Industrial Revolution Summary

Question 1

What was the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 1

This was a process of change from an economy based on agriculture to industry (factories) and machines.

Question 2

How did the Industrial Revolution change the way people worked and lived in the 1700s and 1800s? Give 3 examples.

Answer 2

• In 1750 it took pack horses 12 days to go from London to Scotland but by 1900 it took trains 9 hours
• In 1750 8/10 people lived in villages and half of the population worked in farming. By 1900 8/10 people lived in towns/cities and 1/10 people worked in farming
• In 1750 the population was 11 million but by 1900 that had increased to 42 million.
• Cloth was made in people’s homes in 1750 but this changed to big factories
• Small workshops used water to power them in 1750 but by 1900 large factories were using steam power

Question 3

Why did the Industrial Revolution happen?

Answer 3

As a result of a better understanding of science, medicine and healthcare, the population increased massively in the 1700s and 1800s.

Question 4

How did the shift from agricultural-based to industry-based economies affect where people lived and worked?

Answer 4

By 1900 8/10 people lived in towns/cities and 1/10 people worked in farming

Question 5

What were the working conditions like in the newly built factories during the Industrial Revolution? Give 3 examples.

Answer 5

1. It was very noisy so some workers suffered from loss of hearing. In many textile mills, the temperature could reach nearly 30°C. Textile mills needed to be kept hot to stop the thread from snapping.
2. Cotton particles filled the air making breathing them in unavoidable. This put workers at risk of developing a lung disease
3. Dangers of the machines, the machines could chop finger and limbs off if you were not quick enough

Question 6

What cheap goods were imported to Britain and what did they make out of them?

Answer 6

Cheap goods like cotton were imported to Britain from the colonies. Factories turned it into cloth and sold some of it back to the colonies for huge profits. Britain also made a fortune from the slave trade.

Question 7

What were some new inventions created in the 1700s?

Answer 7

Steam engines, steam trains, electric generators and telephones were created in the 1700s.

Question 8

What roles did children play in Victorian factories?

Answer 8

Being small meant they could do jobs adults couldn’t, such as cleaning under moving machinery, with many children tragically losing their lives, Many of the jobs involved working closely with huge pieces of moving machinery, which were easy to become entangled in.

Question 9

What were some the punishments workers received punished? Name 4.

Answer 9

Punishments included beatings, having heavy weights tied around their necks or even having their ears nailed to tables. Also fines for being late, taking or even just looking out the window.

Question 10

How many percent of accidents dealt with at the Manchester Infirmary were factory and mill related?

Answer 10

Up to 40% of accidents dealt with at the Manchester Infirmary in 1833, were factory and mill related.

Question 11

When were new laws introduced to try and change the working lives of women and children?

Answer 11

From 1833 new laws (Acts) were introduced to try and change the working lives of women and children.

Question 12

Name all 5 factory acts.

Answer 12

• 1833 Factory Act - no children under 9 were allowed to work in factories and children aged 9-13 were only allowed to work 9 hours per day.
• 1842 Mines act - no women or children allowed to work down the mines
• 1844 Factories act - women were not allied to work longer than a 12 hour day and machines had to be made safe
• 1847 Ten Hour Act - Maximum 10 hour day for women and children under the age of 18
• 1895 Factory Act - children under 13 to work a maximum of 30 hours a week

Question 13

How did the Industrial Revolution affect the living conditions in towns and cities?

Answer 13

• There was pollution in water and the air
• Unhealthy housing, no fresh water or toilets, houses built quickly and not safely and most water for cooking, cleaning and drinking came from the local river or pond
• There was a crime rate increase such as pickpockets, conmen and prostitutes.

Question 14

What were some of the common diseases that affected people living in industrial towns, and how were they caused? Name 4.

