The Industrial Revolution: changes in jobs, transport, the beginning of the English empire, the general situation in Europe, the Agricultural Revolution.

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THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Britain changed a lot between 1750 and 1900. This period is called the Industrial Revolution. In 1750 most people lived in the countryside. They lived in small villages, growing crops and animals. By 1900, most people worked in towns. Even in the countryside, things changed. This was because of several reasons:

?Change of Jobs

In the early 18th century most people lived and worked in the countryside, on the land. Most villages had about 3 large fields which were divided into strips, but by the end of the century this had changed, and most fields had become enclosed. Enclosure meant that the strips were melded into larger parcels of land, owned by wealthier farmers. They were fenced off from their neighbour. The common land was also turned into enclosed fields. This hit the poor people hard, as they now had nowhere to plant crops. Villages were enclosed to accommodate this new, and better way of farming.

The consequences of this were that more food was grown to feed the ever-increasing number of British people. This led to the start of the industrial revolution because people could not easily handle so much work without the aid of machines. These machines meant that less jobs were available because the machines took over. Because of this, the poor people made groups that destroyed the machines that made them lose their jobs.

?Transport

In 1750 the transport system was very poor; the roads were bad and most people walked or rode on horseback. Goods went very slowly by river or horse-drawn wagons. The roads were improved by imposing charges to use the roads. Gates and toll houses were put beside the roads, and all money raised went to improving or even building new roads. As time passed, the roads were...