derived from a group of early 19th century English workers who attacked factories and destroyed machinery as a means of protest. They were supposedly led by a man named Ned Ludd, though he may have been an apocryphal figure.

In the decades to come, outrage over substandard working and living conditions would fuel the formation of labor unions , as well as the passage of new child labor laws and public health regulations in both Britain and the United States, all aimed at improving life for working class and poor citizens who had been negatively impacted by industrialization.

The Industrial Revolution in the United States

The beginning of industrialization in the United States is usually pegged to the opening of a textile mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1793 by the recent English immigrant Samuel Slater. Slater had worked at one of the mills opened by Richard Arkwright (inventor of the water frame) mills, and despite laws prohibiting the emigration of textile workers, he brought Arkwright’s designs across the Atlantic. He later built several other cotton mills in New England, and became known as the “Father of the American Industrial Revolution.”

The United States followed its own path to industrialization, spurred by innovations “borrowed” from Britain as well as by homegrown inventors like Eli Whitney . Whitney’s 1793 invention of the cotton gin (short for “engine”) revolutionized the nation’s cotton industry (and strengthened the hold of slavery over the cotton-producing South).

By the end of the 19th century, with the so-called Second Industrial Revolution underway, the United States would also transition from a largely agrarian society to an increasingly urbanized one, with all the attendant problems.

By the mid-19th century, industrialization was well-established throughout the western part of Europe and America’s northeastern region. By the early 20th century, the U.S. had become the world’s leading industrial nation.

Effects of the Industrial Revolution

Historians continue to debate many aspects of industrialization, including its exact timeline, why it began in Britain as opposed to other parts of the world and the idea that it was actually more of a gradual evolution than a revolution. The positives and negatives of the Industrial Revolution are complex.

On one hand, unsafe working conditions were rife and environmental pollution from coal and gas are legacies we still struggle with today. On the other, the move to cities and ingenious inventions that made clothing, communication and transportation more affordable and accessible to the masses changed the course of world history.

Regardless of these questions, the Industrial Revolution had a transformative economic, social and cultural impact, and played an integral role in laying the foundations for modern society. 

Photo Galleries

Robert C. Allen, The Industrial Revolution: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007  Claire Hopley, “A History of the British Cotton Industry.” British Heritage Travel , July 29, 2006 William Rosen, The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention . New York: Random House, 2010 Gavin Weightman, The Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World, 1776-1914 . New York: Grove Press, 2007 Matthew White, “Georgian Britain: The Industrial Revolution.” British Library , October 14, 2009 

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Chapter 3. Urban, Industrial, and Divided: Socio-Economic Change, 1867-1920

3.5 Urbanization and Industry

Industrialization took place in existing cities and it called into existence new — industrial — cities. There was, therefore, a changing urban landscape in some cases, but also a kind of urban template was developed for emergent cities, onto which industrial relations were imposed. Cities were sites of class struggle and the negotiation of new social relations, regardless of whether they were Canadian metropolises or small mining towns like Greenwood, BC or Frank, AB. The common denominator was the role that capital played in creating landscapes and cityscapes that gave priority to productive processes, sometimes with a brief horizon in mind.

The Dominion of Cities

Between 1871-1911, the population of Canada nearly doubled, from 3,689,000 to 7,207,000. [1] Most of that growth was in urban areas as the share of the workforce engaged in non-agricultural pursuits rose from 51.9% to over 60% in the same period. [2] Even in Nova Scotia, where the benefits of industrialization were not long lasting nor very deep, the impact on the scale of urban settlements was very dramatic: in the decade after Confederation, Halifax grew by 22%, New Glasgow by 55%, Sydney Mines by 57%, and Truro by 64%. From 1891-1901, a decade of immigration strongly associated with the growth of population and farm settlement in the West, Sydney tripled in size, emerging as the second largest city in the province. [3]

These figures, respectable though they were, are totally eclipsed by the growth of Western towns and cities. Calgary held fewer than 4,000 people in 1891, and added only 500 over the next 10 years. Then its population leapt to 43,704 in 1911 and 63,305 in 1921 with an economy built mainly around distribution, food processing (e.g., meat packing), and housing materials. [4] In 1891, Winnipeg became the first western city to join the ranks of the 10 largest centres in Canada, arriving in ninth spot with a population of 25,642. The very next census saw it pull ahead of all the Maritime cities (including Halifax), and in 1911, it was the third largest city in the country, with 136,035 people. Likewise, Vancouver joined the top-10 in 1901, with only 26,133 people, and moved into fourth place in 1911 with 120,847. By 1921, four of the 10 largest cities in Canada were in the West, but the older eastern members of this club of leading cities were not going to be easily overtaken. Ottawa, after all, doubled every 20 years from 21,545 in 1871 to 44,156 in 1891, and 87,082 in 1911; the Dominion capital passed the 100,000 mark by 1921, but by that time its population had dropped from its best ranking of fourth (in 1901) to sixth.

None of these cities was without an important industrial component. Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, and Winnipeg each had important rail yards and repair shops associated with the CPR (as did, to a lesser degree, Kamloops, Medicine Hat, and Brandon). Industrializing the production of food was another shared feature, whether in the form of canning salmon or packing meat or shipping enormous quantities of grain. Housing materials was also important to the regional booming population. Door and sash factories and lumber mills appeared in all of the biggest cities, in addition to other expressions of industrialism such as printers, cigar makers, and newspapers. Each of the western cities, too, had a role to play in goods distribution. This involved the handling of foodstuffs and construction materials needed by an increasing population, but also the manufactured goods produced in central Canada. An example of this is the distribution system developed in the 1890s by Toronto department store owner Timothy Eaton (1834-1907). Warehouses for Eaton’s goods were built in the major centres but actual stores only appeared in the West in 1905. In the meantime, one could order from catalogues and have delivered a huge variety of manufactured products —  including houses as buildable kits.

What is conspicuous by its absence from the western cities at the turn of the century is heavy industry. Textiles did well for a while in Winnipeg, but steel manufacturing and the production of machinery both remained an effective monopoly of central Canada. When the automobile industry arrived in Canada, it was in Walkerville and Montreal, not Edmonton or New Westminster (let alone Halifax or Charlottetown). Processing primary products with very little value added was the norm in the West. It is partly for this reason that workers in the emergent service industries — streetcar drivers, milk deliverymen, fire fighters — were important players in the trade union landscape of the West.

While urbanism was spreading alongside industrialism and capitalism, the power of Montreal and Toronto was growing greater with each passing generation. In 1871, there were slightly more than 100,000 people in Montreal; Toronto — at 56,092 — was slightly smaller than Quebec City. By 1891, Montreal had a population of nearly 220,000 and Toronto was three-times the size of Quebec City at 181,000. These two economic and industrial centres were rapidly emerging as a first-rung category of cities, the country’s two metropolises. In 1911, the census found nearly half a million people in Montreal and 380,000 in Toronto. By the end of the Great War, both had passed the half million mark and the next nearest city, Winnipeg, was less than half as large with fewer than 200,000. Toronto’s rate of growth and transformation was more sudden and spectacular than Montreal’s but both were, even in 1900, nothing like what they had been in 1867. Both cities hosted large manufacturing operations, as did second- and third-tier cities in Ontario and in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. In the immediate catchment of each of the two major cities, a metropolitan influence was obvious as the local economies became more closely knit. The foremost example of this is the so-called “golden horseshoe” at the western end of Lake Ontario: Toronto was the unchallenged heart of this conurbation that grew (and became an almost continuous urban sprawl) through the 20th century.

The links between the second industrial revolution and urbanization are described by historian Craig Heron (York University).