Answer 14

• Typhoid - The typhoid germ lived in urine and faeces. Sometimes sewage would contaminate water or food and pass on the germs. This disease could also be carried by flies which landed on food.
• Tuberculosis - this affected a person’s lungs and gave them a terrible cough.
It was passed by people passing germs to others by coughing and sneezing
• Cholera - Caused by a germ that lives in contaminated water and killed 90% of people who caught it. There were many epidemics of cholera in the 1800s.
• Smallpox - A rash turns into huge pus-filled blisters all over the body. When the blisters fall off they leave deep scars. A vaccine was created for this in 1793 and by 1853 the government made it compulsory to receive the vaccination

Question 15

What were the main forms of transportation before 1750, and what were the challenges associated with them?

Answer 15

One of the main ways of travel before 1750 was the use of rivers and the sea. However, this was often dangerous as the sea could get very rough and ships could be wrecked or the cargo damaged. Not all towns where goods were needed were near the sea. Rivers could dry up in the summer and freeze in the winter.

Question 16

What was a turnpike trust?

Answer 16

These trusts promised to improve their stretch of road and keep it in good.

Question 17

How did the construction of canals impact the transportation of goods during the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 17

Individuals like the Duke of Bridgewater and Josiah Wedgwood built their own canals to carry their goods to their customers that reduced their costs and increased their profits.

Question 18

How many miles of canals were there by 1830?

Answer 18

By 1830 there was nearly 4000 miles of canals

Question 19

What did canals make it possible to do now?

Answer 19

It was now possible to transport goods from industrial towns and cities to much of England

Question 20

What were turnpike roads, and how were they managed?

Answer 20

Turnpike road were gravel roads that you had to pay a fee to use and they were managed by turnpike trusts who took care of their part of the road this meant they could charge people for using it.

Question 21

How did turnpike roads improve travel times in Britain by 1830?

Answer 21

It now took only 48 hours to travel from London to Edinburgh.

Question 22

How many miles of railway were there by 1850?

Answer 22

There were over 7000 miles of railway by 1850.

Question 23

Why did railway companies grow so quickly in Britain during the 1800s?

Answer 23

Lots of individuals invested money in railway companies as they thought easy money could be made.

Question 24

Why were railways more convenient?

Answer 24

Trains could carry more cargo and were cheaper than turnpike roads.

Question 25

Why did railway companies and turnpike roads go bankrupt?

Answer 25

They wern’t as cheap as canals, this led to canal companies and turnpike trusts going bankrupt

Question 26

What new opportunities did railways create for work and travel in Britain? Name 3.

Answer 26

• Allowed people to travel long distances. This led to the creation of commuters- people able to work in one town or city but live in another town or city.
• Affordable travel across Britain meaning more people could leave their town/city than ever before
• Mail was now able to be delivered quicker and national newspapers could not be read in different parts of Britain on the same day.
• Creation of travel companies. Thomas Cook began organising cheap day trips to the seaside which resulted in the growth of towns such as Blackpool
• The creation of new types of jobs in hospitality - Inns, restaurants and hotels. Also, building railway lines, locomotives and the men needed to work on the railways such as guards, drivers and mechanics.

Question 27

How did railways affect everyday life, including food transportation and leisure activities?

Answer 27

• The food industry also grew as products such as milk, vegetables, meat and fish could now be taken into towns while it was still fresh. Farmers started to enjoy greater incomes
• The railway resulted in the development of passengers attending cricket matches and football games.

Question 28

What changes happened in the mid-1800s that gave people more free time and holidays? Give 3

Answer 28

• The railways and cheap fares made travel affordable for the working class and seaside holidays became popular
• By the mid 1800s new laws had been introduced in order to prevent young children working in factories and restricting women and children’s working hours. Many factories couldn’t remain open without women and children and therefore men also found themselves home earlier in the evening and off on Saturday afternoon.
• In 1871 parliament introduced bank holidays giving most workers a few more days off throughout the year

Question 29

What were some popular leisure activities that people enjoyed during this time? Give 4

Answer 29

Football
Reading
Day trips to the seaside
Cycling
Theatre

Question 30

Where did poorer people go to see performances?

Answer 30

Music halls

Question 31

Where did rich people go to see performances?

