1Hi everyone,
2in this session I'll be presenting my research about the social history of Britain during the Industrial Revolution.
3I particularly looked at how ordinary lives were affected by changes that happened at that time.
4This was a time that saw the beginning of a new phenomenon; consumerism -
5where buying and selling goods became a major part of ordinary people's lives.
6In fact, it was in the 19th century that the quantity and quality of people's possessions
7was used as an indication of the wealth of the country.
8Before this, the vast majority of people had very few possessions,
9but all that was changed by the Industrial Revolution.
10This was the era from the mid-18th to the late 19th century,
11when improvements in how goods were made
12as well as in technology triggered massive social changes
13that transformed life for just about everybody in several key areas.
14First let's look at manufacturing.
15When it comes to manufacturing,
16we tend to think of the Industrial Revolution in images of steam engines and coal.
17And it's true that the Industrial Revolution couldn't have taken place at all
18if it weren't for these new sources of power.
19They marked an important shift away from the traditional watermills and windmills
20that had dominated before this.
21The most advanced industry for much of the 19th century was textiles.
22This meant that fashionable fabrics, and lace and ribbons were made available to everyone.
23Before the Industrial Revolution, most people made goods to sell in small workshops,
24often in their own homes.
25But enormous new machines were now being created
26that could produce the goods faster and on a larger scale,
27and these required a lot more space.
28So large factories were built,
29replacing the workshops, and forcing workers to travel to work.
30In fact, large numbers of people migrated from villages into towns as a result.
31As well as manufacturing, there were new technologies in transport,
32contributing to the growth of consumerism.
33The horse-drawn stagecoaches and carts of the 18th century,
34which carried very few people and goods,
35and travelled slowly along poorly surfaced roads,
36were gradually replaced by the numerous canals that were constructed.
37These were particularly important for the transportation of goods.
38The canals gradually fell out of use, though, as railways were developed,
39becoming the main way of moving goods and people from one end of the country to the other.
40And the goods they moved weren't just coal, iron, clothes, and so on -
41significantly, they included newspapers,
42which meant that thousands of people were not only more knowledgeable about what was going on in the country,
43but could also read about what was available in the shops.
44And that encouraged them to buy more.
45so faster forms of transport resulted in distribution becoming far more efficient -
46goods could now be sold all over the country, instead of just in the local market.
47The third main area that saw changes that contributed to consumerism was retailing.
48The number and quality of shops grew rapidly,
49and in particular, small shops suffered as customers flocked to the growing number of department stores -
50a form of retailing that was new in the 19th century.
51The entrepreneurs who opened these found new ways to stock them with goods,
52and to attract customers:
53for instance, improved lighting inside greatly increased the visibility of the goods for sale.
54Another development that made goods more visible from outside resulted from the use of plate glass,
55which made it possible for windows to be much larger than previously.
56New ways of promoting goods were introduced, too.
57Previously, the focus had been on informing potential customers about the availability of goods;
58now there was an explosion in advertising trying to persuade people to go shopping.
59Flanders claims that one of the great effects of the Industrial Revolution was that it created choice.
60All sorts of things that had previously been luxuries -
61from sugar to cutlery - became conveniences,
62and before long they'd turned into necessities:
63life without sugar or cutlery was unimaginable.
64Rather like mobile phones these days!