What was the industry like in Great Britain before the 1750s?

Step 1: Go to the ArcGIS Online map, First European Industrial Revolution, and explore the map.

Step 2: With the Details button depressed, click the button, Content.

Step 3: To see a legend, click the layer name, 1750 Great Britain Resources.

• What industries were in Great Britain around 1750?
• What was the general geographic distribution of industries in 1750? 

Why did the Industrial Revolution begin in Great Britain? 

Step 4: Click the checkbox to the left of the layer name, 1750 Transportation. 

Step 5: Click the river on the map. 

Rivers and canals were essential to the industry. They provided water power for factories and a means for transporting raw materials (like coal and iron ore) and finished products.

Step 6: Turn on the layer, Industries. 

Step 7: Click the agriculture, economics, and ship icons on the map and read the pop-ups. 

• Why did these play an essential role in the industrialization in Great Britain?

What effects did the Industrial Revolution have on Great Britain?

Step 8: Click the spinning wheel icon on the map and read the pop-up.

Step 9: Turn on the layer, Great Britain 1850.

• What changes occurred between industry in Great Britain in 1750 and 1850?

How large did the cities grow in Great Britain?

Step 10: Turn on the layer, Major Cities.

Step 11: Hover over the layer name, Major Cities. Press the Table icon.

Step 12: Click on the column header named Population in 1750. Select Statistics. 

Step 13: Write down the Sum of values. This value is the population of all cities in 1750. Repeat this process for the column header, Population in 1861. 

• What happened to the population from 1750 to 1881?
• What did the growth in population provide to encourage industrialization? 

Where in the Eastern Hemisphere did the Industrial Revolution diffuse?

Step 14: Turn off all of the layers. Turn on the layer, Industrial Revolution Diffusion. 

Step 15: Zoom out (three times) and click the Play button in the time slider at the bottom of the map.

• Where did industrialization spread or diffuse to first?
• Did the diffusion seem to pick up speed or slow down?

You can tell the diffusion sped up because the distance of diffusion grew longer during the same time intervals as early in the industrialization diffusion.