Enviroweb HomeOur Environment Contents
3. Revolutions
The third great revolution was the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution occurred about 200 years ago, some 10,000 years after the neolithic revolution. It resulted in a massive increase in the output of manufactured goods and in levels of economic activity, and generated a material abundance unknown to previous generations. The seedbed for this can again be traced back in part to marked changes in agricultural methods and techniques through which the productivity of the land increased manifold. The dramatic reduction in agricultural labour requirements provided a workforce for industry, and the greater profitability of farming freed capital which could be invested in industrial infrastructure. Society's command over nature was further demonstrated with the effective harnessing of water resources, the large scale exploitation of fossil fuels (notably coal) and of primary raw materials (such as iron) and the large scale use of wool and cotton in the textiles industries.
What were the main environmental characteristics of the industrial revolution?