Which inventer perfected the steam engine in 1769?
James Watt
The first regular passenger train line was established in 1830 between which two cities?
Liverpool and Manchester
What decade is considered the start of the first industrial revolution?
1760
What decade is considered the start of the second industrial revolution?
1870
What lead to population growth in the late 18th century?
The death rate decreased due to improved nutrition, hygiene and public health. The birth rate continued to be high
What lead to an increase in agricultural production?
Improved farming techniques (such as the four-field system), improved technology (iron ploughs and mechanisation). Private land ownership. More livestock
Aside from technological advances and population growth, what else contributed to the industrial revolution?
Extensive markets (partly thanks to colonialism), a new bourgeoisie mentality (economical liberalism), abundance of primary materials (iron and coal)
Prior to factories and machine production how were most products made?
In workshops by artisans
What is the division of labour and how did it effect workers?
Each worker specialised in a single task in the production process, with fixed timetables and working at the speed required by machines
What was the textile boom?
The flooding of international markets by cheap and well-made British cotton products due to mechanisation in the first industrial revolution
What factors improved iron manufacturing?
The invention of new techniques and furnaces leading to the invention of wrought iron
What are the defining ideological features of economic liberalism?
The principle of economic freedom (to hire, fire, create businesses and set prices and conditions of products), trust in the invisible hand of supply and demand
What was the timetable for an average working day in the first textile factories?
Workers start at 6am and finish at 8pm. With a 10 minute break for breakfast, 1 hour for lunch and 20 minutes for tea.
What were working conditions like in the first textile factories?
Frequent accidents with burns, cuts, mutilations and death. No health insurance or unemployment benefit or pension schemes. Low wages. Frequent dismissals
What invention of the industrial revolution was considered a lethal risk to people's health, affecting their respiratory system, anxiety levels and leading to miscarriages of pregnant women?
Railways and increased travelling speeds
What was the primary energy source of the first industrial revolution?
Steam power
