"No single industry played the role of the leading sector. Iron and coal have claims at least as strong as that of cotton." In this essay I am going to show that no single industry played the role of the leading sector. I will start off with a look at cotton, how it developed and how it flourished within the revolution to be known as the heart of the industrial revolution. I will then describe the iron and coal industry firstly giving a brief insight into development and how they have both been described as the leading sectors within the industrial revolution. Finally I will give a brief description to the other sectors and my opinion on what part they played within the first industrial revolution.
Let me initially describe what cotton is and where it originates. Cotton is a white substance, which is composed of the hairs surrounding the cotton plant.
English: Watt's steam engine at the lobby of the H...
English: out-of-copyright print, published in 1867...
Get the boot from Industrial Revolution!Cotton was imported from India, the West Indies and American Colonies. The cotton process began in the 16th Century when cotton was mixed with either linen or worsted yarn.
The cotton industry was said to have started its ascent to be recognized as the leading sector in the industrial revolution in the 'summer of 1784 when a consignment of eight bales and three bags of raw cotton were discharged from the hold of an American ship' . This is believed to have been the beginning of the cotton industry that dominated the woollen industry to become the leading sector, and with the growth of cotton came the beginning of new sectors within the industrial revolution, for example new technology, inventions. With the cotton industry growing rapidly new machines were needed to cope with the manufacturing of cotton goods.
Processing cotton on its arrival was divided into four sections;...