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The First Industrial Revolution: Creation of a New Global Hu man Era
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Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
Vol. 5, No. 4, 2019, pp. 377-387
http://www.aiscience.org/journal/jssh
ISSN: 2381-7763 (Print); ISSN: 2381-7771 (Online)

* Corresponding author
E-mail address:
The First Industrial Revolution: Creation of a New
Global Human Era
Haradhan Kumar Mohajan *
Department of Mathematics, Premier University, Chit tagong, Bangladesh
Abstract
The First Industrial Revolution began in England in about 1750–1760 that lasted to sometime between 18 20 and 1840. It is one of
the most distinguished turning points in human hist ory. During this period human and animal labour tec hnology transformed into
machinery, such as the steam engine, the spinning j enny, coke smelting, puddling and rolling processes for making iron, etc.
Industrial Revolution is renewed for global economi c growth, increase in production and consumption of common people. The
system of transportation communication through cana ls, road and rails had improved. Also banking and o ther financial systems
improved to run the industries and business firms s moothly. Child and infant mortality rate decreased and fertility rate increased.
As a result, population growth had dramatically cha nged. On the other hand, women and child labour has increased in dangerous
and unhygienic condition. Factory workers have to w ork sixteen hours in a day merely to save the famil y from starvation.
Industrial Revolution created a wide gap between th e rich and the poor. An attempt has taken here to d escribe the various effects
of Industrial Revolution.
Keywords
Industrial Revolution, Technological Change, Human Capital, Economic Development
Received: May 30, 2019 / Accepted: July 17, 2019 / Published online: October 17, 2019
@ 2019 The Authors. Published by American Institute of Science. This Open Access article is under the CC BY license.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

1. Introduction
England is the first country where industrial relat ed
productions have commenced. In the late of the 18 th and in the
beginning of the 19 th century (1760–1840) there were
enormous socio-economic changes in England which
collectively known as the Industrial Revolution (IR ). It is
called First Industrial Revolution or simply Indust rial
Revolution. The IR was a more relentless and univer sal
success, than the Florentine Renaissance, or the Fr ench
Revolution (say) [51]. The IR was the transition fr om human
and animal labour technology into machinery, new ch emical
manufacturing and iron production processes, improv ed
efficiency of water power, the increasing use of st eam power,
and the development of machine tools. The iron and textile
industries played central roles in the IR [4]. The invention and improvement of the steam engine b rings fruits
in the IR. The engine was made of iron and fuelled primarily by
coal. Coal played a vital role in the IR [18]. The IR transferred the
rural industries into towns and craftsmen became th e wage
labourers. The British colonial countries were prim ary source of
raw materials, such as cotton, sugar and tobacco, e tc. England
supplied slaves to Latin and North America through English
ships to collect raw materials from those countries . But in 1793
slave trade was abolished [39, 40].
One of the great technological advances came in 171 2, with
the invention of a steam engine by an English black smith,
Thomas Newcomen (1664–1729). In history his inventi on is
consider as the “atmospheric engine” [68]. This eng ine burned
coal to create motive force that could be used to p ump water
out of the shafts of coal mines. Scottish mechanica l engineer
James Watt (1736–1819), working in a Glaswegian uni versity

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 5, No. 4, 2019, pp. 377-387 378