Urban Conditions to 1920

City growth is a companion process of industrialization and, as we have seen, industrialization was enabled by Confederation. Maritime historian, Larry McCann, captured this when he wrote, “The transformation of Nova Scotia’s economic structure and the growth of its towns and cities in the post-Confederation period occurred simultaneously with the province’s integration into the continental economy.” [5] Larger factories replaced smaller shops and these factories, of course, were located in towns. Opportunities to earn cash wages attracted young people off the land, especially those who were unlikely to inherit the family farm. Newcomers from abroad, naturally, came ashore in large port cities and those port cities were the outlets for manufactured goods. The ability to consolidate dumps of fuel, whether wood or fossil fuels, was greater in cities that had port and rail, or even canal facilities. The cities, too, were centres of finance, and industrialism was nothing without capital.

Sean Kheraj (York University), a historian of environmental questions, considers the function and meaning of parks – specifically Vancouver’s Stanley Park – in the context of modern cities.

The effect was a self-reinforcing pattern. Factories moved to towns that had financial credibility (that is, either wealth or the ability to borrow wealth), infrastructure (docks, railyards, etc.) and an established workforce. This was the case in 1879 when Hart Massey closed the last of his agricultural implements business in Newcastle, ON (where it had moved in 1849 from the tiny inland village of Bond Head) and relocated everything to Toronto where it merged with its chief competitor. By 1891, Massey-Harris employed nearly 600 people. [6]

While the competition was visibly fierce for investment, giving rise to a generation of civic self-promoters called boosters , it was no less pitched when it came to attracting and retaining a population of wage-earners. It was the ability of Canadians and immigrants to move from town to town in search of work that made industrialization possible. Free labour  (untied to the land or to a feudal relationship) was fundamental to the transition to industrialism. This worked well enough when the economy was surging and opportunities beckoned. But when the economy troughed, workers found themselves effectively trapped in the cities where they last hoped to find work. The 1870s, for example, were marked by dramatic protests and hardship in Ottawa, Montreal, and other centres as families complained that they were starving for want of work. In Toronto, the local House of Industry received 2,000 applications for refuge between 1879-1882. [7] Cities might create circumstances in which building rental housing for an emergent working class was both necessary and remunerative. In becoming a tenant, however, workers exposed themselves to impermanence and the possibility of eviction. If they lived in tied housing and carried debt at the truck shop or company store , their vulnerabilities could be greater still.

Overcrowding was widespread. Health conditions were often poor. Sewage systems were deplorable and only began to improve in the 1890s in most Canadian cities and towns. Water supplies were regularly tainted. Immigrant, Aboriginal, and African-Canadian neighbourhoods generally endured worse conditions than those occupied by Anglo- and Franco-Canadians. Housing in some industrial areas was more like dormitories than apartments because of the extensive occupancy of single men and single women. These conditions prevailed at the very time when wealthy and leafy suburbs were being created for the owners of industry. Generally located upwind from the smoke and noise of factories and mills, these wealthy “Nob Hills” paid obeisance to the capitalist hub of Canada — Montreal — and the power of the CPR’s elite in their names. A Mount Royal neighbourhood occurs in cities all along the main CPR line. Vancouver’s upper-class Shaughnessy neighbourhood was named in 1907 for the then-president of the CPR, and there are Van Horne streets in cities across the country. The hundreds who worked in the switching and freight yards thus lived downwind and often downhill from their economic superiors and employers. Cities had always had elements of spatial segregation based on class and role, but this was being imposed on Canadian cities in a very purposeful way. Awareness of these differences in quality of life and experiences was not unusual.

Single Industry Towns

Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, and Sydney, NS are good examples of industrial-era towns with effectively no prior market-town existence. [8] Instant cities of this kind quickly boasted of having the urban amenities found in other 19th century cities: libraries, schools, concert halls, breweries, hotels, restaurants, and newspapers.

The small and new industrial towns generated urban problems as well. The shocking infant mortality rates of industrial Montreal in the last quarter of the 19th century — running to 285 deaths out of every 1,000 births — barely surpassed Nanaimo in 1881 with 250 per 1,000 births. Kamloops, a booming railway and lumber mill town built atop a cattle and fur trade settlement (not to mention ancient Aboriginal villages), had an infant mortality rate of 380 of 1,000 births in 1891. [9]

What Nanaimo and most the Cape Breton mining towns had in common was the fact that they were essentially single industry communities. The same was true of Drumheller (from 1911), the Crowsnest Pass colliery towns, the Kootenay hardrock mining towns, and a great number of lumber mill towns across the Maritimes and much of the rest of the country. In British Columbia, there was a cohort of 25 towns with population of between 500 to about 2,000 people that sprang into existence around 1891. These were primarily mining towns and the largest share of them were in the Kootenays. Only a handful existed a decade earlier and some would become ghost towns by 1911.

In some instances, these communities were not just limited by a lack of variety of employment opportunities: they were in essence (or formally) company towns  in which the chief employer was also the landlord, and possibly responsible for civic authority as well. Communities like these were many and they proved to be highly vulnerable to changes in the economic weather. As one historian of a New Brunswick cotton textile town observes, “by 1890 there were over one hundred villages comparable to Milltown. These small towns contained over 4,500 industrial establishments representing over $2.5 million of invested capital and almost 25,000 jobs.” [10] The same historian adds that these small industrial nodes constituted “only one-fourteenth of the industrial capacity of the 46 major Canadian cities,” and yet the pattern was cast widely and echoed many of the developments witnessed in larger centres. There were representatives of this tier of industrial centres in every province and they were an important part of the Dominion’s web of industrial activity.

Exercise: History Around You

Street by Street

The transportation systems of the past leave indelible fingerprints on the dimensions of our cities. Take a look at the oldest part(s) of your city or town. How wide are the streets? If you live in Lillooet, BC, for example, they’re extremely wide. That’s also the case on the main streets of downtown Winnipeg. In Vancouver’s Gastown, Water Street is perhaps a quarter as wide. In the Old Town of Quebec or around Montreal’s Ville-Marie they are narrower still, as they are in the heart of St. John’s.

Can one conclude from this that people in the past were much thinner than they are now or that Winnipeggers need wider roads to negotiate a turn?

The answer can be found in the dominant transportation technology of the day. St. John’s, Montreal, and Quebec were built with military concerns in mind and some of the topography was (and is) challenging, but what distinguishes them most from later cities is that horses were rare. Most of the carting that was done was powered by human legs. And the turning radius of a handcart is very narrow. Merchants shipping goods into the Cariboo gold towns via Lillooet had something in common with Métis freighters in Winnipeg: they made use of ox teams. The turning radius of a team of oxen pulling a wagon is necessarily very large. In between are the cities where horse traffic dominated. The warehouses of Gastown, in Vancouver, depended on fleets of carters whose moderate-sized horses had to be able to make a U-turn with a small wagon in tow. Multiple horse teams pulling larger wagons  required more space — though not as much as a team of oxen — and that transition can be seen in slightly later street layouts.

Late 19th and early 20th century cities were typically horse towns. The introduction of streetcars added a new wrinkle, as can be seen across Vancouver where the streetcar system rapidly outstripped the building of neighbourhoods. Streetcar tracks plunged into the forests and through the stumps of South Vancouver and Point Grey, anticipating the arrival of new housing. Before the arrival of the automobile, these various forms of transportation — foot, hoof, electricity-powered streetcar, and bicycles, too — shared the streets in a way that blends the orderly and the chaotic, as can be seen in this 1907 film taken from the front of a streetcar in Vancouver , filmed by United States filmmaker (and victim of the Titanic sinking) William Harbeck.

Where you live and where you work is shaped by the dominant infrastructure of the day. Consider how your town’s transportation history can be seen in the size and shape of its streets and how the physical space in which you move is, itself, a historic document.

