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.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.