Changes in 1750 to 1850

This period of time (1750-1850) was the Industrial Revolution. This meant that the factory system and use of machines increased. There were also more wealth for Britain and increase of population! However there changes in social, religion, economic and more political changes, this resulted in incidences such as calls for education, voting, equality and so on. But the main changes were transport, industry, home/leisure and health. Transport changes quickly 1750-1850, it was an increase for much better methods of moving heavy goods such as fruit and vegetables! However the changes did not just happened at once, it had several stages. First roads were improved, than canals were built and finally the Railway was developed! This has a good impact because in 1750 travel was slow, usually on foot, but many main roads had been improved by becoming turnpikes (toll roads). Toll roads is a public or private roadway for which a fee, or toll is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recuperate the cost of road construction and maintenance, which on public roads amounts to a form of taxation. Journey times: London to Manchester took 4 days, London to oxford took 2 days. Over time the roads become flatter, they were not dirt tracks anymore, they made roads straighter, levelled out and they also built bridges on the roads. Canals were built so factories could move raw materials from factory to factory. The cannels had several advantages! Firstly a boat is not going to have a bumpy journey; so fragile goods are much less likely to smash on route. Secondly a canal barge is much larger than a horse drawn wagon and so it can be used to carry much more than wagons on Turnpike roads could be expected to. Also canals were cheap to use and could carry 50 tonnes! Railways developed quickly because of Stephenson! Stephenson invented steam trains. The steam trains would be used to power motors and would be used in mines to help bring coals to the surface quicker! In 1850 railways connected every major town and city in Britain, making much faster travel available for all. Journey times: London to Manchester 6 hours; London to oxford 2 hours! The most important change for the industry was the invitation of machines to do the work of hand tools. Iron was very important because it was used for machines, tools, ships, railways and trains. However the factories were making clothing and goods on time because the machinery made them quicker! The industry was now becoming more advanced. Power had changed from water to coal. Coal is very important because it power domestic homes, machinery and transport