• Urbanization in the period before the 1920s was a diverse and uneven process.
• Two major cities —  Montreal and Toronto —  emerged that would dwarf all others; the growth and economic health of both was based on industrial economies.
• New cities in the West were challenging the lead held by Central and Eastern Canadian cities.
• Cities increasingly developed sections exclusively occupied by higher or lower social classes, in which conditions were very different.

Media Attributions

• Pretoria Day 1901 Celebrations © James Salmon is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Hogenson House © Cocopie on Wikipedia is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Renfrew Textiles Limited Factory © Harry Hinchley, Library and Archives Canada (PA-100649) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Houses for Mr. Meredith, Montreal, QC, 1903 © William Notman & Son, McCord Museum (II-146359) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• City Market, Saint John, New Brunswick adapted by McCord Museum (X13436) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Britannia Mining and Smelting Co.’s Mine © Dr. A.W. Wilson, Canada Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys, Library and Archives Canada (PA-013798) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Montreal from Street Railway Power House chimney, QC, 1896 © William Notman & Son, McCord Museum (VIEW-2942) is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives) license
• Calgary from the Elbow River on the Canadian Pacific Railway © William Notman & Son, Library and Archives Canada (C-017804) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Tramway crossing under construction, Ste. Catherine and St. Lawrence St., Montreal, QC, 1893 © William Notman & Son, McCord Museum (II-102021) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Breakneck Steps, Quebec City, QC, c. 1870 © James George Parks, McCord Museum (MP-0000.307.2) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• A boy and horse on Hastings Street near Carrall Street © Major James Skitt Matthews, City of Vancouver Archives (Str P175) is licensed under a Public Domain license
• Statistics Canada, Historical Statistics of Canada , 2nd ed., ed. F. H. Leacy (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 1983): A78-93. ↵
• ibid., D1-7 ↵
• Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 1931 , vol.1, Table 13 (Ottawa: 1932). ↵
• Max Foran with Edward Cavell, Calgary: An Illustrated History (Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1978), 70. ↵
• L.D. McCann, “The Mercantile-Industrial Transition in the Metals Towns of Pictou Country, 1857-1931,” in Cities and Urbanization: Canadian Historical Perspectives , ed. Gilbert A. Stelter (Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman, 1990): 88-9. ↵
• Peter G. Goheen, “Currents of Change in Toronto, 1850-1900,” in The Canadian City: Essays in Urban History , eds. Gilbert A. Stelter and Alan F.J. Artibise (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1979): 63. ↵
• Bryan D. Palmer, Working-Class Experience: Rethinking the History of Canadian Labour, 1800-1991 , 2nd ed. (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1992), 115. ↵
• This is not to say that they had no prior history as human settlements. Both were sites of permanent and semi-permanent Aboriginal communities before, during, and after industrialization. ↵
• John Douglas Belshaw, Becoming British Columbia: A Population History (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2009), 180. ↵
• Peter DeLottinville, “Trouble in the Hives of Industry: The Cotton Industry comes to Milltown, New Brunswick, 1879-1892,” in Labour and Working-Class History in Canada: A Reader , eds. David Frank and Gregory S. Kealey (St. John’s: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1995): 131. ↵

Civic promoters.

Workers who are not tied to a feudal relationship, slavery, or indentured servitude and are able to move from one employer (or location) to another based on the size of pay and the character of the work.

A facility typically funded out of philanthropic/charitable donations that provides housing and food for impoverished citizens with the expectation that they will do work in return. In the 19th century, associated with workhouses for the poor.

In company towns, housing that is owned by the employer and provided to employees. In some cases, residence in tied housing is a condition of employment, which enables the employer to evict strikers during labour disputes.

An outlet owned by an employer, one that sells goods to employees of the same firm. Commonplace in company towns. See also company store.

An outlet owned by an employer, one that sells goods to employees of the same firm. Commonplace in company towns.

Abandoned communities; associated principally with resource extraction — often mining — towns that have a very short lifespan and which close up once the resource is removed or the market disappears.

A community with one major employer and few other employers; one in which most or all services — in some instances including housing and the supply of food — are controlled by the employer. Associated with remote resource extraction communities.

Canadian History: Post-Confederation Copyright © 2016 by John Douglas Belshaw is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Big History Project

Course: big history project   >   unit 9.

• ACTIVITY: The Appetite for Energy
• ACTIVITY: Unit 9 Vocab Tracking
• ACTIVITY: DQ Notebook 9.1
• WATCH: Coal, Steam, and the Industrial Revolution

READ: The Industrial Revolution

• WATCH: How Did Change Accelerate?
• READ: Acceleration
• READ: George Washington Carver - Graphic Biography
• ACTIVITY: Threshold Card — Threshold 8: The Modern Revolution
• Quiz: Acceleration

Fossil Fuels, Steam Power, and the Rise of Manufacturing

The transformation of the world, early steam engines, why britain.

• Shortage of wood and the abundance of convenient coal deposits
• Commercial-minded aristocracy; limited monarchy
• System of free enterprise; limited government involvement
• Government support for commercial projects, for a strong navy to protect ships
• Cheap cotton produced by slaves in North America
• High literacy rates
• Rule of law; protection of assets
• Valuable immigrants (Dutch, Jews, Huguenots [French Protestants])
• Location of China’s coal, which was in the north, while economic activity was centered in the south
• Rapid growth of population in China, giving less incentive for machines and more for labor-intensive methods
• Confucian ideals that valued stability and frowned upon experimentation and change
• Lack of Chinese government support for maritime explorations, thinking its empire seemed large enough to provide everything needed
• China’s focus on defending self from nomadic attacks from the north and west
• Britain’s location on the Atlantic Ocean
• British colonies in North America, which provided land, labor, and markets
• Silver from the Americas, used in trade with China
• Social and ideological conditions in Britain, and new thoughts about the economy, that encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit

The Spread of the Industrial Revolution

Consequences of the industrial revolution, for further discussion, want to join the conversation.

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Industrialization, Labor, and Life

Industrialization ushered much of the world into the modern era, revamping patterns of human settlement, labor, and family life.

Social Studies, Economics, U.S. History, World History

Power Looms

Women and children were often employed in the textile industry during the first century of industrialization. Their smaller fingers were often better at threading the machinery. Despite routinely working 16 hours, or longer, a day they were paid little.

