Coal, Steam, and The Industrial Revolution: Crash Course World History #32

Summary

In this Crash Course World History episode, John Green explores the Industrial Revolution, a period of unprecedented technological and economic change. Originating in Britain around 1750, it revolutionized production through mechanization and new energy sources, dramatically shifting labor from agriculture to industry. Green discusses key innovations like the steam engine and their interconnected impacts, while also challenging Eurocentric explanations for why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Europe, highlighting the role of abundant coal and high wages in driving technological advancements.

Takeaways

• 🔧 The Industrial Revolution, occurring between 1750 and 1850, was a series of events that revolutionized production through the use of machines and new energy sources, impacting every aspect of modern life.
• 🌏 It began in Europe, particularly Britain, and was characterized by interconnected innovations that transformed the textile industry, transportation, and manufacturing.
• 🧵 The British textile industry saw significant advancements with inventions like the flying shuttle, Spinning Jenny, and water frame, which mechanized the process of yarn production.
• 🔄 The steam engine, initially developed by Thomas Newcomen and later improved by James Watt, played a pivotal role in removing water from mines, enabling more coal extraction, and powering the Industrial Revolution.
• 🚂 The availability of coal in Britain and the need to pump water out of mines led to the invention of steam engines, which in turn facilitated the development of railroads and steamboats.
• 💡 The use of chemicals like sulfuric acid for bleaching cloth was a significant shift from traditional methods, made possible by advancements in lead production and coal-powered foundries.
• 🌱 The high wages in Britain, compared to other parts of the world, incentivized the search for labor-saving inventions, contributing to the push towards industrialization.
• 🌍 The debate over why the Industrial Revolution occurred first in Europe is complex, with arguments ranging from cultural superiority to the presence of a scientific culture and political institutions that encouraged innovation.
• 🇨🇳 China and India had the potential for industrialization with their own histories of invention and large populations, but factors such as the abundance of cheap labor and high productivity in agriculture reduced the need for mechanization.
• 💰 The high cost of labor in Britain and the low cost of energy from coal created a unique environment where substituting capital and coal for labor through technological innovation was economically viable.
• 🌳 The Industrial Revolution was not just a European phenomenon; global factors such as the demand for Indian cotton textiles played a role in driving British industrialization.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the Industrial Revolution, its causes, and its impact on the world.

What is the time frame of the Industrial Revolution mentioned in the script?

The Industrial Revolution occurred between approximately 1750 and 1850.

According to the script, why was the Industrial Revolution more revolutionary than other revolutions of the time?

The Industrial Revolution was more revolutionary because it fundamentally changed the way people lived, including how they disposed of waste, located drinking water, acquired clothing, and traveled, whereas other revolutions mainly resulted in new borders and flags.

What is the script's definition of the Industrial Revolution?

The script defines the Industrial Revolution as an increase in production brought about by the use of machines and characterized by the use of new energy sources.

What is the significance of the flying shuttle invention in the British textile industry?

The invention of the flying shuttle by John Kay in 1733 dramatically increased the speed of weaving, which in turn created a demand for yarn and led to further inventions like the Spinning Jenny and the water frame.

Who improved the Newcomen Steam Engine, and what was the significance of this improvement?

James Watt improved the Newcomen Steam Engine. His engine made possible not only railroads and steamboats but also ever-more-efficient cotton mills.

What role did coal play in the Industrial Revolution according to the script?

Coal played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution as it was the primary energy source that powered steam engines, which in turn drove various industrial processes and innovations.

What is the 'Thought Bubble' in the script, and what does it contribute to the discussion?

The 'Thought Bubble' is a segment in the script that provides detailed explanations and examples to illustrate the interconnected innovations of the Industrial Revolution, making the complex topic more understandable.

Why did the script mention 'TARDIS' and its relation to British industrialization?

The script mentions 'TARDIS' as a humorous example of British industrial achievement, suggesting that even a device capable of time travel, like the TARDIS, probably runs on a steam engine, highlighting the enduring impact of the Industrial Revolution.

What are some of the contentious discussions in world history regarding why the Industrial Revolution started in Europe, especially Britain?

Some contentious discussions include Eurocentric arguments such as cultural superiority, the presence of a culture of science and invention, freer political institutions, strong property rights, and the need for labor-saving inventions due to a small population.

What were the two main advantages that Britain had which contributed to the Industrial Revolution, as mentioned in the script?