lab of England, improved the Newcomen’s steam engin e in
1776, which harnessed massive amounts of coal-power ed
energy efficiently and economically [43, 74]. This invention
created the early modern industrial era in the worl dwide,
which brings revolutions in textiles, mines, steam- powered
railroads, steam-powered ocean freighters, steel pr oduction,
and other areas of economic activities. This made m assive
expansion of cities, industries, and infrastructure of all kinds
[66, 78].
Before the IR in Britain most people lived in small villages. They
travelled on foot or by horses through small paths. Illness was
common because of inadequate food, poor hygiene, us e of
polluted water, and non-existence of sewage system. As a result,
life expectancy was very short. About 80% people wo rked in
small agricultural farms in rural areas and rest 20 % people lived
in small towns. The villagers worked from sunrise t o sunset. V ery
few people worked in manufacturing, mining and trad e units.
Manufacturing was small and localized. People used handmade
tools powered by people or animals. About 1% citize ns were
aristocratic who did not work. They only invested m uch of their
wealth in land [20, 43].
Before the IR, people wove textiles only by hand bu t after the IR
greatly increased output of machine-made goods. The IR was
based on a surplus of cheap labour and the creation of good
quality items for the rich people who owned the lan d. Metal was
worked manually minimum using the basic hand tools, such as
hammers, files, scrapers, saws and chisels [11, 35] .
Scottish social philosopher Adam Smith (1723–1790) was the
first economist to explain the workings of a modern economy
in terms of specialization and the division of labo ur, efficiently
market transactions, and an increase of productivit y. He
advocated an economic system based on free enterpri se, the
private ownership of means of production, and lack of
government interference. The economy is based on th e
doctrine of laissez-faire which is free trade witho ut
interference from the government. By this doctrine factory
owners had independence to arrange working conditio ns in
whatever way they pleased. As a result mercantilism took
place in the society [4].
During the IR the average income and standard of li ving of
common citizens have not increased. More workers ga thered
in cities where the factories grew and cities devel oped rapidly.
As more people joined in factories, the percentage of farmers
in the total population declined [8].
2. Literature Review
Jaume Ventura and Hans-Joachim V oth had shown that during
the IR Britain’s borrowing boom was beneficial for
agricultural improvements, enhancement of textiles and iron industries that accelerated structural change of bu siness and
massive social change [76]. Vijjika Singh has enlig htened on
technological advances through machines during the IR [69].
Robert C. Allen has stated that the IR has started in Britain and
the new inventions and technologies have changed th e world.
He stated that wages were remarkably high and energ y was
cheap in Britain than the other continents. Living standards of
Britain rose generally due to economic developments [2].
Harshit Agarwal and Rashi Agarwal have discussed th e
technological change and development of banking and
financial firms during the 1 st and 2 nd IR. They have stressed
that the invention of power loom and stream engine and
improvement in the technology of iron making became the
major reason behind the 1 st IR. During the IR increased the
number of country banks, the increased network of t he joint
and country banks and the coming of Bill-workers ch anged
the banking and financing of firms [1].
Joyce Burnette indicated that during the IR the wag e gap
between female and male were very high. Men receive d two to
three fold wages than women [14]. Patrick O’Brien b elieves
that England’s productive and responsive agricultur e,
combined with its abundant and accessible endowment s of
coal and other minerals, foreign trade, and signifi cance
technological discovery and innovation are the caus es or
origins of the IR in England [60].
3. Methodology of the Study
Industrial Revolution had begun in England which is
considered as the turning point in human history. B efore the
IR common people of England were poor. During the I R social,
cultural, and political situation has changed. The IR has
created the new era. Many kinds of industries, such as Cort’s
puddling and rolling process for making iron that w as
reinvented by Henry Cort (1740–1800), Crompton’s mu le for
spinning cotton that invented by Samuel Crompton (1 753–
1827), and the Watt steam engine had developed duri ng the
IR.
The article is prepared on the basis of historical context. To
prepare this article we have used the secondary dat a. The data
are collected from websites, books, previous publis hed
articles, theses, conference papers, case studies, and various
research reports. In this study we have tried to di scuss aspects
of the first IR in some detail.
4. Objective of the Study
Main objective of this study is to represent the co nsequence of
the IR. The other objectives are;
a) to show the benefits of the IR,

