The Pros And Cons Of The Industrial Revolution

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Pre-18th century Britain was marked by its dependence on the agrarian system and the exercise of despotism. At the turn of the century, the quest for improvement in economics, politics and ideologies led Britain in what became one of the greatest feats in history – the Industrial Revolution. A transformative albeit slow progression, the Industrial Revolution was driven by the prolific changes that occurred at a global scale. Great Britain reached its apex as the voyages and conquests to the New World paved way to a surge of population growth. With emigration from rural towns to metropolitan cities, the need for a more efficient source of fuel to power homes and small industries was a key transformative element of the time. As timber became…show more content…
More importantly, the radical change in political climate, as the nation shifted from monarchical leadership to legislative liberalism, encouraged the nation to take larger strides in advances other than science and technology. The Glorious Revolution provided freedom and opportunity for new ideologies and philosophies to spread widely. The nation once ruled by absolute monarchy has transitioned to a constitutional monarchy willing to adapt to the changing of times. A new philosophy emerged that was unlike of any other nation of the era. The abolishment of commercial monopoly and the installment of the Trade Policy (1688) encouraged accumulation of new capital through entrepreneurship. New industrial productions and the commitment to free trade can create infinite wealth. In comparison, France retained its monopolistic ideals as the absolute monarchy still had complete control over politics and the economy. With continued strict government regulations and little support for mercantilist ideologies, the spread of new ideas and information was limited. Similar to other European nations, the focus in France soil were great military pursuits with the belief that knowledge acquisition can only be attained through conquest. By the end of the century, Britain experienced a different kind of transformation. Constructions of banking institutions permitted
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