About the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution took place from the 18th century to the 19th century. This was a period in which rural areas in Europe and America started to become industrial and urbanized. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing was mostly done in peoples homes, using hand tools or simple machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special purpose machinery, factories and the mass production of goods. The iron and textile industries, along with the invention of the steam engine all played major roles in the Industrial Revolution. A number of factors contributed to Britain being named the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. One factor was the fact that it had great deposits of coal and iron ore, which proved essential for industrialization. Additionally, Britain was politically stable at the time, as well as the world's leading colonial power, which meant more source for raw materials and a marketplace to sell manufactured goods. As the demand for British goods increased, merchants needed more cost-effective methods of the production of goods, which led to the rise of industrialization and the rise of factories. Also in the Industrial Revolution was the rise of labor unions. As manufacturing jobs started to rise, workers sought to get themselves improved working conditions and wages through labor unions. These unions started off as simple "friendly societies" that collected fees from workers and extended aid during illness or unemployment. Soon afterwards however, they became big organizations for winning improvements from their employer by collective bargaining and worker strikes.