379 Haradhan Kumar Mohajan: The First Industrial Re volution: Creation of a New Global Human Era

b) to show the negative effects of the IR, and
c) to show the developments in various areas.
5. The British Industrial
Revolution
The IR began in England in about 1750–1760, which w as the
transition to new manufacturing processes in the pe riod from
about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840 [4].
According to the R. M. Hartwell, the IR is [37], “ The
sustained increase in the rate of growth of total a nd per capita
output as a rate which was revolutionary compared w ith what
went before .” The IR is considered as the sustained but very
slow economic growth in Britain based on constantly growing
useful knowledge. England had expanded its import a nd
export markets through capitalism to finance in fac tories and
machinery. The IR made England the wealthiest count ry in the
world in the 18 th century and beginning of the 19 th century
[26].
The IR is an important historical process in local, regional,
national, continental and global contexts. Due to t he IR social,
cultural, political and geopolitical progress happe ned, which
drive economic transformation from an agrarian to a n
industrial economy, in Europe and in the North Amer ica.
Economic historians called it structural change to an industrial
economy [59].
The year 1776 is renowned for four incidents. This year Adam
Smith, rightly known as the father of modern econom ics,
published The Wealth of Nations , the American colonies
declared their independence, James Watt improved th e
modern steam engine and Edward Gibbon published The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire [66]. In 1976, a James
Watt steam engine cost £500–800 [53]. Operating a s team
engine consumed £3,000 of coal per annum [46]. The steam
engine used for steam-powered railroads and steam-p owered
ocean freighters, which Karl Marx (1818–1883), and his
co-author Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) wrote The
Communist Manifesto in 1848. This book made bold steps to
create the new industrial economy and the breakthro ughs in
industrial technology [24, 50, 66].
The inventors, skilled craftsmen, financiers, merch ants, and
the owners of the new mills and mines had formed th e IR.
Investment in local improvement of roads, bridges, canals,
dock works, and later railroads had developed Engla nd [61].
Newtonian science was necessary for the IR and this science
only penetrated in the British society. This scienc e was
missing in the USA and other parts of the world to commence
the IR. Also Britain had strong security of real an d financial
property, and better intellectual property protecti on [6]. During 1700s England had extensive natural resource s, such
as water power and coal to fuel the new machines, i ron ore to
construct machines, tools, and buildings, rivers fo r inland
transportation and harbours from which merchant shi ps set
sail. England was a politically stable society and it was the
world’s leading colonial power [21]. Its colonies c ould serve
as a source for raw materials, as well as, a market place for
manufactured goods. Besides, England had an emergin g
economy to support industrialization. Businessmen i nvested a
large amount for new inventions in the manufacturin g. There
was the growing interest in scientific investigatio n and
invention in England [57].
England had highly developed banking system to inve st in
industry. People were encouraged by the availabilit y of bank
loans to invest in new machinery and expand their a ctivities.
Political stability of England had an advantage to continuous
increase of industrial production [26].
The invention of locomotive and build of railways w ere
revolutionizing of transport in Britain. Railroads spurred
industrial growth by providing cheap way to transpo rt
materials and finished products, created hundreds o f
thousands of new jobs for railroad workers and mine rs,
enhanced agricultural and fishing industries. Rail journey
became popular for easier and comfortable travel [6 8].
6. Various Developments
Duringthe IR
Many kinds of industries had developed during the I R. There
were many technological changes at that time. For e xample,
Cort’s puddling and rolling process for making iron ,
Crompton’s mule for spinning cotton, and the Watt s team
engine were invented. Those inventions improved the total
factor of productivity [44].
The worker at a machine with 100 spindles on it cou ld spin
100 threads of cotton more rapidly than 100 workers could on
the old spinning wheels. During the IR Britain beca me the
“workshop of the world” [4].
6.1. Development of Textile Industry
Development of textiles was at the heart of the IR. Textiles
contribute an economic development in Britain [72]. Cotton
textiles had grown in England from 1770 to 1870. By 1900,
40% of the entire world output of cotton goods was produced
within 30 miles of Manchester [19]. Textile industr y of
Britain clothed the world; especially the colonized countries
in wool, linen, and cotton. The IR is a self-genera ted boom in
the output of manufacturers that radically changed British
society [41].
John Kay (1704–1779), a Lancashire mechanic, invent ed and

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 5, No. 4, 2019, pp. 377-387 380

