Towns & Cities
History: KS3, topic 11.1.9
Towns and Cities
The Industrial Revolution turned Britain into an urban nation, with thriving cities which were hubs of industry and production. However, overcrowding in cities led to poor living conditions.
Urban migration
- The factories that popped up across Britain required thousands of workers, and therefore encouraged people to migrate en masse from the countryside to towns/cities in search of work and better prospects.
The industrial cities
- Industrial centres like Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow grew rapidly, and their populations boomed.
- In the fifty years between 1801 and 1851 AD, Manchester’s population shot from 75,000 to 303,000.
- Similarly, Liverpool’s jumped from 82,000 to 376,000.
Population location
- Whereas prior to the Industrial Revolution, around 80% of the British population had lived in rural areas, the opposite was true by 1900 AD.
- Around 1800 AD, around 80% of the population lived in urban areas.
Test yourself on Towns & Cities
Where was NOT an industrial powerhouse in Britain in the 1800s?
After the Industrial Revolution (by 1900), what percentage of the population of Britain lived in cities?
What was the main thing that drove the mass migration in Britain from the countryside to towns/cities in the 1800s?
How did Liverpool's population change between 1801 and 1851?