INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. in the lat ter part of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth the economic life of Eng land underwent a great transformation, Which has aptly been called the Industrial 1:evolution. AS late as 1760 the 'open-field' system (q.v.) was the prevailing characteristic of British agricul ture. Even in 1701, when the process of inclos ing the commons and open fields had been pro gressing rapidly for a quarter of a century, out of 5500 parishes in England 4500 were still farmed in common. Great stretches of country lay quite unimproved; ext-nsive bogs and heaths were found in all parts of the island. In many Coun ties the miserable crops merely afforded sus tenance to the agricultural population. The means of transportation were so defective that in one county surplus produce went to waste, while in 011 adjoining county scarcity prices pre vailed. Industry was carried on by the domestic system, under which the manufacturer or mer •ant put out his materials to be worked up in the laborers' homes at piece wages. Exchange was still carried on largely by means of weekly markets, annual fairs, and through itinerant traders. British foreign trade 0-as, however, in creasing, rapidly, and with the increased demand for goods prices of manufactures rose. affording the means of supporting, a larger industrial popu lation. The increased need for food rendered systematic agriculture more profitable; and the development of capital diverted much wealth to husbandry. A number of wealthy gentlemen turned their attention to the improvement of stock and the proper treatment of the soil (see AGRICULTURE), and demonstrated that agricul ture could furnish returns rivaling those of trade. with the result that methods of agriculture were revolutionized. The Continental wars enhanced the prices of agricultural produce, and gave a great impetus to the adoption of the new meth ods. Between 1760 and 1543 nearly 7.000.01)0 acres of land were inclosed and put to intensive • tillage.
At the same time. the domestic system in in dustry was giving way to the factory system. as a result of the great mechanical inventions. In 1770 Hargreaves patented the spinning-jenny; the wate•-frame was invented by Arkwriglit in 1709: Crompt011'A mule was introduced in 1779. In 1709 Watt obtained his first patent for an im provement in the steam-engine. and in 1755
it was successfully applied to the cotton man ufaeture. The effect of these inventions was enormously to increase output, the cotton manu facture trebling from 1788 to 1S02. The iron industry, whip") nad hitherto been relatively in and was to still greater irsignifieance with the destruction of the woods, was revived by the employment of pit-coal in smelting, rendered possible by the application of the steam•engine to furnish power tor the blast. The adoption in the V, of lilt. I'll pro%•III Cotton eXteIllicti the yew system greatly. as a result of all these ehanges. English foreign :tint dom•s , developed rapidly; shipping increased, good loads were built, and an era of canal-building set ill. Industry shifted front the rural towns to the large Cities of the north of England. where Libor was concentrated in factories, with the effect of improving the organization of labor, and making practicable numberless subsidiary' la bor-sat ins den ices. I fortunes were made by those who were able to make use of the int pro‘ed met'iods; population grew rapidly with the increased ehances of employment. From 1791 to 1821 the population Of England increased 43 per vent.
The period \vas, however, mashed by a great deal of hardship to the working classes. The open-lield farmers, displaced by inelosures, lloel:ed to the cities and helped to reduce wages, at times, to a starvation level. The introduc tion of machinery deprived the hand workers of t heir of livelihood; the erowiling to gether of population ill the large cities resulted in untold evil..., moral and physical: the new life in the factory. %vas not yet subjected to the regulations afterwards found to be imperatively necessary. The employint•nt in fact orb.; of wom en and children, wit In all its attendant evils, be eoine common in all the timnufacturing towns. The general effect 4,f the revolution. however, was to give England a eentury's start over her rivals in the competitive nice. The foundations for the prosperity of England to-day were laid by the thorough change in industry. Consult : 'roylibee. Industrial Urrolnlion (lith ed., London. 1902) : field, Zirei 2111' sorialra Ilesr'Itic•Itir Enybools (Leipzig, 1SS1). See FAC