developed the flying shuttle in 1747. His weaving m achine
had flying shuttle which speedily carried threads o f yarn back
and forth when the weaver pulled a handle on the lo om. It had
four spinners to keep up with one cotton loom, and ten people
to prepare yarn for one weaver [38, 67].
James Hargreaves (1720–1778), a weaver, carpenter a nd
inventor, patented spinning jenny in 1770. It could run eight
spindles instead of one by a single worker, which w as later
increased to eighty. Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–17 92), an
English inventor and a leading entrepreneur, invent ed the
water frame in 1769 which used the waterpower from rapid
streams to drive spinning wheels. Rollers produced yarn of the
correct thickness and a set of spindles twisted fib bers together.
The machine was able to produce a thread far strong er than
any other available at the time. In 1779, Samuel Cr ompton
(1753–1827), an English inventor and pioneer of the spinning
industry, combined both features of the spinning je nny and the
water frame to produce the spinning mule that made thread
that was stronger, finer, and more consistent [32, 73].
There were 12,150 power looms in England by 1820, w hich
rapidly grew up to 45,500 by 1829 and 85,000 by 183 3 [5]. In
the mid-18 th century about 800,000 to 1,500,000 people were
employed in wool textiles [12]. England’s cotton ca me from
America. American cotton production increased from 1.5
million pounds in 1790 to 85 million pounds in 1810 . Within
just a 35-year period, more than 100,000 power loom s with
9,330,000 spindles were put into service in England and
Scotland. During the 1800s, Leeds and Manchester do minated
textile manufacturing in the world. The port of Liv erpool,
Manchester formed the centre of Britain’s busy cott on
industry [11].
6.2. Development of Iron and Steel
Industries
The iron and steel industry had grown dramatically during the
IR. In 1750, iron production in Britain was only 28 ,000 tons,
but it had increased to 250,000 tons by 1805. Durin g this
period much of the iron used in Britain was importe d from
Sweden and Russia [19].
In 1709, Abraham Darby (1678–1717), an English iron master,
used coke to fire his blast furnaces at Coalbrroked ale. The pig
iron he made converted to cast iron that was used t o make
several bridges and structures [46]. Henry Cort (17 40–1800),
an English ironmaster, developed two significant ir on
manufacturing processes: wrought iron rolling in 17 83 and
puddling in 1784. The rolling replaced hammering fo r
combining wrought iron and expelling some of the dr oss. It
was 15 times faster than hammering with a trip hamm er. The
puddling produced a structural grade iron at a rela tively low
cost [46, 70]. In 1828, James Beaumont Neilson (1792–1865), a Scot tish
inventor, patented the hot blast process, which saved energy
for the manufacturing of pig iron. In 1855, Henry B essemer
(1813–1898), an English inventor, patented the Bess emer
process for making steel from iron that supplied ch eaper and
better iron and steel [34].
6.3. Development of Chemical Production
During the IR there was a large scale production of chemicals,
such as sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, alkali, sodium
carbonate, sodium sulphate, potash, bleaching powde r,
concrete, etc. These chemicals were being used in m aking
glass, textile, soap, bleaching cloth, etc. [1]. In 1746, John
Roebuck (1718–1794), an English inventor and indust rialist,
invented the production of sulphuric acid by the le ad chamber
process. In 1791, Nicolas Leblanc (1742–1806), a Fr ench
chemist and surgeon, developed the production of so dium
carbonate. Sulphuric acid was used to pickle iron a nd steel,
and for bleaching clothes. Sodium carbonate was use d many
purposes in the glass, textile, soap, and paper ind ustries [49].
In 1800, Scottish chemist and industrialist, Charle s Tennant
(1768–1838) developed the production of bleaching p owder
which was extensively used in the textile industry. In 1824,
British bricklayer, Joseph Aspdin (1778–1855) made Portland
cement that was used for the construction of buildi ng and
tunnel [62].
William Murdoch (1754–1839), a Scottish engineer an d
inventor, established gas lighting process in Londo n between
1812 and 1820 which was used in factories, stores, houses,
and streets. In 1798, Nicholas Louis Robert (1761–1 828), a
French soldier and mechanical engineer, patented a machine
for making a continuous sheet of paper [36].
6.4. Population Growth
From 10,000 BC to 1800, the rate of growth of globa l
population was 0.01% advance or less per year. In t he 17 th
century about 1.5% of pregnancies ended with the de ath of the
mother, which is equivalent to a women marrying at 25, who
would give birth to the average of 5.6 children for such
marriages. But in the early 19 th century these chances had
dropped to about one-third [18].
During the IR child and infant mortality rate decre ased and
fertility rate increased due to the development of medical
science, improvement of sanitary system and economi c
development. When standard of living changed, popul ation
growth had dramatically changed. In England populat ion
growth was 1.36% per year during 1791 to 1831; betw een
1680 and 1820 the population increased 133% and bet ween
1820 and 1900 it rose another 166%. The population of Britain
had more than doubled from 8.3 million in 1801 to 1 6.8
million in 1850 and, by 1901, had nearly doubled ag ain to 32.5

