7.1 Introduction to Industrialization

The Industrial Revolution begins

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the mid-1700s, shifting production from hand tools/home-based work (cottage industry) to machine-based factory manufacturing. Key innovations included the steam engine (James Watt), which powered factories and later transportation like railroads and steamships, freeing production from rivers/wind for energy.

Key resources and innovations

Industrialization relied on access to coal and iron ore, which fueled new technologies like the Bessemer process (cheap steel production). These resources explain why early industrial regions clustered near coalfields. Transportation improvements (railroads, canals) allowed raw materials and finished goods to move efficiently, connecting resource sites to factories and markets.

Diffusion of industrialization

Industrialization diffused from Britain to Western Europe, North America, and eventually globally through the 19th and 20th centuries. This spread is explained by innovation (relocation) diffusion, as ideas and technologies spread outward from their origin point, transforming economies from agricultural to industrial and reshaping settlement patterns and urbanization.

Key terms

Industrial Revolution

A period beginning in Britain in the mid-1700s marked by a shift from hand production to machine-based factory manufacturing.

Cottage industry

Small-scale, home-based production of goods using hand tools, common before industrialization.

Steam engine

A machine that converts heat energy into mechanical power; improved by James Watt, it powered factories, railroads, and ships.

Bessemer process

A method for mass-producing cheap, high-quality steel, crucial to industrial growth.

Innovation (relocation) diffusion

The spread of an idea or technology from its point of origin to new locations, as industrialization spread from Britain outward.

Try an AP-style question

The Industrial Revolution began in…

1. Great Britain
2. Germany
3. China
4. the United States