Photograph by Nancy Carter

The Industrial Revolution deserves the name with which historians have tagged it. It brought about thorough and lasting transformations, not just in business and economics but in the basic structures of society. Before industrialization , when the most significant economic activities in most European countries were small-scale farming and artisan handicrafts, social structures remained essentially as they had been during the Middle Ages. The advent of industrial development revamped patterns of human settlement, labor, and family life. The changes set in motion by industrialization ushered Europe, the United States of America, and much of the world into the modern era. Most historians place the origin of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain in the middle decades of the 18th century. In the British Isles and most of Europe at this time, most social activity took place in small and medium-sized villages. People rarely traveled far beyond their home village. During the 18th century, the population of Britain and other European countries began rising significantly. Among the first signs of economic transformation was an increase in agricultural productivity, making it possible to feed this rising population. The combination of these factors led to profound changes in how rural people lived. Gradually, large-scale mechanized agriculture to serve the market began to overtake the kinds of subsistence farming most peasants had practiced for generations. The enclosure movement, which converted commonly held grazing lands into fenced-off private property, added to the new pressures facing the poor, rural majority. The population increase added to the number of people facing difficulties making a living on the land. Many left their agrarian lives behind and headed for towns and cities to find employment. Advances in industry and the growth of factory production accelerated the trend toward urbanization in Britain. Industrial cities like Manchester and Leeds grew dramatically over the course of a few short decades. In 1800, about 20 percent of the British population lived in urban areas. By the middle of the nineteenth century, that proportion had risen to 50 percent. Other Western European lands such as France, the Netherlands, and Germany also experienced an increase in urban populations, albeit, more slowly. These changes thoroughly disrupted longstanding patterns in social relationships that dated back to medieval times. The nature of work in the new urban industries also had significant social impact. Before the Industrial Revolution , artisans with specialized skills produced most of Europe’s manufactured goods. Their work was governed by the traditions of their craft and the limits of available resources. Human and animal muscle and the waterwheel were the era’s main energy sources. With the coming of factory-based industry, the coal-fired steam engine and other machinery set a new, faster pace for labor. In the factories, coal mines, and other workplaces, the hours were very long, and the conditions, generally, dismal and dangerous. The size and scope of manufacturing enterprises continued to increase throughout the 19th century as Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world industrialized. Larger firms that could achieve economies of scale held an advantage in the competitive sphere of international trade. In the industrializing world, the new means of production meant the demise of earlier, slower modes of labor and life. The most insidious consequences of the new conditions may have been those affecting the most basic social unit: the family. The preindustrial family was fundamentally both a social and an economic unit. Married couples and their children often worked side by side on a family farm or in a shop, or otherwise divided their labor for the family’s overall benefit. It was also common in 18th-century Great Britain for women and men to work in their rural homes doing jobs such as textile spinning and weaving on a piecework basis for merchant owners. This decentralized form of employment was called the “putting-out” or domestic system. However, the rise of factory production and industrial cities meant a separation of the home from the workplace for most male workers. Very often, the need for income motivated men to leave their families behind for jobs in the city. Even without geographic separation, many types of industrial jobs were so demanding that they left little downtime for workers to spend preserving the relational bonds we associate with family life. Women also worked outside the home. Unmarried women, in particular, often worked as domestic servants. Many British women, including mothers, were employed in the textile mills to help their families make ends meet. Child labor was also rampant in the textile industry during the first century of industrialization . Factory owners appreciated having workers whose fingers were small enough to manipulate delicately threaded machinery. Despite their importance to the industry’s output, these women and children were paid very little and were routinely compelled to work 16 hours per day or longer. Their jobs were perceived as less skilled than those of their male co-workers, although the working conditions were sometimes equally dangerous. The United States underwent many of the same social transformations arising from industrialization . U.S. manufacturing began in earnest after the nation broke from England in the 1770s. An embargo on foreign imports during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, and a British blockade of the Atlantic seaboard during the War of 1812, spurred domestic production. The United States became one of the world’s leading economic powers by the 1830s. In the first half century after U.S. independence, a major proportion of the nation’s labor force shifted from the agricultural to the manufacturing sector. As in Great Britain, the textile industry led the way toward mechanization. In many industries, though, home-based production and artisan craft traditions gave way to wage labor in larger, machine-powered operations. Industrialization , along with great strides in transportation, drove the growth of U.S. cities and a rapidly expanding market economy. It also shaped the development of a large working class in U.S. society, leading eventually to labor struggles and strikes led by working men and women. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Britain, the United States, and other industrialized nations were debating and enacting reform laws to limit some of the worst abuses of the factory system. However, similarly oppressive labor conditions arose in many parts of the world as their economies industrialized in the 20th and 21st centuries. The reorganization of daily life wrought by industrialization had effects that weakened the material basis for the institutions of the family and the community. These effects were so lasting that they can still be felt in the present day—even as developed societies have shifted into an era that scholars describe as “postindustrial.”

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Essay on Industrial Revolution

Students are often asked to write an essay on Industrial Revolution in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Industrial Revolution

What was the industrial revolution.

The Industrial Revolution was a big change in how things were made. Before, people made goods by hand at home. Then, machines in big buildings called factories started doing this work. This change began in Britain in the late 1700s and spread to other countries.

Changes in Technology

New machines could spin thread much faster than by hand. The steam engine was also invented. This could power machines and move trains and ships. These inventions made making things and moving them around quicker and cheaper.

Impact on People

Many people left farms to work in factories in cities. Life became hard for these workers. They worked long hours for little money. But, more goods were made, and over time, people’s lives improved as new jobs were created.

Global Effects

The Industrial Revolution changed the world. Countries with factories got rich and powerful. They used resources from other places to make goods. This led to big changes in trade and made some countries very wealthy.

The Industrial Revolution was a major event that changed how we make things, live, and work. It started over 200 years ago, and its effects are still felt today. It made life better for many, but also created new challenges.

Also check:

• Advantages and Disadvantages of Industrial Revolution

250 Words Essay on Industrial Revolution

What was the industrial revolution.

The Industrial Revolution was a big change in the way things were made. Before this time, people made goods by hand at home or in small shops. Around the late 18th century, this changed. Machines began to do the work in big factories. This started in Britain and then spread to other parts of the world.

Changes in Industry

Machines could make things faster and cheaper than humans could by hand. This meant more products could be made and more people could buy them. Steam engines powered these machines, and coal was the fuel. This led to a rise in coal mining and iron production.

Life During the Revolution

Because of factory work, cities grew as people moved there for jobs. This was a big shift from life on farms. Working in factories was hard, and many worked long hours for low pay. The air and water got dirty from the factories, too.

Impact on Society

The Industrial Revolution changed life a lot. Travel became easier with trains and steamships. Communication got better with inventions like the telegraph. People’s lives improved with new goods and technology. But, there were also bad parts, like child labor and pollution.

The Industrial Revolution was a time of big changes in the way we make and buy things. It made life better in many ways, but also brought challenges. Today, we still feel its effects in our daily lives and the way our world works.

500 Words Essay on Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time of big change in how people worked and lived. It started in the late 1700s and went on until the early 1800s. Before this period, most goods were made by hand, and people lived in small villages and worked on farms. But during the Industrial Revolution, machines began to do the work that people and animals used to do. This change began in Britain and then spread to other countries, including the United States and parts of Europe.

New Inventions

One of the most important parts of the Industrial Revolution was the creation of new machines. These machines could make things faster and cheaper than before. For example, the spinning jenny allowed one worker to make several threads at the same time, and the steam engine could power different kinds of machines. Because of these inventions, factories were built where many machines could work together. This was much different from the old way of making things at home or in small workshops.

Life in Factories

With factories, the way people worked changed a lot. Instead of making goods at their own pace at home, workers had to follow a strict schedule in the factories. They worked long hours and often in tough conditions. Many workers moved from the countryside to cities to find work in these new factories. This led to cities growing very fast and becoming crowded.

Transportation Changes

The Industrial Revolution also changed how goods and people moved from place to place. The steam locomotive made it possible to build railways, which could transport goods and people much faster than horses and carts. Ships also got steam engines, which made travel across oceans quicker and easier. This meant that goods could be sold far away, and it was easier for people to move to new places.

The Industrial Revolution had a big impact on society. It made some people very rich, especially those who owned the factories. But many workers lived in poor conditions and did not get much money. Over time, this led to new laws to protect workers and improve their lives.

Children also worked in factories, and this led to laws about child labor. Education became more important, and more children went to school instead of working.

Changes in Agriculture

Farming also changed during the Industrial Revolution. New machines like the seed drill and the mechanical reaper made farming more efficient. This meant fewer people were needed to work on farms, so they went to work in the factories instead.

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great change. It made life different in many ways, from how people made things to how they lived and worked. It was not always easy or good for everyone, but it led to the modern world we know today. We still feel the effects of these changes in our daily lives, as the new ways of making and doing things that started back then continue to shape our world.

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Descriptive Essay: The Industrial Revolution and its Effects

The Industrial Revolution was a time of great age throughout the world. It represented major change from 1760 to the period 1820-1840. The movement originated in Great Britain and affected everything from industrial manufacturing processes to the daily life of the average citizen. I will discuss the Industrial Revolution and the effects it had on the world as a whole.

