Natural resources was a cause of the Industrial Revolution. Another was coal. Coal was used to power the steam engine. Coal was cheap, and it powered the steam engine which pumped out water from coal mines so you could mine more coal. Steam Engines powered locomotives which allowed people to take distant jobs in factories. Iron was used for machines which made work faster and more efficient. The Industrial Revolution wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for natural resources. It powered lots of the technology.
Seed Drill
The Agricultural Revolution was a major cause of the Industrial Revolution. Jethro Tull invented the seed drill in 1701. This spurred many new inventions to help the Agricultural Revolution. This meant that the need for tons of farmers was not needed. Landowners kicked a lot of farmers out. The new inventions meant work could be done faster and better with less farmers. These farmers went to urban areas or cities. They then worked in factories. These factories were mass producing products and these farmers were the laborers. They were also easy to train because of the machines which were used to make the work easier. The Agricultural Revolution also made more food. In return the price for food got cheaper which encouraged a larger population. This larger population increased demand for goods which encouraged the manufacturers to keep bringing out new products. The larger population was also used as more workers. The Agricultural Revolution mainly provided the workers necessary for the Industrial Revolution.
Note: Video made by Americas Heartland, not by us! This video explains everything about the Seed Drill.
Factors of Production
The factors of production were capital (money), land, and labor. Labor, as explained in Agricultural Revolution, were the workers. Britain had lots of land full of natural resources for the Industrial Revolution to happen. Britain also had money and political stability for the Industrial Revolution. Britain wasn't in any wars at the time which saved money. The government also made laws to protect businesses. Without these three things that Britain had in abundance, the Industrial Revolution couldn't have happened.
Entrepreneurs helped start the Industrial Revolution. Without these people who wanted to make money, there wouldn't be any use for these other causes. Entrepreneurs put it to work. They were the owners and hired workers to mass produce things with machines.
The Locomotive
Transportation was much more improved because of the Industrial Revolution. The steam engine affected transportation. Two examples of transportation are the locomotive and steamboat. This helped people go to new places which encouraged people to take distant jobs. This also affects us today. Many people today take trains to work.
Urbanization is the growth of a city. The growth can range from social, political, population, and transpiration growths. The increase in farmers moving to cities increased the workers and population which encouraged growth. The greater population forced the government to make reforms to encourage growth for the people. Urbanization also caused more crime because services like the police can't catch up to everybody. It also made more trash on the ground. All of these forced the government to make reforms which made cities grow even more.
Karl Marx
Communism was a big effect of the Industrial Revolution. Karl Marx saw the problems with urbanization and capitalism. The owners stayed very rich and the workers were poor. The gap was really big. The poor were in poor working and living conditions. The roofs would collapse and many became homeless. Karl Marx's solution was a government that owned everything and everything was shared equally. He wanted the workers to unite and overthrow the rich. He wrote a book with his ideas called The Communist Manifesto. Communism affects us today. It started many conflicts.
The increased production rate was also an effect of the Industrial Revolution. Machines and technology helped with making it faster and better. Food, clothes and other goods were being marketed so much that the demanded for it got high. This positive response encouraged more production.