Revolución Industrial (1760–1900) | El Mundo Antes y Después de las Fábricas

A mediados del siglo XVIII, Inglaterra todavía era rural. El trabajo era manual. El tiempo seguía el sol. En ese momento, apenas alrededor del 15% de la población vivía en ciudades. 150 años después, casi el 85% de los británicos ya vivía en áreas urbanas.

El campo perdió población. La fábrica ganó espacio. El trabajo dejó de obedecer el ritmo de la naturaleza y pasó a obedecer a las máquinas. En poco más de un siglo, un país agrario se convirtió en la primera sociedad industrial del mundo. Esa transformación comenzó en la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII.

and redefined how the world produces, works and lives. In 1760, most of the British still lived in the countryside. The economy was essentially agricultural and artisan production prevailed. The fabrics were manufactured inside the houses. Whole families participated in the process and washed the wool, weaved, sewed and sold.

The craftsman dominated each stage of production. The rhythm of work was determined by the seasons and by the light of day. That structure began to be modified in rural areas. Throughout the 18th century, the English Parliament authorized the encroachment of communal lands.

areas used collectively by peasants, went under the control of large owners. Many of those lands were turned into pastures for sheep breeding, whose wool supplied the textile trade. Without access to the land, thousands of peasants lost their means of subsistence. They had to look for work in the cities.

At the same time, agriculture went through technical transformations. Rotation of crops, improvement of livestock, more efficient use of the soil. Food production increased, the population grew, and part of that population no longer found space in the countryside. Whole towns were emptied. The road to cities was not an election, it was a necessity.

The industrial transformation began there, on the land that stopped supporting those who lived there. England gathered favorable conditions for change. Since the end of the 17th century, after the Glorious Revolution, the country maintained political stability and a consolidated parliamentary system. Maritime trade had accumulated capital.

The colonial empire guaranteed consumer markets and supply of raw materials. The subsurface offered abundant mineral coal and iron. In 1765, James Watt perfected the steam engine, making it more efficient and applicable to industrial production.

The principle was simple: coal heated water, steam generated moved pistons, and mechanical movement could be applied to different machines. Energy stopped depending exclusively on human, animal or hydraulic force. The textile industry was the first to incorporate these innovations.

mechanical rowing machines and looms, drastically expanded production. What was previously done in a domestic environment, now focused on large industrial buildings. The modern factory was born. Within it, work was divided into specific stages. The worker performed a task repeated countless times throughout the day.

Production became standardized, continuous, and cheaper. The craftsman who dominated all stages gave way to the worker who knew only one. Work lost face. Time stopped being natural and became industrial.

In 1829, on the railway line between Liverpool and Manchester, the Rocket locomotive, designed by George Stephenson, crossed the rails in front of a multitude. People who had never seen anything move so fast without horses were left immobile watching. Some went back, others simply remained silent.

Aquella máquina no era solo transporte, era símbolo. El mundo había cambiado de velocidad y no volvería atrás. El crecimiento de las fábricas impulsó el crecimiento de las ciudades. Manchester, Birmingham y Liverpool se expandieron rápidamente entre finales del siglo XVIII e inicios del XIX. Chimeneas y galpones industriales alteraron el paisaje.

Canales y ferrocarriles integraron los centros productivos con los puertos. La locomotora de vapor se consolidó como el principal medio de transporte de carbón, hierro y productos manufacturados. El comercio interno se fortaleció. La población urbana creció a un ritmo acelerado. En 1850, más de la mitad de los británicos ya vivía en ciudades.

a finales del siglo XIX. Esa proporción alcanzaría aproximadamente el 85%. Las ciudades industriales estaban marcadas por contrastes. La producción aumentaba y la riqueza nacional crecía. Al mismo tiempo, los barrios obreros estaban densamente poblados y carecían de infraestructura adecuada.

The pollution of coal darkened the sky and affected the health of the population. In factories, days of 14 to 16 hours a day were common. Women received half of the male salary for the same job. Six-year-old children worked in coal mines. The tunnels were too narrow for adults.

Pasaban 12 horas en la oscuridad empujando vagonitas de carbón. No había edad mínima para trabajar. No había límite de jornada. No había protección contra accidentes. Había solo necesidad y quienes lucraban con ella. La industrialización amplió la producción y consolidó nuevas formas de desigualdad.

The first industrial revolution redefined the British social structure. On the one hand, the industrial bourgeoisie, the owners of factories, machines and capital. On the other hand, the proletariat, made up of urban workers who depended on the sale of their labor force to survive. This new relationship generated tensions.

In 1811, in Yorkshire, during the night, workers invaded textile factories, broke mechanical fabrics with hammers, destroyed machines that they considered responsible for the fall of wages and unemployment. The movement was known as "Ludismo." It was not against technology itself, it was against the hunger that came with it.

against the substitution without alternative, against benefits that increased as salaries fell. The government's response was harsh. The destruction of machines was treated as a serious crime, punished with severe penalties. In the 1830s, the Cartism claimed political participation and better working conditions.

associations of workers evolved towards unions. Pressed by regulations and reduction of the working day, thinkers like Karl Marx analyzed this system and argued that the worker produced more value than he received in salary. The difference between production and remuneration became a benefit for the owner.

Throughout the 19th century, labor laws began to emerge slowly, limiting days and restricting child labor. Industrialization was technical, economic and political at the same time. England consolidated as the main industrial power of the 19th century. For decades, it was the only fully industrialized economy.

Other countries followed the same path. France, Belgium, Germany and the United States were industrialized in the following decades. At the end of the 19th century, the United States would surpass England as the greatest industrial power. The model, inaugurated in the second half of the 18th century, established patterns that became global.

production on a large scale, systematic division of labor, intensive use of energy, accelerated urban growth. Between 1750 and 1900, British society ceased to be predominantly rural, to become mostly urban. The countryside lost its centrality.

The factory became the axis of the economy. The clock began to organize everyday life. The first industrial revolution ended in the 19th century. The structure it created remains as the basis of modern society.