The primary industry of the time was the textiles industry. It had the most employees, output value, and invested capital. It was the first to take on new modern production methods. The transition to machine power drastically increased productivity and efficiency. This extended to iron production and chemical production.

It started in Great Britain and soon expanded into Western Europe and to the United States. The actual effects of the revolution on different sections of society differed. They manifested themselves at different times. The ‘trickle down’ effect whereby the benefits of the revolution helped the lower classes didn’t happen until towards the 1830s and 1840s. Initially, machines like the Watt Steam Engine and the Spinning Jenny only benefited the rich industrialists.

The effects on the general population, when they did come, were major. Prior to the revolution, most cotton spinning was done with a wheel in the home. These advances allowed families to increase their productivity and output. It gave them more disposable income and enabled them to facilitate the growth of a larger consumer goods market. The lower classes were able to spend. For the first time in history, the masses had a sustained growth in living standards.

Social historians noted the change in where people lived. Industrialists wanted more workers and the new technology largely confined itself to large factories in the cities. Thousands of people who lived in the countryside migrated to the cities permanently. It led to the growth of cities across the world, including London, Manchester, and Boston. The permanent shift from rural living to city living has endured to the present day.

Trade between nations increased as they often had massive surpluses of consumer goods they couldn’t sell in the domestic market. The rate of trade increased and made nations like Great Britain and the United States richer than ever before. Naturally, this translated to military power and the ability to sustain worldwide trade networks and colonies.

On the other hand, the Industrial Revolution and migration led to the mass exploitation of workers and slums. To counter this, workers formed trade unions. They fought back against employers to win rights for themselves and their families. The formation of trade unions and the collective unity of workers across industries are still existent today. It was the first time workers could make demands of their employers. It enfranchised them and gave them rights to upset the status quo and force employers to view their workers as human beings like them.

Overall, the Industrial Revolution was one of the single biggest events in human history. It launched the modern age and drove industrial technology forward at a faster rate than ever before. Even contemporary economics experts failed to predict the extent of the revolution and its effects on world history. It shows why the Industrial Revolution played such a vital role in the building of the United States of today.

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Essay on Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution marks a pivotal period in human history, fundamentally transforming the fabric of society, economy, and technology. Spanning from the late 18th to the early 19th century, it commenced in Britain and gradually proliferated across the globe. This essay delves into the essence, causes, key developments, and profound impacts of the Industrial Revolution, offering insights for students participating in essay writing competitions.

Industrial Revolution

The genesis of the Industrial Revolution can be traced back to Britain, fueled by a confluence of factors including agricultural advancements, population growth, financial innovations, and a surge in demand for goods. Agricultural improvements led to food surplus, supporting a burgeoning population that provided labor and created a market for industrial goods. Moreover, Britain’s political stability, patent laws, and access to vast resources due to its colonial empire set a fertile ground for industrial innovation.

Technological Innovations

At the heart of the Industrial Revolution were groundbreaking technological innovations that revolutionized manufacturing processes. The introduction of the steam engine by James Watt and the development of power looms significantly enhanced productivity, transitioning industries from manual labor to mechanized production. The iron and coal industries also saw major advancements, with the smelting process being vastly improved by Abraham Darby’s use of coke, leading to stronger and cheaper iron.

Impact on Society and Economy

The Industrial Revolution ushered in dramatic social and economic shifts. Urbanization escalated as people flocked to cities in search of employment in factories, giving rise to burgeoning urban centers. While the revolution generated wealth and propelled economic growth, it also introduced stark social disparities and challenging working conditions. Child labor, long working hours, and unsafe environments became prevalent issues, sparking movements for labor rights and reforms.

Impact on Society

• Urbanization: The Industrial Revolution led to a massive shift from rural areas to cities as people moved in search of employment in factories. This urbanization changed the social fabric, leading to the growth of urban centers and the emergence of a new urban working class.
• Labor Conditions: Factory work during the early Industrial Revolution was often characterized by long hours, low wages, and harsh working conditions. This led to labor protests and the eventual emergence of labor unions advocating for workers’ rights.
• Technological Advancements: The Industrial Revolution saw the development of new technologies and machinery that revolutionized production processes. Innovations like the steam engine and mechanized textile mills transformed industries and increased efficiency.
• Social Stratification: The gap between the wealthy industrialists and the working class widened during this period, resulting in increased social inequality. The emergence of a capitalist class and the growth of industrial capitalism contributed to this divide.
• Education and Literacy: The need for a skilled workforce led to greater emphasis on education. Public education systems began to develop, contributing to higher literacy rates among the population.
• Family Life: The traditional family structure evolved as men, women, and children worked in factories. Child labor, in particular, became a contentious issue, eventually leading to child labor laws and reforms.
• Social Reform Movements: The harsh conditions of industrialization fueled various social reform movements, including the women’s suffrage movement, the abolitionist movement, and efforts to improve public health and housing conditions.

Impact on the Economy

• Economic Growth: The Industrial Revolution fueled rapid economic growth as production processes became more efficient, leading to increased output of goods and services.
• New Industries: New industries and sectors emerged, such as textiles, coal mining, iron and steel production, and transportation. These industries became the backbone of the modern economy.
• Global Trade: The Industrial Revolution facilitated global trade by improving transportation and communication networks. The expansion of railways, canals, and steamships allowed for the movement of goods on a larger scale.
• Entrepreneurship: The period saw the rise of entrepreneurship, with individuals and companies investing in new ventures and technologies. Innovators like James Watt and George Stephenson played pivotal roles in the development of steam power and transportation.
• Financial Institutions: The growth of industry led to the expansion of financial institutions, including banks and stock exchanges, to support investment and capital accumulation.
• Capitalism and Market Economies: The Industrial Revolution played a significant role in the development of capitalism and market-driven economies, with private ownership of means of production and the pursuit of profit as driving forces.
• Labor Markets: Labor markets evolved as people migrated to urban areas in search of work. The supply of labor increased, impacting wages, labor laws, and the development of employment contracts.
• Consumer Culture: Mass production and improved transportation made consumer goods more accessible and affordable. This contributed to the rise of consumer culture and the growth of retail markets.

Transportation and Communication Breakthroughs

Transportation and communication underwent transformative changes, shrinking distances and fostering global interconnectedness. The construction of railways and the steam locomotive revolutionized travel and commerce, enabling faster movement of goods and people. Similarly, the telegraph, patented by Samuel Morse, allowed for instantaneous communication over long distances, laying the groundwork for the modern connected world.

Environmental and Global Implications

The Industrial Revolution had profound environmental impacts, with increased pollution and resource exploitation becoming notable concerns. The reliance on coal and the expansion of industries contributed to air and water pollution, foreshadowing contemporary environmental challenges. Globally, the revolution catalyzed industrialization in other countries, altering global trade patterns and establishing new economic hierarchies.

Cultural and Intellectual Responses

The Industrial Revolution also sparked a rich cultural and intellectual response, inspiring movements such as Romanticism, which critiqued the era’s industrialization and its disconnect from nature. Philosophers and economists, including Karl Marx and Adam Smith, analyzed its implications on class relations and economic systems, offering divergent perspectives on industrial capitalism.

The Second Industrial Revolution

Following the initial wave of industrialization, a Second Industrial Revolution emerged in the late 19th century, characterized by further technological advancements in steel production, electricity, and chemical processes. Innovations such as the internal combustion engine and the harnessing of electricity for lighting and motors opened new avenues for industrial and societal development.

Challenges and Reforms

The Industrial Revolution’s darker facets, such as exploitative labor practices and environmental degradation, elicited calls for reform. The establishment of labor unions and the enactment of laws to improve working conditions and limit child labor were critical steps towards addressing these issues. These reforms laid the groundwork for modern labor rights and environmental consciousness.

