Life in Britain 1750
History: KS3, topic 11.1.1
Life in Britain in 1750
A wave of new inventions in the latter half of the 1700s allowed Britain to begin producing cotton on a huge scale and export this abroad for hefty profits.
Rural society
- Around 1750, Britain was still a very rural, agricultural society.
- Over 80% of the population lived in the countryside, mainly working on the land, rearing animals and growing crops.
Cottage industry
- If people did work in industry, these were cottage industries run from within their own home.
- For example, people might knit or weave in their home, but they would only be able to produce a small amount, enough to earn a living.
Transport
- It took a long time to travel around the country.
- There were no trains, so travelling over a long distance had to be done on horseback, or using a horse and cart.
Urbanisation
- But between around 1750 and 1840, Britain was transformed from a rural nation based around agriculture to an industrialised, urban nation which depended on factories and machines.
The Industrial Revolution
- Before the Industrial Revolution, all products had to be made by hand, which was time-consuming and could be exhausting.
- But from around the mid-1750s, there was a wave of inventions which gradually made it possible for more and more work to be done by machines. This was much quicker and cheaper.
Test yourself on Life in Britain 1750
Between which years did Britain transform from a rural nation based around agriculture to an industrialised, urban nation?
What type of industry existed in Britain before the Industrial Revolution?
What was NOT an outcome of the new machinery being invented in the 1700s?