Causes of the Industrial Revolution in Britain

Question 1

Define the Industrial Revolution

Answer 1

A period of time usually 1750-1900 when Britain experienced social and economic changes from cottage to factory based systems

Question 2

Why is banking considered to be a cause of the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 2

Because it funded business ventures and start-ups

Question 3

Why are Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine and the Spinning Jenny credited with making the Industrial Revolution possible?

Answer 3

Because the engine was the proto-type for steam-powered factories and the Spinning Jenny revolutionised the textile industry

Question 4

How many banks had been established by 1784?

Answer 4

119

Question 5

How many banks had been established by 1800?

Answer 5

800

Question 6

Why was banking seen to be secure in Britain?

Answer 6

Because the exchange of receipts or bills for gold deposits was the beginning of paper currency

Question 7

What were county banks allowed to do alongside city banks in 1797?

Answer 7

Issue bank notes/paper currency

Question 8

What was removed from small country banks in 1826 to enable them to grow into joint stock banks?

Answer 8

A cap on banks to give them the right to issue notes

Question 9

What was the name of the first joint stock bank?

Answer 9

Lancashire Banking Company 1826

Question 10

Why was Britain credited with being the ‘workshop of the world’?

Answer 10

Because it was the first country to have an advanced industrial revolution by the mid 1800s

Question 11

By how many million pounds of cotton did importations increase by between 1761 and 1833?

Answer 11

297 million

Question 12

Name 2 machines which transformed the cotton industry? 2 marks

Answer 12

Samuel Crompton’s Spinning Mule in 1779 and Richard Arkwright’s Water Frame in 1769

Question 13

Give 3 reasons/factors that caused the industrial revolution. 3 marks

Answer 13

Technology, banking, entrepreneurs, natural resources, small country/easy to travel to the coast, navigable rivers, peaceful country, stable government, protestant work ethic

Question 14

Why was Lancashire good for cotton mills? 2 reasons.

Answer 14

Cool climate stopped the cotton thread from splitting and close to the port of Liverpool, slave trade port and access to trading links, eastern coast closer to American trade, Manchester to Liverpool railway built in 1830

Question 15

In what areas of the UK did the industrial revolution thrive?

Answer 15

North west = textile manufacturing, north east = mining, Midlands = engineering

Question 16

Why did the industrial revolution thrive in certain areas?

Answer 16

Cheap resources e.g. coal seams, close to ports for trade, slave trade ports

Question 17

Which farming invention promoted greater productivity in agricultural areas?

Answer 17

Andrew Meikle’s trheshing machine in 1789

Question 18

What is the main difference between the mechanisation in the agricultural south and the industrial north?

Answer 18

In the south it served to reduce the need for human labour while in the north it created a demand for it

Question 19

How would you describe the south-west and south-east of Britain during the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 19

agricultural/farming/agrarian

Question 20

What areas of the UK were transformed into industrial centres as a result of the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 20

Glasgow/Clyde Valley, Welsh Valleys, some parts of Cornwall exported tin, north east, north west, midlands

Question 21

Which transportation systems were prevalent in the 1700s?

Answer 21

canals, roads, toll roads

Question 22

When was did railways really begin to herald the dawn of a new transportation age?

Answer 22

1830s

Question 23

Why was the Statute of Artificers Act repealed?

Answer 23

To stop the regulation of wages/a boost to laissez-faire policies

Question 24

When were ‘laissez-faire’ economic policies in operation and what were they designed to do?

Answer 24

1800-1830 - designed to encourage business/production/the industrial revolution

Question 25

How did the Industrial Revolution impact on the social structure of Britain?

Answer 25

creation of an urban working-class and the creation of the middle-class

Question 26

When was the Great Exhibition?

Answer 26

1851

Question 27

Why was the Great Exhibition important?

Answer 27

Because it showcased the inventions of the industrial revolution, international event, many thousands attended it

Question 28

Name 2 ‘new’ industrial cities in England.

Answer 28

Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford, Bolton, Halifax, etc.

Question 29

What benefits did the industrial revolution bring to the urban working-class?

Answer 29

creation of class-consciousness, rise of trade unionism to protest rights, eventual rise in living standards.

Question 30

What drawbacks did the industrial revolution bring to the urban working-class?

Answer 30

changes to working practices, break-up of families, loss of control over families, poor living and working conditions, wage-slaves rather than masters, etc