Legacy and Continuing Influence

The legacy of the Industrial Revolution is enduring, laying the foundations for modern industrial society and shaping the contemporary world. Its innovations spurred continuous technological progress, setting the stage for the information age and the current technological revolution. Moreover, it has left lasting imprints on societal structures, economic practices, and global relations.

In conclusion, The Industrial Revolution was not merely a period of technological innovation; it was a profound transformation that redefined human society, economy, and the environment. Its multifaceted impacts, from spurring economic growth and global interconnectedness to introducing social challenges and environmental concerns, underscore its complexity and significance. As students delve into the intricacies of the Industrial Revolution, they uncover the roots of modern society and the ongoing evolution shaped by this pivotal era in human history. This exploration not only enriches their understanding of the past but also offers valuable lessons for addressing the challenges and opportunities of the future.

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Industrial Revolution Essay

500+ words industrial revolution essay it’s history, the impact and pros and cons of industrial revolution.

The Industrial revolution was a period of major changes, which transformed the largely handicraft and agriculture based economy to machine manufacturing. European and American society was completely dependent on agriculture, hand production methods, which meant lower production. But in the latter half of the 18th century, the introduction of mass producing machines and industrialization changed this. This modern method of production led to mass production, which brought about major changes in the economy.

The industrial revolution brought about several social changes too. It led to new job opportunities, lowered prices, better quality of life and communication. But it wasn’t all good, the industrial revolution had its disadvantages too. While it did improve the quality of life with a better economy, it also led to harsh working conditions. Industrialization also led to pollution, lower pay and in some cases, unemployment too.

Learn more about the history, the impact and the pros and cons of the industrial revolution in this industrial revolution essay.

Industrial Revolution Essay: History Of Industrial Revolution

Before the industrial revolution, the economy was completely dependent on agriculture and handmade products. This meant fewer products were produced and the cost of production and the goods were higher too. But all this changed with the introduction of machines and factories in the late 1700s and mid 1800s. The industrial revolution transformed the largely rural and agriculture based society into urban, machine-powered factories. It began in Britain and soon spread to America, Japan and other European countries.

The industrial revolution brought about several economic and social changes across the world. Learn more about how the industrial revolution impacted society and its advantages and disadvantages. 

Also explore: Read more essays on related topics like technology essay and pollution essay .

Industrial Revolution Essay: The Impact Of The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution led to several important developments. First, the textile industry was changed. Machines were invented to make the cleaning, gathering, spinning and weaving processes easy. With modern methods of production, large amounts of cloth could be produced at once. The invention of the steam engine further improved the production. Gradually, industrialization spread to all kinds of industries like farming, transportation, communication, banking etc.

The Advantages Of The Industrial Revolution

• Ease Of Production: Industrialization made way for cheaper and more efficient production. Additionally, it made production quicker and easier.
• Innovation and development: The industrial revolution made way for innovation and development in several fields like communication, transportation, farming etc.
• Better job opportunities: The advent of machines and factories made way for jobs with specialized skills, which created new job opportunities. With better economic opportunities, the quality of life also improved. 
• Improved healthcare: The industrial revolution also helped make several advancements in the field of healthcare. Medical equipment and medicines could be manufactured easily and innovated, which resulted in better healthcare.

But while it had several advantages, the industrial revolution had several disadvantages too. Learn more about the cons in this industrial revolution essay.

The Disadvantages Of The Industrial Revolution

• Unemployment: With the advent of machines, several particular jobs became obsolete. People and families that performed these jobs were left without jobs or income. This led to unemployment and poverty.
• Overcrowding of cities: With more and more people from rural areas moving to the cities hoping for better wages, cities became overcrowded. The sudden influx of migrants in poorly planned cities and towns led to unsanitary living conditions and spread diseases.
• Harsh working conditions: With factories churning out products in mass quantities, factory owners prized profit over everything else. The workers were underpaid and forced to overwork with no concern for their safety. The dirt, the soot, smoke and chemicals expelled from the factories made working conditions in the factories unsanitary and hazardous to the workers’ health too. This resulted in accidents, the workers getting injured and even death in certain cases. 
• Pollution: One of the greatest ills that the industrial revolution brought about is the pollution and environmental ills that it caused. The factories also used natural resources endlessly, which led to global warming and other ecological problems. 
• Economic gap:  The factory and industry owners looked at their gain above all else. So, the workers were exploited and forced to overwork in unsanitary conditions for low wages. As a result, the factory owners got richer, while the workers stayed poor. This unequal distribution of wealth created an economic gap. 

The industrial revolution has its advantages and disadvantages, but our society wouldn’t be the same without it. Nonetheless, we can continue to enjoy the benefits by focusing on innovation without compromising on safety and equality.

We hope you found this industrial revolution essay helpful. Osmo has several essays on a wide variety of topics. For more information, check essays for kids .

Frequently Asked Questions On Industrial Revolution

What is the industrial revolution.

Industrial revolution was a period during which the largely rural, agricultural and hand produced economy shifted to modern, machine based manufacturing.

What are some advantages of the industrial revolution?

Industrialization and urbanization made way for mass production, innovation and development, better job opportunities and improved quality of life, cheaper products etc.

What are some cons of the industrial revolution?

Industrialization led to unemployment, depletion of natural resources, pollution, harsh working conditions, overpopulation and unequal distribution of wealth.

153 Industrial Revolution Essay Topics & Examples

If you’re looking for the Industrial Revolution essay examples and topics, this page is for you. Below, find ideas on how different inventions changed the world and people.

Our IvyPanda team has provided these Industrial Revolution essay questions and topics so that you don’t have to worry about missing an engaging idea. Interested in describing the phenomenon in America or Britain? Willing to explore public health and how society changed due to new machines? We have perfect titles for you! Plus, check our tips on formulating the Industrial Revolution thesis statement and writing the essay.

The Sadler Report and The Industrial Revolution

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Published: Mar 16, 2024

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Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence

From: National Defence

Backgrounder

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair released Our North, Strong and Free – a defence policy update that responds to the significant global shifts we have witnessed since Canada’s comprehensive defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, was announced in 2017.

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Bill Blair released Our North, Strong and Free – a defence policy update that responds to the significant global shifts we have witnessed since Canada’s comprehensive defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged , was announced in 2017. It is an investment in Canada, Canadians and our shared values, security, and sovereignty.

The most urgent and important task we face is asserting Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic and northern regions, where the changing physical and geopolitical landscapes have created new threats and vulnerabilities to Canada and Canadians. This includes the need to upgrade our continental defences to threats or defeat them when necessary.

Today, the Prime Minister and Minister Blair announced Canada’s vision and its plan to defend Canadians in this new global environment. The new defence policy sets out to address two core objectives: strengthen the foundations of the CAF and acquire new capabilities to deal with new threats.

To deliver on our renewed vision for defence outlined in the policy, we need to provide the members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) with the tools, equipment, and training they need to keep Canada and Canadians safe in an increasingly unpredictable world, and to support them on the home front.

The new investments in Our North, Strong and Free will ensure that Canada can deliver on this vision. Defence investments in Budget 2024 are expected to bring Canada’s defence spending-to- GDP ratio to 1.76% by 2029-30, a significant step forward in our efforts to reach the NATO commitment of 2% to which we agreed at the Vilnius Summit in 2023. The initiatives under this defence policy also put Canada on track to exceed NATO’s target of 20% for major equipment expenditures as a proportion of defence funding.

Canada will invest $8.1 billion over the next five years, and $73 billion over the next 20 years, in our national defence over six major themes to:

• support our people ;
• strengthen our foundations ;
• build an innovative industrial base ;
• defend Canada ;
• defend North America ; and
• defend Canada’s global interests and values .

Supporting Our People

Supporting caf members and families.

