Blog #11

Chapter 17 (pp.827-861)

In the beginning of this era people went from using mainly wood to produce heat, as well as water, wind and muscle power for energy to using coal and steam power.  This happened as the population exploded and there was what was termed an “emerging energy crisis”.  These are fossil fuels along with oil and natural gas are nonrenewable energy sources.  It is amazing that over 250 years ago they were dealing with the same problems relating to energy sources that we face today. As time moved forward and the equipment which was invented such as the power loom, steam engine, cotton gin and spinning jenny made it possible for things to be produced at a much faster rate than thought imaginable. The textile industry zoomed ahead at an unbelievable pace, followed by iron and steel, railroads and steamships and later chemicals, electricity and more machinery. Britain was basically the first to push through with all of these new methods and ways of doing things. Initially it appeared they would become and stay the wealthiest and ahead by far, in front of all other countries, when it came to production.  However, as time went on and other countries, such as the United States, made their way into the marketplace of taking part in the industrial revolution, quite the opposite was true of Britain. I find this very interesting and compare it to today’s society with anything new that comes on the market. Whether it be the new cell phone, a television with new technology, or computers, to mention a few items, if you are the first to own one, that does not necessarily mean you got the best deal around. I am sure that everyone has been in the situation, where at some point of time you have purchased something, only to have the price drop after six months or so to a much more affordable amount, with even some of the problems erased that are possible with a new item on the market. To me what happened in Britain is similar.Britain forged forward at a fast pace to be in the lead with regards to this revolution, being the first to try and invent new ways and new machinery to make production and manufacturing quicker. What they failed to realize at the time was the fact that yes, they were using things before anyone else, but at the same time they were doing things that others could make slight improvements on with even better results, perhaps even faster production.  So in the end, even though Britain was “the first” in many things having to do with the Industrial Revolution, they did not stay “in the front” as a leader later on in years. Fossil fuel, energy crisis, new inventions, unfair working conditions, labor unions, people on strike, unsanitary conditions, competitiveness to be first at something; political parties, one religion vs. another religion, all of these things and many more are things that have repeated themselves in history all the way to today.