Significant Changes During The European Industrial Revolution

The European Industrial Revolution was a time of drastic change. In England it became a transformation from hand tools and handmade items to machined and mass-produced goods. The growth of factories replaced the cottage industries and spawned the development of cities. Growing cities and factories led to changes in transportation, labor, and working conditions. These changes generally helped workers lives, even though initially there were more negatives than positives. Before the Industrial Revolution England’s economy was based on its cottage industry. Workers would buy raw materials from merchants, take it back to their cottages, hence the name, and produce the goods at their homes. This industry was efficient but the workers productivity was low. Subsequently, goods were high in price and exclusive to only wealthy people. The Industrial Revolution meant factories could mass-produce items at much lower costs than the cottage industries, making goods more affordable to consumers.

With the invention of the steam engine, a shift from rural water wheels to steam engines as an industrial power source facilitated the emergence of factories and industrial cities. Factories started the process of urbanization by causing people to leave rural sectors and move to the …show more content…
Factory workers were living in germ infested, crowded and very unhealthful conditions, much like their place of work. Children and women labored in harsh conditions, working long hours with little pay. Much of the British working class was worse off. Real wages stagnated while workers sacrificed freedom, health and family. Government involvement was needed to change these conditions. Laws such as the Factory Act (1833) were passed to improve working conditions. The Industrial Revolution changed Europe forever and it’s social and economic changes helped guide other countries through their growth and industrialization