• $295 million over 20 years to establish a CAF housing strategy, build new housing, and rehabilitate existing housing so CAF members have safe and affordable places to call home where they and their families are posted.
• $497 million over 20 years to accelerate development of an electronic health record platform to improve the continuity of care as CAF members move between provinces and territories.
• $100 million over five years to improve childcare access for CAF personnel on bases across Canada.

Reforming Personnel Management Policies

• We will explore adjusting personnel policies related to compensation and benefits, human resources, leave, and other supports for work-life balance for those in uniform. Our current framework was put in place decades ago and does not address the expectations and realities of today’s members.

Strengthening our Foundation

Maintaining and renewing national defence infrastructure.

• Investing $10.2 billion over 20 years in current and new infrastructure to support the required tempo of training, operations, and day-to-day military activities. These investments will range from asset maintenance and repair to other improvements to military facilities, such as piers and runways.

Civilian Capacity

• $1.8 billion over 20 years to increase the number of civilian specialists in priority areas to accelerate and improve the purchase of new equipment, recruit, and train new soldiers, and upgrade our infrastructure, among others.

Building an Innovative Defence Industrial Base

Sustaining military equipment.

• $9.0 billion over 20 years to sustain military equipment under the National Procurement Program to ensure the CAF can continue to receive the critical updates necessary to preserve its ability deploy on operations.

Ammunition Supply and Production

• $9.5 billion over 20 years to accelerate the establishment of new artillery ammunition production capacity in Canada and invest in a strategic supply of ammunition. Artillery ammunition is becoming increasingly difficult to procure abroad – and this production capacity will help meet the ammunition demands of Canada and our closest allies while creating skilled jobs for Canadian workers for the long term and generating economic benefits for Canadian communities. The CAF will also establish a greater strategic reserve of battle-decisive munitions. Canada needs adequate stockpiles of munitions to meet its defence and security commitments during a crisis or conflict, and industry needs clarity from government about future acquisitions to set up production lines. This production line will also help replenish CAF ammunition previously donated to Ukraine.

NATO Innovation Fund

• $107 million over 20 years for Canada’s participation in the newly established NATO Innovation Fund, which will offer additional funding streams for innovative Canadian entrepreneurs. The Fund is the world’s first defence-focused multi-sovereign venture capital fund, providing investment in start-up firms developing dual-use, emerging and disruptive technologies critical to our defence.

Defending Canada

Specialized maritime sensors.

• $1.4 billion over 20 years to acquire specialized maritime sensors to conduct ocean surveillance. They will be used to monitor Canada’s maritime approaches, including in the Arctic and North, and will be a critical component of the CAFs’ ability to defend Canada from a growing range and sophistication of underwater threats including vessel-launched missiles, underwater systems, ships, and submarines.

Satellite Ground Station

• $222 million over 20 years to build a new satellite ground station in the Arctic. This ground station will improve our ability to detect, deter and respond to malign activities and to communicate those threats quickly with our most trusted partners.

Tactical Helicopters

• $18.4 billion over 20 years to acquire a more modern, mobile, and effective tactical helicopter capability. It will provide the CAF with the speed and airlift capacity to assert Canada’s sovereignty and respond to natural disasters and emergencies throughout the country.

Northern Operational Support Hubs

• $218 million over 20 years for Northern Operational Support Hubs. These will better ensure Canadian sovereignty by establishing a greater year-round presence across the Arctic and the North, and investing in multi-use infrastructure that also meets the needs of the territories, Indigenous peoples, and Northern communities.

Enhancing Canada’s Intelligence and Cyber Operations

• $2.8 billion over 20 years to stand up a joint Canadian cyber operations capability with the Communications Security Establishment, integrating the unique strengths of each organization into a unified team that will conduct active cyber operations in support of Canadian interests.

Renew and Expand Submarine Fleet

• We will explore options for renewing and expanding our submarine fleet to enable the Royal Canadian Navy to project a persistent deterrent on all three coasts, with under-ice capable, conventionally powered submarines.

All-terrain Vehicles for Arctic Mobility

• We will explore options to acquire new vehicles adapted to ice, snow, and tundra. These versatile, all-terrain vehicles would be able to operate effectively in all Arctic terrains and climate conditions. These vehicles would allow the military to maintain awareness in remote regions and along Canada’s entire coastline, and better respond to unauthorized activity.

Enable Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels to Operate Helicopters

• We will explore options for enabling our Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels to embark and operate our maritime helicopters at sea.

Defending North America

Airborne early warning aircraft.

• $307 million over 20 years for airborne early warning aircraft that will vastly improve Canada’s ability to detect, track and prioritize airborne threats sooner, and respond faster, and to better coordinate our response with the United States when required. They will allow Canada to continue making meaningful contributions to NORAD while also supporting allies and partners globally.

Long-Range Land Missiles

• $2.7 billion over 20 years to acquire long-range missile capabilities to enable our forces to deter threats to Canada from an appropriate distance and reach targets at greater ranges than our adversaries in combat.

Contribution to Integrated Air and Missile Defence

• We will explore options to ensure our new airborne early warning and control aircraft and previously announced platforms such as the Canadian Surface Combatants can contribute to efforts with our allies to defeat new missiles that move faster and in more unpredictable patterns.

Ground Based Air Defences to Defend Critical Infrastructure

• We will explore options for acquiring ground-based air defences to defend critical infrastructure from a diverse array of incoming airborne attacks, including drones, missiles, and artillery.

Long-Range Air and Sea Missiles

• We will explore options to acquire long-range air- and sea-launched missiles to enable our forces to deter threats to Canada from an appropriate distance and reach targets at greater ranges than our adversaries in combat.

Defending Canada’s Global Interests and Values

Sustaining naval vessels.

• $9.9 billion over 20 years to improve the sustainment of our naval fleets. This will include extending the life of the Halifax-class frigates and preserving the Royal Canadian Navy’s interim at-sea replenishment capability. These investments will help Canada maintain a globally deployable naval fleet capable of supporting NATO and engaging in operations, exercises, training, and defence diplomacy with key allies and partners, among other activities.

Worldwide Satellite Communications

• $5.5 billion over 20 years to acquire a comprehensive worldwide satellite communication capability. Working with our allies, we will jointly develop updated access to the satellite constellations that enable the military to operate effectively around the world, including by better defending its communications against jamming or disruptions by adversaries while deployed.

Modern Artillery Capabilities

• We will explore options for modernizing our artillery capabilities, which will significantly improve the protection of our deployed personnel by providing them with the capacity to strike enemy positions from farther away and in a greater number of directions.

Upgrade or Replace Main Battle Tanks

• We will explore options for upgrading or replacing our main battle tanks, which continue to have a decisive effect on the modern battlefield and remain key to conducting land operations against conventional militaries with advanced capabilities.

Upgrade or Replace Light Armoured Vehicles

• We will explore options for upgrading or replacing our light armoured vehicle fleet and establishing a production program to replenish our fleet while also enabling industry to invest in a sustainable defence production capacity to support Canada and our NATO allies.

Surveillance and Strike Drones and Counter-Drone Capabilities

• We will explore options for acquiring a suite of surveillance and strike drones and counter-drone capabilities.

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The Industrial Revolution in America

This essay about the Industrial Revolution in America explores its origins and progression, highlighting key innovations and societal changes. It discusses the transformative impact of the American Revolution and examines the rise of industries such as textiles and transportation. Despite challenges like harsh working conditions, industrialization propelled America to unprecedented economic prosperity by the mid-19th century. Through technological innovation and entrepreneurship, the nation emerged as a global industrial powerhouse, shaping modern society in profound ways.

