HI 233 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Gross Domestic Product, Eurocentrism, Protestant Work Ethic
Industrial Revolution
Basic Information
● Began roughly in the 1770’s in England
● Simply put, it involved mechanized production in factories permitted by steam power
● Crucial because it changed goods produced and how people lived
○ Large demand of industrial labor
○ Shift from farms to cities (Ex: Manchester in England)
○ People organized their time, ate, and thought differently
Cotton in the Industrial Revolution
● England demand for Indian textiles because lower classes wanted more cotton
○Protectionist response in England → buy English goods, not Indian ones (cotton)
○ Stimulus to domestic manufacture
● Colonization of India
○ Political control of terms of trade via new taxes, policies, restrictions
○ Systematic de-industrialization by the 1750’s attempted to turn India from being
the main manufacturer of cotton to being a consumer of English cotton
○ Changed production and trade in their favor
● New World as periphery
○Protected market with high demand → English people and slaves needed to be
clothed
○Provides sugar, tea and other food to British workers → working men stayed on
the job for long hours due to the demand
○ Will be major supplier of cotton
Coal and the Industrial Transformation of England
● English did not have to go far for coal
● Steam engine was first invented to pump coal from shafts
○ By 1840’s, steam engines were used to transport coal
○ Iron and steel enter production as well
● The “Protestant work ethic” is the story most people told about the English Industrial
Revolution, but world history tells a different story.
○ It’s a story about factors coming together to begin/maintain the English Industrial
Revolution
Rethinking the Industrial Revolution (Why England, not China?)
● China was as “developed” as England
○ Had agricultural productivity, markets/manufacturers, consumption levels
● But: England controls colonies, whereas Chinese core manufacturing zones lose access to
hinterland or peripheries supplies and markets
○ Chinese peasants could make choices to be self-sufficient instead of buying from
factories
○ China also has less access to coal
●Need to avoid Eurocentric explanations → this did have a cultural influence with
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Document Summary
Began roughly in the 1770"s in england. Simply put, it involved mechanized production in factories permitted by steam power. Crucial because it changed goods produced and how people lived. Shift from farms to cities (ex: manchester in england) People organized their time, ate, and thought differently. England demand for indian textiles because lower classes wanted more cotton. Protectionist response in england buy english goods, not indian ones (cotton) Political control of terms of trade via new taxes, policies, restrictions. Systematic de-industrialization by the 1750"s attempted to turn india from being the main manufacturer of cotton to being a consumer of english cotton. Changed production and trade in their favor. Protected market with high demand english people and slaves needed to be clothed. Provides sugar, tea and other food to british workers working men stayed on the job for long hours due to the demand. English did not have to go far for coal.
