For most of history, almost everything was made by hand or with water and animal power. Then, in one corner of Europe, machines and new sources of energy changed how goods were made, and the change spread around the world, much as the diffusion of any innovation does.
Key idea
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the late 1700s, with textile machines, coal, iron and James Watt's improved steam engine (patented 1769). It spread to Belgium, France, Germany and the United States in the 1800s, to Japan and Russia late in the 1800s, and after 1950 to East Asia and beyond. Since about 2010, China has had the world's largest manufacturing output.
Why it works
Why Britain? It had coal and iron close together, a large trading network and empire, capital to invest, a growing population, and inventors and investors rewarded for new machines. Industry then spread where its ingredients could be gathered: coal fields (the Ruhr in Germany, Pennsylvania), ports and, later, cheap labor and good transport. In the late 1900s many factories moved to countries with lower wages, while older industrial regions, such as the U.S. "Rust Belt," lost factory jobs (deindustrialization).
| Wave | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| First | From about 1760 | Britain |
| Second | 1800s | Belgium, France, Germany, the United States |
| Third | Late 1800s to early 1900s | Japan, Russia |
| Later waves | After 1950 | South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan; then China, from about 1980; then Southeast Asia, India, Mexico and others |
Worked example: Order the spread
Put these in the order industry arrived on a large scale: China, Britain, Japan, Germany.
- Britain first, from about 1760.
- Germany in the 1800s.
- Japan in the late 1800s.
- China mainly after its reforms beginning about 1980.
Answer: Britain, Germany, Japan, China.
Worked example: Why leave?
A clothing factory moves from the United States to a country where wages are much lower. Which factor changed its best location?
- Sewing clothes takes a lot of labor.
- Shipping costs per shirt are small.
- So labor cost matters most, and it is lower abroad.
Answer: Labor cost.
Common mistake
Thinking industry is now leaving the world. Manufacturing has moved around the world; today it is largest in China. In rich countries, factory output often stays high while factory jobs fall, because machines do more of the work.