381 Haradhan Kumar Mohajan: The First Industrial Re volution: Creation of a New Global Human Era

million. Population tripled between 1761 and 1861. Europe’s
population increased from about 100 million in 1700 to 400
million by 1900 [58].
6.5. Economic Development
Between 1250 and 1800 there was little sustained
improvement in the British economy. During the IR a small
part of the economy had improved. Between 1780 and 1989,
the real wage became 22-fold [18, 44].
In the USA, between 1865 and 1920 real gross domest ic product
(GDP) became more than seven times and real per cap ita product
became more than double (1.7% per year), which was higher
than ever before in the US history [15]. During the IR systems of
transportation communication and banking improved. The IR
also improved standard of living of the rich but th e bulk of the
population was at the bottom of the social ladder [ 20, 54]. In the
18 th century Britain had a successful economy. A grand coalition
of merchants and landowners emerged to protect comm erce and
property. Between 1806 and 1906 income per person g rew at an
average of 0.9% per year in Britain. From 1906 to 1 990 it grew
1.5% per year [64].
Growth during the IR was slow by modern standards.
Business area has increased between countries. New types of
economic systems developed. For example, capitalism
expanded in the USA; socialism in Great Britain and France;
and communism in the Soviet Union [11].
6.6. Agricultural Revolution
Wealthy landowners had bought their lands from the village
farmers and enclosed their land with fences, and cu ltivated in
the larger fields. Wealthy landowners forced small farmers to
become tenant farmers or to give up farming and mov e to the
cities to work industries. Farmers used new technol ogies, such
as seed drill and Dutch plough which contained iron parts, and
the threshing machine. The seed drill invented in 1 701 by
Jethro Tull (1674–1741), an English agricultural pi oneer who
helped to bring the British Agricultural Revolution . It had a
mechanical seeder which distributed seeds evenly ac ross a
plot of land and planted them at the correct depth [10].
Rotherham plough, the first commercially successful iron
plough, was invented by Joseph Foljambe in 1730 [42 ].
English farmers used more productive seeds and harv esting
methods to obtain boost production. They cultivated rotating
crops, such as cultivation of wheat, turnips, barle y and clover
in turn. Moreover, English agriculture was distingu ished by
high levels of output per worker [12]. It had contr ol over land,
capital and labour exercised for the increase of ag ricultural
production. Livestock breeders improved their metho ds
allowing best cattle to breed [60]. As a result, me at production
had increased. Between 1700 and 1786, the average w eight for lambs became from 18 to 50 pounds. They improved fa rming
methods that create agricultural revolution [3, 25] .
6.7. Improvements of Transportation
During the IR all sectors had improved, so that imp rovement
of transportation became essential to transport hum an, animal
and goods in different locations. Transportation is the
backbone of any economic, culture, social and indus trial
development [17].
James Watt’s steam engine worked faster and more ef ficiently
while burning less fuel. It is used in water transp ortation to
propel boats. In England, canals and other human-ma de
waterways were used to transport raw materials and finished
goods. From 1700 to 1850 road transportation in Bri tain
improved greatly. In 1830, there were 2,000 miles o f canal in
Britain and by 1850 these developed to 4,250 miles [18].
British roads improved by the equipment of road bed s with a
layer of large stones for drainage. Private investo rs formed
companies that built roads for transportation. In t he early
1800s, John McAdam (1756–1836), a Scottish engineer and
road-builder, equipped road beds with a layer of la rge stones
for drainage [73].
In 1804, Richard Trevithick (1771–1833), an English engineer,
transported ten tons of iron and 70 men over nearly ten miles
of track in a steam-driven locomotive. It is the fi rst locomotive
built to run on rails [68]. In 1821, George Stephen son (1781–
1848), an English civil engineer and mechanical eng ineer,
built some 20 engines for mine operators in norther n England.
In 1829, the railroad opened under the supervision of
Stephenson whose engines can move 29 miles per hour which
was called “Rocket”. It was the first steam locomot ive to carry
1,200 passengers between Stockton and Darlington [1 9]. In
1829, Rail network of England had reached 430,000 k m. The
railroad boom created hundreds of thousands of new jobs for
both railroad workers and miners. The public interc ity railway
line between Liverpool and Manchester started in 18 30 [6, 17].
Railroads were introduced in the USA in 1829 [16]. In 1835,
Belgium opened a railway line which carried more pa ssengers
than all the lines operating in Britain [18].
6.8. Collection of Capital
At the start of the IR capital were raised by peer- to-peer
lending from friends, family, and local owners [55] . In the
1770s, it is observed that in London a stock exchan ge was
established. In the early 1790s, the New York Stock Exchange
was started its journey. The Bank of England financ ed the
Government debt to run the industries and business firms. On
the other hand, merchant banks financed foreign tra de.
Consequently, private credit markets did not work v ery
smoothly. Very few financial institutions financed for
entrepreneurs. New firms could not easily raise equ ity on the

