The Industrial Revolution was a seismic economic, social and political transformation which started in Britain in the late-eighteenth century and was to define the economic structure of Europe by 1914. This course will examine Europe before the changes of industrialism and analyse the origins of modern industry in Britain. It then considers how these new industrial technologies and ideas spread throughout the European continent in the course of the nineteenth century.
The new industry completely changed the way Europeans communicated and travelled. It re-built and re-modelled European cities and created a new range of political ideas which came to dominate the manner in which European states were governed. These powerful nineteenth century industrial economies were able to use advanced technology to dominate huge areas of the world outside Europe. Europe’s advanced economy gave the continent a leading role in the development of overseas colonies and meant that Europe had a pivotal role in international trade and commerce in the century leading up to 1914.
Ultimately the European Industrial Revolution changed the world forever and this course will conclude by analysing the degree to which our world today has been formed and continues to be influenced by the new ideas and technology created in the years between 1800 and 1914.