Technology and Historical Change New Technology – The Invention of the
Steam Engine There were many causes of the Industrial Revolution which began in Britain in the middle of the 18th
century. Rising Population
Transport Revolution
Profits from Trade Coal and Iron Ore
One of the most important causes was the invention of the steam engine. The steam engine contributed to huge historical change in the 18th
and 19th centuries.
Steam power The steam engine was the most important invention of the Industrial Revolution. Steam engines built by Thomas Newcomen were first used to pump water out of mines. But James Watt made improvements to the early steam engines. His most important improvement was to add a flywheel. The old steam engines had only an up-and-down motion (movement). Watt’s engine had a rotary (turning) motion. Now steam engines could be used with belts to power other machines. The steam engines were now used to power factories.
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Agricultural Revolution
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Manufacturing Inventions
Beam Piston
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2Explore the contribution of the steam engine to
historical change in the 19th
century
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Watt’s steam engine: Watt improved the steam
engine, which meant it could now be used to drive machinery in factories
From domestic industry to the factory system The steam engine was used to power new inventions for making thread and cloth, such as Crompton’s spinning mule or Cartwright’s power loom. These inventions speeded up the manufacture of cloth. The new machines were also bigger than the old spinning wheel and hand loom. These bigger machines were powered by waterwheels, and later by steam engines. This meant that they could be used only in mills and factories, not in houses. This led to the growth of factories in cities in Britain.
