The Industrial Revolution is generally understood to have started in England in the middle of the 18th century. From there the inventions which sparked it spread out to other countries; impacting them in various, sometimes unfortunate ways.
In the mid 1700s, England was faced with a market dilemma in the textile industry. Having relied for centuries on its woollen cloths, the market for these materials was cut by the introduction of superiour looking and wearing cotton textiles from India. Because of this, the English government set heavy tariffs on imported textiles and the English citizenry felt compelled to compete. Soon, improvements in spinning and weaving allowed the British to outproduce the Indians, both in quantity and quality. Britain and India’s positions in the market system were juxtaposed, with India becoming the supplier of raw cotton and Britain exporting its finished textiles back to India.
This new industrialism was certainly not confined to the realm of textiles. With the introduction of efficient steam power, the mining, iron and transportation industries were also improved. Innovations in mining equipment allowed for more coal and iron ore to be processed, and more efficiently. The transportation industry received a huge and extremely significant boost with the invention of a practical locomotive in 1829. This allowed more raw resources to be shipped faster, over longer distances, and because the steam engine needed coal, and the new locomotive needed plenty of iron, from its body down to the rails it rode on, a self-feeding, self-building cycle was created.
Not all of the effects of these “innovations” were good, however. The technological changes to the textile industry made the so-called “cottage industries,” where looming, weaving, etc, was largely done from home, obsolete by new textile mills and factories; thus displacing those whom were unable or unwilling to change. Because of increased demand for coal and iron, the innovations in the mining industry were focused primarily on output, and so the workers suffered. Long hours, sour wages and extremely hazardous conditions prevailed; not to mention the now unacceptable, then-common practice of using young children and women as “expendables.”
While the Western world, for the most part, flourished and prospered as a result of the Industrial Revolution, the rest of the world suffered. In Asia, India suffered in the textile industry, its economy making the harsh switch from export to import, draining and weakening it until the British closed in for the kill in the 19th century. England used this same tactic in China in the mid 1800s. The Celestial Empire was extremely ethnocentric and xenophobic, thinking itself the center of the universe and above every other society. Thus, it did not need new technological innovations, as it was already perfect. Then it was introduced to the one substance it didn’t have: opium. To Britain’s delight, it soon discovered that China would accept opium in exchange for the tea, silks and porcelains the English craved- opium which Britain could cheaply produce on plantations in India. Being an addictive drug, the Chinese continued to import opium until the Chinese government recognised the problem and attempted to ban it and cease all imports. England would have none of this and proceeded to destroy harbour buildings and Chinese ships, or junks, proclaiming the principles of “free trade.” To appease the Britain, the Chinese government ceded the island of Hong Kong.
The impact of the Industrial Revolution was wide spread, and can still be felt today. The Western cultures continue to dominate, while the “Third World” continually falls behind, whether due to market wars as in India, or pure stubbornness like in China.