Industrialization Spreads
No exertions of the masters or workmen could have answered the demands
of trade without the introduction of spinning machines.
—John Aiken, A Description of the Country . . . Around Manchester, 1795
Learning Objectives
- E: Explain how different modes and locations of production have developed and changed over time.
Although the Industrial Revolution began in Britain, it soon spread
elsewhere. The British cottage industry system for the production of cotton, in which merchants provided raw cotton to be spun into cloth in workers’ homes, was supplanted by the industrialization of cotton manufacture in factories. Cotton became an increasingly valuable commodity in the world economy as industrialized Britain, with higher productivity, was able to replace Indian and Middle Eastern goods. After Britain industrialized, Belgium and then France and Germany followed, and eventually Russia and Japan became industrialized. These countries possessed many of the characteristics that allowed Britain to industrialize, including capital, natural resources, and water transportation.
Think As a Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: CONNECT IMPERIALISM AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
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Reflect
REFLECT ON THE TOPIC ESSENTIAL QUESTION
1. In one to three paragraphs, explain how different production methods and locations developed and changed over time.
AP Exam Practice
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