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 5, No. 4, 2019, pp. 377-387 382

stock market [13].
The factory owners who were successful made huge pr ofits.
They bought more machines in the factory, and purch ased
supplies in greater quantities at enormous savings. They had
invested in building canals, railroads, and steamsh ips and in
developing foreign trade. They became a powerful ne w class
in England, the industrial capitalists [57].
7. Living Standards Duringthe
IR
During the IR living standards was controversial. T he cities of
England grew rapidly without no development plans, sanitary
codes, and building codes. Police protection in the cities was
very weak. As the income of the workers was very lo w, they
lived in dark, dirty shelters, with whole families crowding into
one bedroom. They found little improvement in their living
and working conditions [29]. During the period 1780 –1850
real wages and real national income per head grew a t the same
rate. Majority of workers had found no real earning s before
the 1830s [23].
In the start of the IR, landowners and aristocrats had occupied
the top position in British society. But later fact ory owners,
merchants, and bankers grew wealthier than the land owners
and aristocrats. A larger middle class, such as gov ernment
employees, doctors, lawyers, and managers of factor ies, mines,
and shops had grown. They enjoyed a comfortable sta ndard of
living [64].
As more children went to factories as workers, scho ol
enrolment ratios were low in Britain. The period 17 50–1850
was one of surprisingly slow growth in per capita [ 77]. The
standard of living in the industrial countries grew very rapidly.
Increases in real wages allowed labourers to purcha se more
goods and services, including better food and shelt er [44].
Between 1800 and 1850, the number of European citie s
increased from 22 to 47. London became the largest and most
important city of Europe. In the start of the IR te rms growth
was slow and improvements in the standard of living were
very limited. Growth and rates of productivity chan ge only
accelerated after 1850, when the classic period of the IR ends
[26].
The population of England doubled between 1750 and 1830.
Household budget surveys and alternative indexes of living
standards, such as the human development index (HDI )
strongly suggest that gains in living standards wer e very small
[28, 79]. Living standard of well-to-do merchants a nd factory
owners were very high. They often built luxurious h omes in
the suburbs [64]. 8. Movement of Industry
Duringthe IR
The British strongly prohibited on transferring the ir
technology and skilled workers to other nations. By the
mid-19 th century, industrialization spread from Britain to other
European countries, such as Belgium, France, Sweden and
Germany, and to the USA. Samuel Slater (1768–1835) had
smuggled the design of a spinning machine to the US A. By the
early 20 th century, the USA had become leading industrial
nation in the world [24].
British skilled workers played a key role for indus trialization
in Belgium. In 1799, William Cockerill (1759–1832) was a
British inventor and entrepreneur, illegally made h is way to
Belgium. He made secret plans for building spinning
machinery in Belgium. His son John built massive in dustrial
enterprise in eastern Belgium. More British workers migrated
to Belgium. As a result, Belgium became an industri alized
country in Europe [30].
Around 1835, Germany imported British equipment and
engineers to establish industries. Germany built ra ilroads that
linked its growing manufacturing cities [75].
9. Consequence of the IR
During the IR there were enormous economic, social and
political changes, such as advances in agriculture and
transportation, huge production of goods, expansion of global
trade, increase of employment, creation of earning source for
women and children, change in standard of living, i ncrease
accumulation of information, motivation of national ism and
imperialism, development of democracy, capitalism a nd
socialism, and depletion of environment. Per capita GDP of
European and North American countries had increased
substantially [52].
9.1. Revolution of Workers
After the IR some problems, such as working hours, wages,
unemployment, accidents, employment of women and
children, etc. arose. Children and women were hired for less
pay. About two-third workers in some factories were children.
Workers were worked from 12 to 14 hours a day under terrible
conditions. To keep the children awake, mill superv isors beat
them. They found half an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner
[31].
Trade Union practice is a part of the British herit age. For years,
the British government denied workers the right to form
unions. After the IR trade union is formed to help advance the
interests of working people to grow aspiration and improve
their condition of life. Early trade unions were ju st to defence

