The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of the times. It began in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world.

Social effects

"Cottonopolis"

   Industrialisation led to the creation of the factory. Arguably the first was John Lombe's water-powered silk mill at Derby, operational by 1721. However, the rise of the factory came somewhat later when cotton spinning was mechanised.

   The factory system was largely responsible for the rise of the modern city, as large numbers of workers migrated into the cities in search of employment in the factories. Nowhere was this better illustrated than the mills and associated industries of Manchester, nicknamed "Cottonopolis", and arguably the world's first industrial city. For much of the 19th century, production was done in small mills, which were typically water-powered and built to serve local needs. Later each factory would have its own steam engine and a chimney to give an efficient draft through its boiler.
 Find more about the life in the British industrial towns

Factories

   The industrial revolution began in Britain. Water-Power had long been used for some processes. Fulling mills had made England a major cloth-making country in medieval times. Still spinners and weavers toiled in their own homes. The invention of machines to do these jobs in the late 18th century meant that cloth workers could be gathered together in huge factories. Among the earliest was Quarry Bank Mill at Styal, Wilmslow, Cheshire, begun in 1784 by textile merchant Samuel Greg, and now a museum of the industrial revolution.

    At first factories used water-power, so they were often called mills, though steam-power soon took over. In a burst of inventiveness, many other industrial processes were mechanised. Factories sprang up close to sources of raw materials and fuel. Industrialisation then drove developments in building. The earliest experiments with iron-frame construction were the great textile mills, the first being a flax-mill at Shrewsbury, built in 1796 by Charles Bage. Also read about the Factory Act.

The Great Exhibition

The Crystal Palace

   The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations was organized by Prince Albert, Henry Cole, Francis Henry, George Wallis, Charles Dilke and other members of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design. It can be argued that the Great Exhibition was mounted in response to the highly successful French Industrial Exposition of 1844. Additionally, by hosting this exhibition, "Great Britain made clear to the world its role as industrial leader.“ It was the first in a series of World's Fair exhibitions of culture and industry that were to become a popular 19th-century feature. A special building, nicknamed The Crystal Palace, or "The Great Shalimar" was built to house the show. List of notable exhibits

Conclusion

Between 1760 and 1860 many changes in Britain occured. It was a slow and complex change in the economy and society alike. It was a change from an agriculture based society to a society evolved in factory manufacturing (The Industrial Revolution). The idea that men should work and support the family was unsuccessful during this time, leading the women and children to work also (Harris 13). This was known as family labor. Women and children worked in the worst conditions and for long hours. The worst part was that owners would not accept direct responsibility for what was happening in their factory. They ignored the conditions of the labor, the long hours that were worked, and the employment of children at certain ages (Mathias 202). As time went on, Parliament produced Acts to regulate what was happening during the Revolution. Women began to strike for better pay as time went on (Harris 21). One may wonder what the world would be like today if Britain did not start the change from the domestic system to the factory system in the 19th century and if the U.S., China and Japan didn’t follow?