The two main advantages Britain had were its abundant and accessible coal supply, which powered steam engines, and the high wages in the country, which incentivized the invention of labor-saving machines.

How did India's cotton production influence British industrialization according to the script?

India's cotton production created a high demand for cotton textiles, which were cheaper and more comfortable than woolens. This demand spurred British manufacturers to invest in machines and import Indian know-how to increase production and compete with India, contributing to the British Industrial Revolution.

Outlines

00:00

🏭 The Dawn of the Industrial Revolution

This paragraph introduces the topic of the Industrial Revolution, emphasizing its profound impact on modern life and distinguishing it from political revolutions of the same era. John Green highlights the transformative effects of industrialization on daily life, including the shift from agrarian economies to industrial ones, the advent of new technologies, and the significant reduction in the percentage of the population engaged in farming. The paragraph sets the stage for a deeper exploration of the causes and consequences of this pivotal historical period.

05:04

🔧 The Interconnected Innovations of Industrialization

The second paragraph delves into the specific innovations of the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the British textile industry. It describes the invention of the flying shuttle by John Kay, which increased weaving speed and led to a demand for yarn, spurring the creation of machines like the Spinning Jenny and the water frame. The development of the steam engine by Thomas Newcomen and its subsequent improvements by James Watt are highlighted, as they played a crucial role in powering the new machinery. The paragraph also touches on the use of chemicals like sulfuric acid for bleaching, which was made possible by advancements in lead production. The interconnectedness of these innovations is emphasized, illustrating the complexity of the industrialization process.

10:05

🌏 The Global Context of Industrialization

This paragraph explores the reasons behind Europe's, and particularly Britain's, head start in industrialization. It challenges Eurocentric explanations, such as cultural superiority and political freedom, by pointing out that other regions like China and India also had rich histories of invention and cultural achievements. The paragraph discusses the importance of coal in Britain and the high wages that incentivized the development of labor-saving machinery. It also considers the role of Indian cotton production in driving British industrialization, suggesting that global trade and existing economic conditions played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution's emergence in Europe.

📚 Conclusion and Preview of Capitalism Discussion

The final paragraph wraps up the discussion on the Industrial Revolution and teases the upcoming topic of capitalism. It acknowledges the complexity of the historical debate surrounding industrialization and invites viewers to participate in the conversation through comments. The paragraph also credits the production team behind Crash Course and provides a light-hearted sign-off, encouraging viewers to continue learning and to be 'awesome'.

Keywords

💡Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution refers to a period of significant industrialization that took place between 1750 and 1850, characterized by the transition from manual labor to machine production, and new energy sources. It is central to the video's theme as it discusses the profound changes this period brought to society, including the shift from agrarian economies to industrial ones, as exemplified by the script's mention of the flying shuttle, spinning jenny, and steam engines.

💡Technology

In the context of the video, technology is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in the Industrial Revolution, where it led to increased production through the use of machines. The script defines the Industrial Revolution as an increase in production brought about by the use of machines, illustrating how technological advancements like the steam engine and water frame were pivotal to the era's transformative changes.

💡Steam Engine

The steam engine is a device that uses steam to perform mechanical work, and it was a cornerstone of the Industrial Revolution. The script highlights its importance by mentioning Thomas Newcomen's steam engine for pumping water out of mines and James Watt's improvements, which made it a key driver of industrial processes like railroads and steamboats.

💡Cultural Superiority Argument

The cultural superiority argument posits that Europeans were more advanced intellectually and culturally, which supposedly led to the Industrial Revolution. The video critiques this Eurocentric view by pointing out that other civilizations, like China and India, had rich histories of invention and cultural achievements, challenging the notion that Europeans were uniquely positioned for industrialization.

💡Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and the pursuit of profit. While not synonymous with industrialization, as clarified in the script, capitalism is connected to the Industrial Revolution. The video suggests that the discussion on industrialization will inevitably lead to an examination of modern capitalism and its relationship with the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

💡Coal

Coal was a critical resource during the Industrial Revolution due to its use as a fuel source for steam engines and other machinery. The script emphasizes England's abundant coal reserves, which were crucial for powering the new industrial processes, and how the need for coal led to the invention of steam engines to pump water out of mines.

💡Wages

Wages in the script refer to the payment received by workers for their labor. Britain's high wages, as mentioned in the video, combined with cheap energy from coal, incentivized the development of labor-saving machinery. This economic factor contributed to the push towards industrialization and mechanization of production.