383 Haradhan Kumar Mohajan: The First Industrial Re volution: Creation of a New Global Human Era

in their aims and sought to protect existing standa rds of living
and security of wage advances. Workers formed labou r union,
an association of workers that pushed for benefits and reform.
Unions would ask for better working conditions, few er hours,
and higher pay. Workers demanded improved condition s,
fewer hours, and higher pay, and wages through labo ur unions.
They also demanded to improve the lives of workers,
including women and children [65]. Workers refused to work
(strike) until the owners met their demands. Many r iots took
place between striking union workers and the police . Strikes
often turned into bloody battles. Labourers eventua lly won
higher wages, shorter hours, and better working con ditions
after they joined together to form labour unions. T rade unions
were illegal until 1825 and even after that year st rikes were
banned. As a result, the workers had lost the ways of fight
against their rights [40].
9.2. Development of Global Inequality
The IR extended the gap wealth of between industria lized and
non-industrialized countries. Raw materials for fac tories of
the industrialized countries were imported from
non-industrialized and least-developed countries. O n the other
hand the industrialized countries exported their ma nufactured
products there. The Great Britain forced its coloni al countries
for raw materials and to create markets. The IR had shown a
huge gap between the rich and the poor. During that period the
gap of wages between men and women was remarkable. It is
matter of regret that women and children were negle cted in the
factories and they found one-third to half wages th an men
[14].
9.3. Change of Social Structures
During the IR capitalism and socialism were establi shed in the
society. Capitalism is considered as an economic sy stem
where production system is completely depends on th e factory
owners. It strongly supported that wages would be f orcibly
decreased as population increased. Laissez-faire ec onomics
support capitalism. Laissez-faire mainly supported by the
three political economists: Adam Smith (1723–1790), Thomas
Malthus (1766–1834) and David Ricardo (1772–1823). These
three economists were against the government effort s to help
the poor workers. According to Smith, economic libe rty
guaranteed economic progress, and government should not
interfere. Malthus argued that population increase more
rapidly than the food supply. He suggested that exc ept wars
and epidemics to kill off the extra people, most we re destined
to be poor and miserable. Ricardo supported that a permanent
underclass would always be poor and wages would be forced
down as population increased [71].
Philosophers and socialist thinkers Charles Fourier (1772–
1837), Saint-Simon (1760–1825), and others sought t o offset the ill effects of industrialization with a new eco nomic system
called socialism [47]. According to socialism wealt hy people
or the government must take action to improve lives of all
people which restrict the abuse of workers. The fac tors of
production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare
of all. Socialism supported that government control of
factories, mines, railroads, and other key industri es would end
poverty and promote equality [9, 80].
Karl Marx (1818–1883), German journalist, and Fried rich
Engels (1820–1895), a German political thinker, son of a
textile mill owner suggested a radical type of soci alism.
According to them, the IR had enriched the rich but made
insolvent the poor. They believed that capitalism w ould
eventually destroy [50]. They called complete socia lism as
communism, which supports that all land, mines, fac tories,
railroads, and businesses, would be owned by the pe ople [27].
In the 1900s, Marxism inspired revolutionaries, suc h as
Russia’s Lenin, China’s Mao Zedong, and Cuba’s Fide l Castro.
At the peak of Communist expansion in the 1980s, ab out 20
nations were Communist-controlled, including two la rgest
nations; China and the Soviet Union [7, 48].
9.4. Benefits from the IR
Despite some problems a number of positive effects happened
during the IR. The IR provided better quality of li fe for most
people. It shifted to powered, special-purpose mach inery,
factories and mass production. Wealth of the nation had
increased. It gave plentiful jobs and people could earn higher
wages in factories than on farms and wore better cl othing. It
also improved systems of transportation, communicat ion and
banking. Before the IR families were rural, large, and
self-sustaining. Women passed their time for househ old tasks
and were less important for family. Sometimes they were
burden for the family. During the IR they earned in factories
and became important members of the families [22].
During the IR greatly increased the production of g oods. It
raised the standard of living for many people, part icularly for
the middle and upper classes. It provided healthier diets, better
housing, and cheaper, mass-produced clothing. It ex panded
educational opportunities for rich families. The IR was
blessing for women. They found higher wages than wo rk done
at home [22].
In the 19 th century tax revenues had increased that were used
by local, state, and federal governments to invest in urban
improvements and raise the standard of living of mo st city
dwellers. Communication became easier during the IR with
inventions of telegraph. Due to the IR the followin g
developments are happened among the nations [4, 24] :
a) agricultural productivity started to rise,
b) urbanization increased,

