Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32

CrashCourse
30 Aug 201211:04
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThe Industrial Revolution brought massive increases in productivity through mechanization and new energy sources like coal. It started in Britain around 1750 due to ample coal supplies that enabled cheap steam power. High wages also incentivized labor-saving machinery. These factors drove textile industry growth, creating demand met by efficient factories. Thus began an interconnected system of machinery, railroads, and economic expansion spreading globally yet starting in Europe. Despite similar potential, Chinese monopolies and cheap Indian cotton stifled domestic industrialization. Still, the Industrial Revolution improved lives around the world in countless ways over the following century.

Takeaways
  • 😲 The Industrial Revolution dramatically increased productivity and changed how people lived and worked
  • 🚂 Key innovations like the steam engine, cotton spinning machines, and railroads spurred rapid industrialization
  • ⛏️ Coal was crucial to industrialization in Britain due to large supplies near the surface
  • 💶 High wages and cheap energy costs in Britain incentivized using machines to lower production costs
  • 👕 Cotton textile production was an early driver of the Industrial Revolution
  • 🌍 Demand for inexpensive Indian cotton created markets for British industrialists
  • 🤔 The roots of industrialization are complex - many factors came together to enable it
  • 🏭 Industrialization first took off in Britain but quickly spread across Europe and America
  • 🔬 The culture and practice of science and invention helped set the stage for industrial advances
  • ✈️ New technologies transformed transportation, communication, manufacturing, and more
Q & A

  • What time period is referred to as the Industrial Revolution?

    -The Industrial Revolution occurred between approximately 1750 and 1850.

  • What percentage of the population was engaged in farming before the Industrial Revolution?

    -Before the Industrial Revolution, about 80% of the world's population was engaged in farming.

  • What invention allowed coal mines to be cleared of water?

    -The steam engine invented by Thomas Newcomen allowed water to be pumped out of coal mines.

  • How did coal contribute to the Industrial Revolution?

    -Abundant coal reserves in Britain provided cheap fuel for steam engines, which increased efficiency and automation in manufacturing.

  • How did Indian cotton production help spur British industrialization?

    -High demand for low-cost Indian cotton textiles drove British manufacturers to increase production through mechanization and automation.

  • What were two key factors that gave Britain an advantage industrially over China and India?

    -Britain had large supplies of cheap, easily accessed coal as well as higher wages, which incentivized using machines to reduce labor costs.

  • What modern conveniences resulted from the Industrial Revolution?

    -Electricity, automobiles, formal education, antibiotics, and piped-in water and improved sanitation are some results of industrialization.

  • How are railroads and steel production connected?

    -Railroads require large amounts of steel for rails and engines. Steel production increased dramatically to meet this railroad demand.

  • What is an example of a positive feedback loop during industrialization?

    -Coal powered steam engines to clear water from mines, providing more coal to power more steam engines.

  • How long did it take for major innovations beyond the steam engine?

    -The steam engine remained the apex of industrial innovation for over 200 years since the beginning of industrialization.

Outlines
00:00
🎥 Introducing the Industrial Revolution and its impacts

Paragraph 1 introduces the Industrial Revolution, stating it brought massive increases in production through machine use and new energy sources. It transformed most aspects of human life including waste disposal, water, clothes, life expectancy, weapons, transportation, etc. The paragraph argues it was the most revolutionary event compared to other revolutions in the 1750-1850 period.

05:04
💨 The interconnected nature of the Industrial Revolution innovations

Paragraph 2 explains how the innovations of the Industrial Revolution were interconnected using the example of the British textile industry. The paragraph traces how the flying shuttle led to yarn production, mechanization, steam power, coal mining, railroads, chemicals, etc. in a reinforcing cycle.