How it works

Industrial shock in America stands so as one yields processing période in national history, catalyzes économiques, social, and technological enormous advancements. While historians discuss a choice time his exact beginning, widely sanctified, that seed industrialization was sown in investigation American revolution. It essay inhales to investigate moments and central postmen, that affected despite introduction and moving forward industrial shock in America. American revolution, moves from 1765 at first 1783, marked not at all above all bend in American history. Newfound independence from the British line not only defined political changes and ideological and and put foundation for an economic appeal.

With moving colonial limitations and constitution republican government, the American associations of businessmen were the greater given autonomy, to innovate and to keep on trot economic efforts. It newfound freedom placed a stadium for an increase industry in one dismisses he country. 18 – ?? and century 19 – ?? a move beginning testified the gradual transferring from economies agraire-basées despite industrialized that. Only from the earliest indicators industrialization in America was mechanization agriculture. Innovations so as for example cotton gin Whitney Eli, patented in 1794, revolutionized cotton making, does this personnel and profitable. This innovation not only transformed south economy, and and put foundation for an increase industrial making. Simultaneous, advancements in a transfer frisked an in critical role lumber-room industrial increase. Construction channels, so as for example channel Erie, completed in 1825, assured, vital encumber he between areas middle west and centers a bank is municipal agricultural. It transfer the cleared infrastructure dropped a cost one the shop-windows depart and materials, so encourages trade and trade. However, it was a textile increase, that on present tense ushered era industrialization in America. Constitution textile mills in a novice England, driven voiture started, marked an above all care from handicraft courses making traditional. Innovateurs in manner from Francis dog Lowell did modern the use professions in weaves power and mechanized an equipment spinning, conducts despite a wave in a textile production. This moving on the founded setting despite making on a factory not only increased effectiveness, and and put foundation for the system, that dominate above American industry in years, to arrive factory. Industrial shock in America except that moved innovations and spirit entrepreneurship technological. Invention engine, added persons in manner from James watt and later improved Robert fulton, revolutionized transfer and making. Locomotives and steamboats avancer-renforcées unloaded advancement shop-windows and people rapid, opens new markets and manages economic expansion.

Except that, increase stakes, deficit persons in manner from Whitney Eli interchangeable rapid, revolutionized manufacturing processes, conducts despite effectiveness and greater standardization. This concept, celebrates so as system making American, frisked an in critical role making shop-windows and increase massive industry through well-assorted natural habitats. Industrial shock too brought from public deep changes, include an increase urbanization and appearance working new employments. Because factories germinated in municipal centers, migrated rural populations in searches possibilities employment. This impulse labour force supplied a fuel increase cities and led despite a display industrial centers so as for example Lowell, Massachusetts, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, side sideways possibilities were present industrialization arrived above all appeals, include working terms and business exploitation hard. Factory workers, often included women and children, fortified train long hours for subzero payments in risky environments. Business advancement appeared ? answer for this injustices, quarrel for terms work, payments, and right to inspire just cleared. In vexation from this criticisms, industrial shock in America in eventual addition moved nation on setting despite unprecedented economic expansion and global influence. Mid-19th century, actual unis appeared so as leading industrial authority, competes industrial smog European nations. Abundance methods, enterprise spirit foncières, and a technological innovation supplied a fuel continuous increase and innovation. ? conclusion, industrial shock in America was one yields processing période, that co-ordinated an aspect economy, society, and national culture novice. Appears in investigation American revolution, industrialization managed an innovation, entrepreneurship technological, and mimiced dynamic social. While industrial shock brought from appeals and above all criticisms, his durable inheritance continues to bring up the world of contemporary. From mechanization agriculture despite an increase making based on a factory, influence industrialization in America remains cave every society in an aspect.

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Industrial Revolution Essay

Essay by 3rd Form pupil, Elena Kelsall

The Industrial Revolution was hugely beneficial for the British people 1750 – 1900. Do You agree?

The Industrial Revolution was a period of mass industrialisation from 1750 to 1900. There were massive shifts in the main industry in the UK. Before the Industrial Revolution 80% of people lived in the countryside as farmers and 20% of people lived in the city’s, during the Industrial Revolution those figures swapped due to the substantial increase of jobs in the cities. There were many positives and negatives to the Industrial Revolution. Whether the positives, for the people of that time, outweighed the negatives is an ongoing debate. There were many changes made during the Industrial Revolution and not all were for the best.

A major new feature in the city’s skyscapes were factories and mines. They dominated the skyline and played a key part in the Industrialisation of Great Britain. The new factories could mass produce goods such as cloth and car parts at a much faster rate and for a lot less money. Because these items costed less to make, they costed less to buy. This in turn meant that more people on Britain could afford to have items they couldn’t have beforehand. There was a lot more economic freedom in the UK which sparked the Revolution, this freedom inspired entrepreneurs to experiment and invent. For lots of the entrepreneurs, this was how they made their name. The Industrial Revolution meant that factory owners got richer, as did the entrepreneurs. Due to the invention of cars, canals and steamboats, good and materials were getting around the country at far quicker than they had done before. Some factory owners were genuinely nice to their employees, such as Robert Owen. He gave is workers payed holidays, homes, and schooling before it was law, even to adults. He worked with his employees to combat alcoholism and abuse. The large majority of factories provided food for their employees who would not otherwise be able to feed themselves. The fact that they did not have to buy food meant that they could save up and spent their money on things like holidays, clothes and homes. The mines provided the fuel to the Industrial Revolution both metaphorically and literally. Coal was essential to powering machinery and was a resource that was plentiful in the UK. The growing demand for coal provided jobs for more people as the mines got bigger. The mine owners also got extraordinarily rich for coal was so important, it was known as black gold. It was these rich factory and mine owners that boosted the economy and made Britain a world power.

There were, however, several negatives too. Factory owners like Robert Owen were a rarity and the majority of owners cared little for their employees who where little more then slaves. Workers had very few breaks and no protective equipment. The owners could be as beastly as they wanted to their workers and there were countless reports of cruelty towards men, women, and children. Lots of the workers developed lung problems as a result of the pollution and smoke in the air. Young children had no hope of being able to get a job anywhere else because of the fact that they had no education. There were no laws around the way employees were treated until the factory acts of 1833 and 1847. In some ways, the conditions were even worse for the miners. They had to go down onto pitch black holes and because of the rise in demand for coal, the mine shafts were getting deeper and deeper. There were multiple safety hazards and collapsing mine tunnels and poisonous gas build ups were a common occurrence. Children as young as 6 were sent into mines. There was no policing in the mines until the mine act of 1842. There was a dramatic change in the public health during the industrial revolution. Doctors were sent to monitor health under a scheme run by a man called Chadwick. There was a rise in awareness of killer diseases such as Cholera. Later on in the industrial revolution a man called Dr Snow discovered the cause of Cholera and how minor changes could slow the spread around a town thus saving thousands of lives. There was a raised awareness of general hygiene which had, until this point, has been unbelievably bad. A new sewer system was put in place which stopped water from becoming contaminated and full of bacteria. This led to fewer cases of typhoid and other horrible diseases. Cholera was declared officially eradicated in 1866 and there was the beginning of a cure and vaccine for smallpox which was eradicated just after the end of the Revolution. The air became cleaner and more nurses were being employed. This created both jobs and a healthier and more able population.

Before all of the major positive health changes were made, public health was dreadful. The average age of death was just 30 and 142 out of 1000 (14.2%) children died before they became adults. There were more child deaths then adult deaths in the early parts of the Revolution. There were reports of coffin makers being overloaded with orders, there were so many that they couldn’t make them fast enough there was a large amount of wate on the streets however, the initially poor public health did improve drastically.

In conclusion, I believe that although working conditions in factories and mines were bad and public health was bad to begin with, when you consider the positives, it changed the lives of the people in Great Britain for the better. The massive advances in medicine, the boost to the economy and the fact that it made Britain a world power positively effected the lives of the majority of the population. Ordinary peoples lives got better due to higher wages and longer life expectancy.

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