Answer 31

Theatres and concert halls

Question 32

What was a music hall

Answer 32

A music hall was a large building where the audience would pay to see a wide variety of acts including singers, comedians, acrobats and magicians.

Question 33

When was the football league set up?

Answer 33

The football league was set up in 1888.

Question 34

What were at seaside resorts?

Answer 34

These seaside resorts included piers, live entertainment like stage shows and music, ice cream sellers and seafront hotels.

Question 35

Why was football popular?

Answer 35

It was cheap and you only needed a hall and space to play.

Question 36

What novels became popular during this time? Name 2

Answer 36

New novels by authors such as Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist 1837) and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein 1818) sold thousands of copies.

Question 37

Why did reading become more popular?

Answer 37

Reading books became more common as more people learned to read as a result of laws passed by Parliament that introduced compulsory school attendance for working children.

Question 38

What was a capital crime?

Answer 38

A capital crime was a crime for which you could be hanged.

Question 39

What made it easier for criminals to commit crimes and why were they never caught?

Answer 39

The big new towns made life easier for criminals. Many of them were never caught because there were no police to track them down.

Question 40

Why were there so many capital crimes?

Answer 40

Many people felt that criminals should be savagely punished so as to act as a warning to others, it was a deterrent.

Question 41

Why were less children punished then should have been for crimes? Give 2 reasons.

Answer 41

Far fewer people were hanged than should have been. Juries often took pity on young children and said they were not guilty, rather than have them hanged. Or they were found guilty of a less serious crime.

Question 42

What was the nickname for watchmen?

Answer 42

The nickname for watchmen were ‘Charleys’.

Question 43

How much were watchmen paid?

Answer 43

They were paid but it could be as little as 25p a week.

Question 44

What were some common reasons people were sent to prison or transported to penal colonies?

Answer 44

People were often locked up for relatively minor crimes such as stealing a couple of hens or a loaf of bread.

Question 45

What were prison conditions like in the early 1800s? Give 3

Answer 45

• Prisons were usually very dirty places full of rats, lice and fleas. About a quarter of the prisoners died each year from disease. Typhus was so common that people called it ‘gaol fever’
• Prisoners were fed basic foods such as porridge and bread
• Often there was no proper water supply and so the water they were given to drink often made them sick
• Beds were not provided and instead, prisoners had to hire them from the Jailor. Those who couldn’t afford them slept on the cold floor

Question 46

What was transportation?

Answer 46

Transportation was when criminals were sent to Australian penal colonies or prisons.

Question 47

Why did criminals stop getting sent to America to work?

Answer 47

The outbreak of the civil war.

Question 48

When did transportation begin in Australia?

Answer 48

Transportation to Australia began in 1787.

Question 49

Who were the Bow Street Runners, and why were they created?

Answer 49

The Bow Street Runners were six men, who were trained, paid and were full-time officers and they were created because the existing system of parish constables and watchmen (charlies) was not effective..

Question 50

Who created the bow street runners?

Answer 50

A magistrate called Henry Fielding.

Question 51

Who created the metropolitan police and what was the nickname for the metropolitan police?

Answer 51

Sir Robert Peel created the metropolitan police and the nickname for them were peelers.

Question 52

What did the County and Borough Police Act do?

Answer 52

The County and Borough Police Act made it compulsory for all towns and counties to set up a proper full-time, paid police force.

Question 53

How many police did there have to be per amount of people?

Answer 53

The law said that there should be one policeman for every 1000 people.

Question 54

What act made it compulsory for all towns to have a proper, full time, full paid police force?

Answer 54

The County and Borough Police Act.

Question 55

When was the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 55

1760 to 1840 (1800)

Question 56

When were bank holidays introduced?

Answer 56

1871

Question 57

When did cycling become popular

Answer 57

1870s

Question 58

When were the bow street runners set up?

Answer 58

In 1750 a magistrate called Henry Fielding used government money to set up a force of paid constables who patrolled London, called the Bow Street Runners.