1.3 The industrial revolution

Social sciences

History

Grade 8

Land and power

Module 4

The industrial revolution

Source a

In 1733, Mr. John Kay of Britain improved the loom used for weaving to such an extent that the demand for spinning thread increased drastically. From the business world it is clear that the greater the demand for a specific product (e.g. spinning thread), the better the price that can be obtained by the manufacturer (e.g. the spinner) for his product.

James Hargreaves was a woodworker and spinner from Lancashire in Britain. One day, his daughter, Jenny, knocked over the spinning wheel in the overcrowded house in which he, his wife and their seven children operated their cottage industry.

James realised that more spindles could be mounted on the axle and that more threads could therefore be spun at the same time. Hargreaves names his new invention the Spinning Jenny.

One Spinning Jenny, which had eight spindles, could do the work of eight people at the same time. Spinners who feared job

lessness broke into Hargreaves’s house and destroyed the Spin

ning Jenny. Hargreaves moved to Nottingham and opened a factory with larger and better spinning machines. His success with the Spinning Jenny motivated other inventors to also begin experimentation. In this way, a number of new and improved machines were developed.

The next step was the development of machines that could be operated with water power and steam power.

Written exercise:

• Complete the following sentences on Source A.

The development of the Spinning Jenny was caused by an accident, namely that

_________________________________________________________________/2/

The consequence of the accident was that Hargreaves got the bright idea to

________________________________________________________________/2/

The cause / reason for the development of the improved spinning wheel was________________________________________________________/2/

The consequence / result of the improved spinning wheel was__________________/2/

/8/

[LO 2.2]

Source b

The use of machines increased production, necessitating good roads for fast transport from the farm (e.g. fresh vegetables or wheat for bread) or factory (e.g. clothes) to the market.

John Loudon McAdam is still respected as a master road builder today. It is thanks to him that a network of excellent roads was built in Scotland and Britain.

Activity: chronology

All the following facts on McAdam are correct, but they are not in the correct sequence. Read through the points and rearrange the facts so that they follow on one another logically.

1. He returned to Scotland at the age of 27.

2. When John was 14, his father died and he went to live with his uncle in New York.

3. McAdam was born in Scotland in 1756.

4. When John was a child, he enjoyed making roads for his toy carriages.

5. Even after his death, his techniques for building roads remained available in the three books that he wrote on the topic.

6. In New York, McAdam eventually became a wealthy merchant.

7. Back in Scotland, McAdam began to experiment with road building on his own estate in Ayrshire.