💡Textile Industry

The textile industry was a major beneficiary of the Industrial Revolution, with innovations like the flying shuttle, spinning jenny, and water frame significantly increasing production efficiency. The script uses the British textile industry as an example of how interconnected innovations led to a surge in production and the mechanization of traditional crafts.

💡Positive Feedback Loop

A positive feedback loop is a process that amplifies an initial condition, leading to a self-reinforcing cycle. In the context of the video, it refers to how the availability of cheap coal and the invention of steam engines led to further industrial advancements, such as the development of railroads and steel production, which in turn created more demand for coal.

💡Cotton

Cotton played a significant role in the Industrial Revolution, particularly in Britain, where the demand for cotton textiles drove the early stages of industrialization. The script explains how the high demand for cotton, initially met by imports from India, spurred British manufacturers to invest in machinery to increase domestic production and compete with Indian textiles.

Highlights

The Industrial Revolution enabled the creation of modern amenities and infrastructure, including the studio and warehouse where Crash Course is filmed.

The Industrial Revolution occurred between 1750 and 1850, and it was more revolutionary than the political revolutions of the same period.

Before the Industrial Revolution, 80% of the world's population was engaged in farming; today, less than 1% in the U.S. is involved in farming.

The Industrial Revolution brought about changes in living conditions, education, and technology that are still evident in modern life.

The Industrial Revolution was characterized by an increase in production due to the use of machines and new energy sources.

Innovations in the British textile industry, such as the flying shuttle and the steam engine, were interconnected and drove the Industrial Revolution.

The availability of coal in Britain and the invention of the steam engine were key factors in the Industrial Revolution.

High wages in Britain and cheap energy costs incentivized the invention of labor-saving technologies.

The cultural superiority argument for European industrialization is flawed, as similar conditions existed in China and India.

China had a rich history of invention and a large population, but did not industrialize due to its productive agriculture and low labor costs.

Indian cotton production played a significant role in spurring British industrialization by creating a high demand for cotton textiles.

The Industrial Revolution was a global phenomenon, with factors from around the world contributing to its development in Europe.

The debate over why the Industrial Revolution occurred first in Europe is contentious and involves examining various economic, social, and environmental factors.

The steam engine's invention and its role in various industries highlight the profound impact of the Industrial Revolution on technology.

The Industrial Revolution's legacy is evident in modern electricity production, which is largely a continuation of steam engine principles.

Crash Course explores the complex reasons behind the Industrial Revolution and challenges simplistic explanations.

Transcripts

Hi, I’m John Green; this is Crash Course World History, and today we’re going to

discuss the series of events that made it possible for you to watch Crash Course. And

also made this studio possible. And made the warehouse containing the studio possible.

A warehouse, by the way, that houses stuff for warehouses. That’s right, it’s time

to talk about the Industrial Revolution.

Although it occurred around the same time as the French, American, Latin American, and

Haitian Revolutions - between, say, 1750 and 1850 - the industrial revolution was really

the most revolutionary of the bunch.

Past John: No way, dude. All those other revolutions resulted in, like, new borders and flags and stuff.

Present John: [sigh] We’ve studied 15,000 years of history here at Crash Course, Me

from the Past. And borders and flags have changed plenty, and they’re going to keep

changing. But in all that time, nothing much changed about the way we disposed of waste or located

drinking water or acquired clothing. Most people lived on or very close to the land that provided their food.

Except for a few exceptions, life expectancy never rose above 35 or below 25. Education

was a privilege, not a right. In all those millennia, we never developed a weapon that

could kill more than a couple dozen people at once, or a way to travel faster than horseback.

For 15,000 years, most humans never owned or used a single item made outside of their

communities. Simon Bolivar didn’t change that and neither did the American Declaration of Independence.

You have electricity? Industrial Revolution. Blueberries in February? Industrial Revolution.

You live somewhere other than a farm? Industrial Revolution. You drive a car? Industrial Revolution.

You get twelve years of free, formal education? Industrial Revolution. Your bed, your antibiotics,

your toilet, your contraception, your tap water, your every waking and sleeping second:

Industrial Revolution.

[theme music]

Here’s one simple statistic that sums it up: Before the industrial revolution, about

80% of the world’s population was engaged in farming to keep itself and the other 20%

of people from starving. Today, in the United States, less than 1% of people list their occupation as farming.

