1. Consequences
1.1. Mechanization of labor and large factories
1.1.1. Mechanized production led to a decline in craftsmanship. This new form of production meant that workshops were displaced by large manufacturing centers. This, in turn, led to an increase in the production of different types of products, especially textiles.
1.2. Changes in economic structure and society
1.2.1. With the expansion of large industrial production centers, a new social class was created: the industrial proletariat. The characteristics of these workers, concentrated in these spaces, broke with the nature of the workers of previous times. In the emergence of this class and its peculiar working and living conditions we can situate the origin of trade unionism and new ideologies, such as socialism.
1.3. Growth of cities and rural exodus
1.3.1. cities began to grow in a very important way. If the arrival of the rural population in the cities was one of the causes of the Industrial Revolution, this phenomenon multiplied later. At the same time that the mechanization of the countryside went hand in hand with the introduction of new technologies, the surplus labor force increased. As a consequence, the rural exodus to the industrial zones modified the structure and size of the cities. As a result, living conditions, especially from a hygienic and sanitary perspective, were very precarious. Many people lived in small spaces in an environment where services, such as sewerage or access to drinking water, were deficient and this generated major health problems.
2. Characteristics
2.1. Great increase in mechanized production.
2.2. Changes in the social structure.
2.3. Unprecedented economic and industrial expansion.
2.4. Increase in productivity, thanks to the advance of technology.
2.5. Important improvements in the means of transportation.
2.6. Strong increase in the urban population, to the detriment of the rural population.
2.7. Changes in consumption habits.
2.8. Transformation of the productive structure.
2.9. Transition from the primary to the secondary sector.
2.10. Above all, textiles and metallurgy.
2.11. Promotion of coal as the main source of energy.
3. Origin
3.1. The Industrial Revolution originated in England, starting around 1760 and ending in the 1840s. The steam engine was the basis on which all the development that came about as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution was based. This invention was possible thanks to some elements, such as the existence of fuels like coal or iron.
4. Causes
4.1. Political causes
4.1.1. the bourgeois revolution of the 17th century had triumphed, bringing about the abolition of the feudal system. The system was based on a monarchy that had discarded the absolutism found in other European countries. As a consequence, England experienced a period of stability, without revolutionary upheavals and with greater civil liberties.
4.2. Socioeconomic causes
4.2.1. England enjoyed a situation of abundance of capital, given its commercial supremacy. The control of trade with the colonies led to a process of concentration of capital in the hands of a few businessmen. The fortunes that originated in the trade of products such as tea, tobacco or even slaves were important. Equally important was the existence of an abundant labor force. The innovations that took place in the countryside allowed an increase in productivity that meant the production of more food. This process became known as the agricultural revolution, resulting in an increase in population. This increase in population meant, in turn, an increase in available labor that was not productive in the fields. This led to a significant rural exodus with the transfer of large numbers of people from the countryside to the cities. This displaced population would become a pool of available labor for industrial work.
4.3. Geographical causes
4.3.1. The existence of certain raw materials in the territory of England also facilitated the process. Iron and coal were fundamental to allow the development and generalization of innovations such as the steam engine. Moreover, being an island territory, it was at an advantage in terms of international trade thanks to the steamship.