Steam train

ZIMSEC O Level History Notes:Industrial Revolution in Britain:Factors that led to the Industrial Revolution in Britain

  • The Agrarian revolution led to the accumulation of financial resources which were needed for the Industrialization
  • The new capital from India and West Indies was readily available for industrial investment
  • Many banks in Britain were offering loans to those who were interested in investing in industrialization
  • The Agricultural Revolution also provided a lot of food an raw materials needed fro industrialization
  • The need to transport produce from the Agrarian Revolution led to the improvement of road networks and other means of transportation such as railways steamships
  • This means of transport then helped in the industrialization as raw material and equipment could be transported easily
  • There was peace in Britain as it had dealt with feudal conflicts and peace ensured stability and industrialization
  • The were readily available raw materials like coal, iron, gold, amongst others
  • Innovation and the need to explore also lead to the invention of many machines and ideas which were useful for industrialization for example, the drill
  • The Age of Walpole (1715-1733) which saw the removal of import and export duties led to the rise in the demand of goods made in British industries abroad
  •  Cheap labour was also readily available from people retrenched from many farms as the Agrarian Revolution was coming to an end
  • There was also a readily available market for goods produced in British factories in abroad
  • Some historians argue that the cost production was cheaper a energy was cheap in Britain
  • Population growth in high social classes led to the spread of their ideas as their children moved to every part of Britain

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