At phases of the industrial revolution understand the different moments since the beginning of the advance of the industrial process, which began in England in the 18th century.
It is divided into three phases: First Industrial Revolution, Second Industrial Revolution and Third Industrial Revolution. Check below the summary of each of these periods and their main characteristics.
First Industrial Revolution
THE First Industrial Revolution it began in England in the 18th century and lasted from 1750 to 1850. This phase was characterized by several discoveries which favored the expansion of industries, technical and scientific progress and the introduction of machines.
In the meantime, the transition from manufacturing to the manufacturing system was driven by the inventions of the spinning machine, the mechanical loom and the steam engine, which resulted in the mechanization of processes.
This is how the expansion of the textile, metallurgical, steel and transport industries took place. The use of charcoal to power the machines was essential at that time.
As a result, we have an increase in production, the replacement of manual work by industrial work (of manufacturing for machinery), the development of international trade and the increase in the market consumer.
Who was in charge of this process and contributed to its expansion was the bourgeois class that had resources and that yearned for profit. In this sense, the working or working class called the proletariat emerged, cheap labor exploited in factories.
It is worth remembering that at that time the Industrial Revolution it took place in England, which turned London into the most important international financial capital and the country into a great dominant economic power. Later, it expanded to other European countries.
Second Industrial Revolution
THE Second Industrial Revolution it begins in the mid-19th century and lasted from 1850 to 1950. This period was marked by the consolidation of scientific and technological progress, spreading to other countries in Europe, such as France and Germany.
Many discoveries were important to leverage this progress that was now not restricted to England. Noteworthy:
- the invention of the incandescent lamp;
- creation of the means of communication (telegraph, telephone, television, cinema and radio);
- advances in medicine and chemistry, such as the discovery of antibiotics and vaccines.
Furthermore, advances in the processes of using steel were essential for the construction of machines, bridges and factories. Regarding its use, we must emphasize that steel was essential for the construction of railroad tracks, considerably marking the advancement of means of transport. In addition to railroads, the automobile and the plane were invented at that time.
No less important was the new configuration of the use of energy sources, which, in this case, was gradually being replaced by oil. In addition to serving as fuel, oil was important in the production of products derived from it, among which plastic stands out.
This set of changes and inventions were essential to revolutionize the industrial system. They brought a new panorama to the social and economic life of the population, called "Industrial Capitalism” (or Industrialism).
It is clear that, while progress and human comfort were proving favorable, on the other hand, conditions of factory workers were precarious, including hard and long working hours and low remuneration.
This was increasingly increasing social inequalities. Thus, unions began to emerge in defense of workers' rights.
O Fordism it's the Taylorism they came to revolutionize the production system of factories with the famous moving walkways. They streamline and optimize the process, while generating more profit for the class that owns the means of production, further lowering the cost of products.
Third Industrial Revolution
THE Third Industrial Revolution it began in the mid-twentieth century, covering the period of 1950 and remains until today. It was at this moment that a great advance in science, technology, information technology, (with the emergence of of computers, creation of the internet, software and mobile devices) of robotics and electronics.
In the area of sciences, the development of genetic engineering and biotechnology, with the mass production of several drugs and medical advances, deserves special mention.
Although the use of other energy sources had previously evolved, at that time, atomic energy emerged with the use of radioactive elements, especially uranium.
Although the initial idea was the generation of energy, the end of the Second World War (1939-1945) demonstrated the danger in the use of radioactive elements. As an example, we have the dropping of the atomic bomb in the year 1945 in Hiroshima and in Nagasaki, Japan.
Another important milestone of this phase was the space conquest, when Neil Armstrong reached the moon in 1969, revealing the strength and technological achievements of his human.
It was, therefore, in the period known as the Cold War, that the space race, which began in 1957, was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union. This further demonstrated advances in the areas of technology and weapons production.
In the advances of metallurgy, chemical discoveries were essential to its progress. There was the emergence of new metallic alloys that provided the advancement of means of transport, with the construction of spacecraft and aircraft.
As for workers, labor rights begin to expand, reducing working hours, including benefits and prohibiting child labor.
All these factors were essential for the modernization of industries and that to this day continue to mark advances in information technologies as well as globalization in the world.
Recall how the Industrial Revolution began:
Learn everything about the topic by reading the articles:
- English Industrial Revolution
- Causes of the Industrial Revolution
- Consequences of the Industrial Revolution
- Industrial Society
- Industrialization
- Industry
- Industrial Revolution Questions