10:05
😕 Debating the root causes of European industrialization

Paragraph 3 discusses the contentious question of why industrialization first occurred in Europe, especially Britain, rather than China, India, or elsewhere. It examines and rebuts various Eurocentric arguments, noting that China and India were also primed in many ways. It highlights coal and high wages as Britain's main advantages.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period of major technological, economic, and social change that began in Britain in the 18th century and spread throughout Europe and North America. It marked a shift from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The script argues that the Industrial Revolution impacted all aspects of life more than any prior revolution in human history - from life expectancy, to transportation, to access to consumer goods.
💡technology
Technology refers to the practical application of scientific knowledge to solve problems or invent useful tools. The script argues that technological innovations like the steam engine, flying shuttle, and spinning jenny were deeply interconnected and fueled the Industrial Revolution by dramatically increasing productivity and efficiency in manufacturing.
💡coal
Coal refers to a carbon-rich black sedimentary rock that was an essential fuel source during the Industrial Revolution. Britain had large supplies of easily accessible coal that was cheap to mine, which gave it a major advantage. Coal powered steam engines used to pump water out of mines, creating a positive feedback loop that stimulated further coal production.
💡cotton
Cotton refers to the soft fibers produced by the cotton plant, which were used to create textiles. Cotton textiles drove early industrialization, as British manufacturers sought to increase production to compete with cheap cotton textile imports from India. The promise of huge profits from cotton created incentives to invest in labor-saving machines.
💡wages
Wages refer to payment received by workers in exchange for labor. High wages in Britain meant it was economically efficient for manufacturers to substitute machines for labor to reduce production costs. This incentive to automate is cited as a key factor spurring British industrialization.
💡steam engine
The steam engine was a pivotal innovation that unlocked many key aspects of industrialization by providing a reliable source of rotary power. Steam engines were used to pump water out of coal mines, power locomotives and steamboats, drive factory machinery for spinning and weaving, and much more.
💡capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private ownership over the means of production, and the accumulation of profits through investment of capital. The video notes that industrialization is connected to, but not synonymous with, modern capitalism that emerged later.
💡manufacturing
Manufacturing refers to the production of goods through mechanical processes and machinery rather than by hand. Industrialization led to a boom in manufacturing as factories using machines greatly increased the scale, efficiency, and output of production.
💡productivity
Productivity refers to the rate of output per unit of input (labor, equipment, etc). New technologies drastically increased productivity in manufacturing by enabling fewer workers to produce more goods in less time.
💡transportation
Transportation refers to the movement of goods and people. Industrialization unlocked massive improvements in transportation capacity and speed through railroads, steamships, canals, etc. - integrating markets and supplying factories with raw materials and fuel.
Highlights

The Industrial Revolution was an increase in production brought about by the use of machines and characterized by the use of new energy sources.

For 15,000 years, most humans never owned or used a single item made outside of their communities.

You have electricity? Industrial Revolution. Blueberries in February? Industrial Revolution.

Your bed, your antibiotics, your toilet, your contraception, your tap water, your every waking and sleeping second: Industrial Revolution.

Before the industrial revolution, about 80% of the world’s population was engaged in farming to keep itself and the other 20% of people from starving.

Except for a few exceptions, life expectancy never rose above 35 or below 25. Education was a privilege, not a right.

In all those millennia, we never developed a weapon that could kill more than a couple dozen people at once, or a way to travel faster than horseback.

Simon Bolivar didn’t change that and neither did the American Declaration of Independence.

The problem here is that with industrialization being so deeply interconnected, it’s really difficult to figure out why it happened in Europe, especially Britain.

The only problem with coal mining, aside from it being, you know, like, deadly and everything, is that the coal mines flooded all the time.

So steam engines used cheap British coal to keep British coal cheap, and cheap British coal created the opportunity for everything from railroads to steel.

Secondly, there were Wages. Britain (and to a lesser extent the Low Countries) had the highest wages in the world at the beginning of the 18th century.

Indian agriculture was so productive that laborers could be supported at a very low cost. And that, coupled with a large population, meant that Indian textile manufacturing could be very productive without using machines.

So, Indian cottons created the market and then British manufacturers invested in machines, (and imported Indian know-how) to increase production so that they could compete with India.

Next week, we’ll be talking about capitalism.

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