I mean, we’ve come so far that we don’t even have to farm flowers anymore. Stan, are

these real, by the way? I can’t tell if they’re made out of foam or digital. So

what happened? TECHNOLOGY! Here’s my definition:

The Industrial Revolution was an increase in production brought about by the use of

machines and characterized by the use of new energy sources. Although this will soon get

more complicated, for our purposes today, industrialization is NOT capitalism - although,

as we will see next week, it is connected to modern capitalism. And, the industrial

revolution began around 1750 and it occurred across most of the earth, but it started in

Europe, especially Britain. What happened? Well, let’s go to the Thought Bubble.

The innovations of the Industrial Revolution were intimately interconnected. Like, look,

for instance, at the British textile industry: The invention of the flying shuttle by John

Kay in 1733 dramatically increased the speed of weaving, which in turn created demand for

yarn, which led to inventions like the Spinning Jenny and the water frame. Soon these processes

were mechanized using water power, until the steam engine came along to make flying shuttles

really fly in these huge cotton mills.

The most successful steam engine was built by Thomas “They Didn’t Name Anything After

Me” Newcomen to clear water out of mines. And because water was cleared out of those

mines, there was more coal to power more steam engines, which eventually led to the fancying

up of the Newcomen Steam Engine by James “I Got a Unit of Power and a University Named

After Me” Watt, whose engine made possible not only railroads and steamboats but also

ever-more-efficient cotton mills.

And, for the first time, chemicals other than stale urine (I wish I was kidding) were being

used to bleach the cloth that people wore - the first of which was sulfuric acid, which

was created in large quantities only thanks to lead-lined chambers, which would’ve been

impossible without lead production rising dramatically right around 1750 in Britain,

thanks to lead foundries powered by coal.

And all these factors came together to make more yarn that could be spun and bleached

faster and cheaper than ever before, a process that would eventually culminate in $18 Crash

Course Mongols shirts. Available now at DFTBA.com. Thanks, Thought Bubble, for that shameless

promotion of our beautiful, high-quality t-shirts available now at DFTBA.com.

So, the problem here is that with industrialization being so deeply interconnected, it’s really

difficult to figure out why it happened in Europe, especially Britain. And that question

of why turns out to be one of the more contentious discussions in world history today.

For instance, here are some Eurocentric reasons why industrialization might have happened

first in Europe: There’s the cultural superiority argument that basically holds that Europeans

are just better and smarter than other people. Sometimes this is formulated as Europeans

possessing superior rationality. By the way, you’ll never guess where the people who

make this argument tend to come from - unless you guessed that they come from Europe.

And then, others argue that only Europe had the culture of science and invention that

made the creation of these revolutionary technologies possible. Another argument is that freer political

institutions encouraged innovation and strong property rights created incentives for inventors.

And, finally, people often cite Europe’s small population because small populations

require labor-saving inventions. Oh, it’s time for the Open Letter?

An Open Letter to the Steam Engine. But first, let’s see what’s in the secret compartment

today. Oh, it’s a TARDIS. Truly the apex of British industrialization.

Dear Steam Engine, You know what’s crazy? You’ve really never been improved upon.

Like this thing, which facilitates time travel, probably runs on a steam engine. Almost all

electricity around the world, whether it’s from coal or nuclear power, is just a steam engine.

It’s all still just water and heat, and it speaks to how truly revolutionary the Industrial

Revolution was that since then, it’s really just been evolution. Best Wishes, John Green

So, you may have heard any of those rationales for European industrialization, or you may

have heard others. The problem with all of them, is that each time you think you’re

at the root cause it turns out there’s a cause of the root cause. To quote Leonardo

DiCaprio, James Cameron, and coal mine operators, “We have to go deeper.”

But, anyway, the problem with these Eurocentric why answers, is that they all apply to either

China or India or both. And it’s really important to note that in 1800, it was not

clear that Europe was going to become the world’s dominant manufacturing power in

the next hundred years. At the time, China, India, and Europe were all roughly at the

same place in terms of industrial production.

First, let’s look at China. It’s hard to make the European cultural superiority

argument because China had been recording its history since before Confucius, and plus

there was all that bronze and painting and poetry.

It’s also kind of difficult to make a blanket statement that China was economically inferior

to Europe, since they invented paper money and led the world in exports of everything

from silk to china. I mean, pre-Industrial Revolution, population growth was the surest

sign of economic success, and China had the biggest population in the world. I guess that

answers the question of whether they’re digital.

