The learning goals of this paragraph are as follows:
- You can explain the importance of the steam engine during the Industrial Revolution
- You can explain the connection between modern imperialism and raw materials
- You can explain what a transport revolution is
Even before the French Revolution in France, England had its Industrial Revolution. It was of a different kind. In England, agricultural machines on large fields had already started to produce more food. This caused the population to grow. In addition to food, they also needed stuff. There was especially a high demand for clothing. Before the Industrial Revolution, everything was made by hand. That took a lot of time. To make more and faster stuff, the newly invented steam engine was placed in factories. Steam engines operated on steam from heated water boilers.
A lot of coal was needed to light the fires. That is why there was a lot of demand for coal. The demand for coal led to a lot of mining in England.
In addition to coal from mining, raw materials were also needed to make something. Many of those raw materials came from the colonies. So existing colonies were enlarged, and new territories conquered. Europe's influence on the colonies also increased. All this is called modern imperialism. European factories made products from colonial raw materials. These were intended for their own population and the European market. Surplus was also sold in the colonies. In this way, colonies became a market as well as a raw material supplier for Europe.
You can recognize factories that were built after the industrial revolution by their high chimneys. Before the Industrial Revolution factories did not have chimneys because they did not use steam engines. Back then, workshops often had a water wheel to set machines in motion.
Old workshops had small windows, but it was only later thought that it was nice for the workers to work with lots of light. Many factories were on the water. This was the fastest way to supply raw materials and transport manufactured products. For a long time, there were not enough railways in the Netherlands to do this. This ship did not run on steam power but on wind power - just look at the masts.
The Dutch Industrial Revolution
England was early with industrialization. The rest of Europe followed later. For example, the first steam-powered factory in the Netherlands was not built until 1830. The Netherlands lagged somewhat behind in industrialization. In 1851 there were only about 300 steam engines in factories here. The first railway in the Netherlands - from Amsterdam to Haarlem - was opened in 1839. With a steam locomotive, the journey took only half an hour. Many people did not dare to join, afraid of the 'enormous speed' of the new means of transport.
Image from 1720 - Before the Industrial Revolution, people traveled on foot, on horseback or in a tow barge. You see such a barge here. The boat is pulled over the water by the horse on the left. You can imagine that this was not a fast mode of transport.
From about 1860 onwards, a lot of money was spent on the industrialization of the Netherlands. The required coal for the steam engines came from South Limburg. At that time, their transport was already going by train and by ship through new canals. An important consequence of the Industrial Revolution was a transport revolution. Suddenly it was possible to travel throughout the Netherlands without having to spend weeks on it.
Factory workers worked up to 16 hours a day, six days a week. In the factories it was very noisy because of the machines. It was dark and accidents happened. In any case, it was unhealthy to work in a factory. But not only the working conditions were bad.
Because so many farm workers worked in the cities, wages were low. And because so many people were looking for shelter, there weren't enough houses. Cities were unprepared for the arrival of so many workers and quickly built working-class neighborhoods. Several families had to live in one small and often bad house.
Both in the country and in the city, the whole family worked together. This meant that parents and (almost) all children worked in factories. The children were sometimes only five years old when they started. This child labor was good for the factory owners. Little children's fingers could reach everything and were very cheap. Children often work as long as their parents and for even lower wages! They didn't go to school, because that was too expensive: that wouldn't contribute to the family income.
Around 1860 there was organized resistance against the poor working and living conditions of the workers and child labour. Many workers wanted concrete improvement of their situation. That is why they united in labor unions. They negotiated with the factory bosses and they organized strikes when workers and employers disagreed. Later, people from the government and parliament also concerned themselves with the situation of the workers and their children. They collectively called all the problems the social queston. Books, poems and newspapers also paid attention to this.
In 1874 the first social law was passed: the Van Houten Children's Act. This law meant that children were not allowed to work in a factory until they were twelve. The Compulsory Education Act of 1901 obliged children between the ages of six and twelve to attend school. Many factory owners agreed to the social laws. They also realized that sick, dissatisfied workers were more expensive than healthy, satisfied workers. Thus, the conditions for the workers and their families gradually improved. There were many more social laws. This provided for the following:
- Shorter working days and higher wages followed.
- Safety laws were in place in the factories.
- Benefits were provided for people who became unemployed or incapacitated for work.
- Housing laws were enacted, which meant that better workers' houses were built.
- Underground sewers replaced the above-ground sewers.
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Auteur
Stephanie van Tongeren
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Laatst gewijzigd
2021-06-28 10:48:45
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evolution, everything was made by hand. That took a lot of time. To make more and faster stuff, the newly invented steam engine was placed in factories. Steam engines operated on steam from heated water boilers.
You can recognize factories that were built after the industrial revolution by their high chimneys. Before the Industrial Revolution factories did not have chimneys because they did not use steam engines. Back then, workshops often had a water wheel to set machines in motion.
King Willem I