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 5, No. 4, 2019, pp. 377-387 384

c) business increased,
d) more sophisticated market economy began,
e) the rule of law expanded,
f) invention of scientific models and instruments,
g) invention of new machineries,
h) discoveries of various items, and
i) invention of new technologies.
9.5. Negative Effects of the IR
Before the IR skilled artisans produced the entire product with
the help of apprentices and family members. Some sc holars
revealed that the IR is linked with the increase of factories and
the decline of skilled artisans and increase of uns killed
workers (unskilled farmers, labourers and servants) in
manufacturing. In the USA, in the early industrial period
(1820–1840), factories in New England employed the
unskilled labours of women and children [33, 45, 56 ]. Factory
owners could hire and fire workers for any reason. They were
overworked but underpaid. Children were employed mo re
because of their small size to pass them through th e narrow
spaces. Employers could pay women and children less than
men even though they were expected to work just as hard. At
that time, primary school attendance was not mandat ory and
many children were forced to go to work for the fin ancial
support to their families. Due to unhealthy and ris ky works
many children suffered from long term illnesses, am putation,
and even death [31].
After the IR life for the poor and working classes continued to
be filled with challenges. Cities became over-crowd ing,
workers faced lack of housing, poor sanitary condit ions,
disease, and poverty. The coal that powered factori es and
warmed houses polluted the air dangerously. Textile dyes and
other wastes poisoned river water. Jobs in industri es became
bore to workers, as they did the same thing every d ay and
never developed a sense of pride in their works [74 ].
In 143 water-powered cotton mills in England and Sc otland
more workers were children in 1788 [19]. Many child ren
developed lung cancer, tuberculosis, cholera, and o ther
diseases and died before the age of 25. Many died f rom gas
explosions or crushed under the machines or burned. Some
lost limbs or blinded [63].
To attend workplace in time workers compelled to li ve a
crowded slum district near the factory. They lost t he
independence. Small farmers sold their lands to the larger
landlords and joined the factories as workers. The workers had
to work 14 hours a day at the job, 6 days a week un der terrible
conditions. They started work before dawn every day and
worked until after sundown. Wages of labours in fac tories were low. Factories were dirty and unhealthy, machi nes
injured workers, a boiler might explode, a drive be lt might
catch an arm, etc. In coal mines frequent accidents , damp
conditions, and the constant breathing of coal dust made the
average miner’s life span ten years shorter than th at of other
workers. The IR caused unhealthy working conditions , air and
water pollution, increased child labour. It created tensions
between the working class and the middle class [31] .
Lack of coal, limited capital accumulation, slow co nstruction
of railways, slow mass production, slow population growth,
etc. were some factors to slowed down of the IR [40 ].
10. Conclusion and
Recommendations
During 1760–1840, Great Britain experienced the IR, which
began a period of economic growth and prosperity wh ich we
call the modern era. Development of textile industr y, iron and
steel industry, various chemicals production, agric ultural
revolution, improvement of transportation, etc. had happened
during IR. In that period standards of living of so me people
had improved but most of the populations were poor. Child
and infant mortality rate, and also adult mortality rate had
decreased and fertility rate increased. As a result global
population had increased rapidly. The IR was the tr ansition
from human and animal labour technology into machin ery
world. At the end of the IR a middle class had crea ted.
Although IR had unlimited successes, it had some ne gative
effects, such as increase of unskilled workers, ris e of women
and child labour in unhygienic and risky situation, rise of slave
trade, and rapid increase of environment pollution. There was
no compulsory primary education in the schools, the child
labourers increased in the factories. The large gap between the
rich and the poor had created.
In this study we have tried to discuss the various changes that
created the new era in the human history. At the en d of the
First Industrial Revolution, technology and skilled workers
from Britain has transferred some other countries o f Europe,
such as Belgium, France, Sweden and Germany and to the
USA. As a result, global economic development has
commenced.
During the IR trade union had formed against the va rious
tortures on the workers. In the study we have revea led that at
first capitalism had formed for the wealthy people and later
socialism had created to support the poor labourers .
It is recommended that IR has both benefit and nega tive
effects but no doubt we have found the beginning of new age
of invention and innovation. The first IR has opene d the door
of second, third, fourth, etc. industrial revolutio ns.

385 Haradhan Kumar Mohajan: The First Industrial Re volution: Creation of a New Global Human Era

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