It’s also difficult to say that China lacked a culture of invention when they invented

gunpowder, and printing, and paper, and arguably compasses. And China had more free enterprise

during the Song dynasty than anywhere in the world.

Some argue that China couldn’t have free enterprise because they had a long history

of trying to impose monopolies on items like salt and iron. And that’s true, but when

it comes to enforcing those monopolies, they also had a long history of failure. So really,

in a lot of ways, China was at least as primed for an Industrial Revolution as Britain was.

So, why didn’t it happen? Well, Europeans - specifically the British - had two huge

advantages: First, Coal. When you trace the story of improved transportation, or communication,

or industrial efficiency, or better chemical manufacturing, it always comes back to coal,

because the Industrial Revolution was all about using different forms of energy to automate production.

And England had large supplies of coal that were near the surface, which meant that it

was cheap to mine, so it quickly replaced wood for heating and cooking and stuff. So

that encouraged the British to look for more coal. The only problem with coal mining, aside

from it being, you know, like, deadly and everything, is that the coal mines flooded

all the time. I guess coal mining is also a little problematic for, like, the health

of, you know, like, the planet.

But, because there was all this incentive to get more coal out of the ground, steam

engines were invented to pump water out of the mines. And because those early steam engines

were super inefficient, they needed a cheap and abundant source of fuel in order to work

- namely, coal, which meant they were much more useful to the British than anyone else.

So steam engines used cheap British coal to keep British coal cheap, and cheap British

coal created the opportunity for everything from railroads to steel, which like so much

else in the Industrial Revolution, created a positive feedback loop. Because they run

on rails, railroads need steel. And because it is rather heavy, steel needs railroads.

Secondly, there were Wages. Britain (and to a lesser extent the Low Countries) had the

highest wages in the world at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1725, wages in London

were the equivalent of 11 grams of silver per day. In Amsterdam, they were 9 grams.

In Beijing, Venice, and Florence, they were under 4. And in Delhi, they were under 2.

It’s not totally clear why wages were so high in Britain. Like, one argument is that

the Black Death lowered population so much that it tightened labor markets, but that

doesn’t explain why wages remained low in, like, plague-ravaged Italy. Mainly, high wages

combined with cheap fuel costs meant that it was economically efficient for manufacturers

to look to machines as a way of lowering their production costs. To quote the historian Robert

Allen: “Wages were high and energy was cheap. These prices led directly to the industrial

revolution by giving firms strong incentives to invent technologies that substituted capital

and coal for labor.”

Ugh, Stan, I’m a little worried that people are still going to accuse me of Eurocentrism.

Of course, other people will accuse me of an anti-European bias. I don’t have a bias

against Europe. I love Europe. Europe gave me many of my favorite cheeses and cross-country

skiing and Charlie Chaplin, who inspired today’s Danica drawing.

Like, the fact of coal being near the surface in Britain can’t be chalked up to British

cultural superiority. But the wages question is a little different because it makes it

sound like only Europeans were smart enough to pay high wages.

But here’s one last thing to consider: India was the world’s largest producer of cotton

textiles, despite paying basically the lowest wages in the world. Indian agriculture was

so productive that laborers could be supported at a very low cost. And that, coupled with

a large population, meant that Indian textile manufacturing could be very productive without

using machines, so they didn’t need to industrialize.

But more importantly from our perspective, there’s a strong argument to be made that

Indian cotton production helped spur British industrialization. It was cotton textiles

that drove the early Industrial Revolution, and the main reason that Britain was so eager

to produce cottons was that demand was incredibly high. They were more comfortable than woolens,

but they were also cheaper, because cottons could be imported from India at such a low cost.

So, Indian cottons created the market and then British manufacturers invested in machines

(and imported Indian know-how) to increase production so that they could compete with

India. And that’s at least one way in which European industrialization was truly a world

phenomenon. For those of you who enjoy such highly contentious and thorny, cultural historical

debates, good news. Next week, we’ll be talking about capitalism.

Thanks for watching, I’ll see you then.

Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson.

The show is written by my high school history teacher, Raoul Meyer, and myself. We are ably

interned by Meredith Danko. And our graphics team is Thought Bubble.

Last week’s phrase of the week was "The New England Revolution." That was challenging.

If you want to suggest future phrases of the week or take a guess at this week's, you can

do so in comments, where you can also ask questions about today’s video that will

be answered by our team of historians.

Thanks for watching Crash Course, and as we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome.