TO WHAT EXTENT CAN IT BE CLAIMED THAT ENGLAND UNDERWENT AN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN THE YEARS 1750 "ÃÂ 1850.
In the years preceding 1750 England, although a wealthy nation still suffered from poverty and a poor economy. Despite the fact that there were manufacturers, not enough produce could be made, and so England remained poverty stricken. The 2 main areas of productivity were agriculture and woollen textiles, the larger earner of these two being wool. The manufacture of woollen cloth had been the main industry since the middle ages, when England was one of the world's greatest producers of raw wool. However the garments were made in the people's homes and the progress was very slow. All the tools were worked by hand and were small enough to be used in the home. Not only was this process slow, but such was the demand for yarn that it was constantly in short supply, as wool production was hard to mechanise, on the other hand cotton which was a new material being brought into Britain was much easier to make and faster.
English: Watt's steam engine at the lobby of the H...
britain - bretagne
A Spinning Jenny, spinning machine which was signi...Not only was it easier and faster but also it was also more comfortable to wear. This new material would have been easier to mechanise but the raw materials had to be imported and this was more expensive but still the demand was there, so much so that in 1700 a law was passed banning all imports of cotton and in 1721 the wearing of cotton was actually banned. Due to the banning of these imports local producers were allowed to step into the market and so began the rise of the cotton industry in Britain.
The process was still too slow and was still done in people's homes; this had to be changed if the cotton was to...