The Era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period in which fundamental changes occurred agriculture, textiles and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure in England. This period is appropriately or inappropriatelyclassified as a “revolution”, for this period completely destroyed the old ways of doingthings; yet these changes did not occur in an abrupt change as the word “revolution”implies. The transformation that occurred during the period of (1760-1850) occurred veryslowly with small gradual changes. 1760 the year generally accepted as the “eve” of theIndustrial Revolution was not the “eve” at all. In reality, this “eve” people talked aboutoccurred more than two hundred years ago. The ninety years labeled the IndustrialRevolution is simply a time where the ideas and discoveries of those who had long passedon, such as Galileo, Bacon, Descartes and others was brought to a national level. Thelarge question that becomes apparent when studing these years is why then. Why if manyof the ideas of the Industrial Revolution had been known for nearly two hundred years didthey come into common use now? As I answer this question I will examine advancesapplied during the Industrial Revolution and shed some light as to why it occurred in thelate eighteenth century.Agriculture held a prominent position in the way of life during the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries. England was no aception as most of the population depended on thetilling of soil for their livelihood. Not only was Agriculture’s importance rooted in to thelivelihood of the population, but it was an indispensable source of material for the growingtextile industry. The production of wool and cotton for the purpose of manufacturing intocloth increased every year during the Industrial Revolution. The yield of food cropsincreased as well, mainly due to the enclosure mo...
