Dai fatti alla Storia - volume 2

M1 The Transportation Revolution The developments in the productive systems in various countries also stimulated a revolution in transportation. The English government made considerable investments to improve communication routes such as roads and canals, but the introduction of the steam engine completely changed the way goods and people were transported. In 1807 the American inventor Robert Fulton trialled the first steam-powered boat, which carried passengers between New York City and Albany. Steamboats were designed to fit the shallow waters of rivers, and from that moment on they dominated the commerce of the Mississippi area in the United States. In England Richard Trevithick invented the locomotive, a steam-driven vehicle which ran on a railway. Trains were first used to transport raw materials like coal to factories, and finished goods to markets. Another system that revolutionised the transport of goods in England was the development of a network of rivers and canals. This reduced the costs of transportation from the mines to the cities and made the entire process quicker. Both the industrial and the transportation revolutions boosted coal-mining, which expanded the iron and steel industries. As England was rich in iron mines and coal reserves it became the leading country of the Industrial Revolution. ACTIVITY 4.B Read the text The Transportation Revolution and answer the questions. 1. What changed the way goods and people were transported? 2. What did Robert Fulton trial in 1807? 3. What were trains first used for? 4. What were the effects of the development of a network of rivers and canals? 5. Why did England become the leading country of the Industrial Revolution? ACTIVITY 4.C Read the text The Factory System and select the correct alternatives. The Factory System The Industrial Revolution mainly regarded the textile industry. It marked the decline / improvement of the domestic system, which was the production of handmade goods by peasants when they were not working in the fields. The large size of the new machines, such as power looms, made it necessary to build factories which were usually located beside rivers / mountains because water was an important source of power. As a result the workers of the domestic system moved from the countryside to large cities. Existing towns around the factories grew / decreased in size and new ones were created, too. The factories housed thousands of industrial / agricultural workers. Another consequence of the factory system was a more / less marked division of labour. Handmade goods were no longer produced by one individual, but several workers contributed to the manufacturing of a single product. Each worker had to concentrate on one limited task and repeat a few, simple / complex gestures without error: this made the productive process faster / slower and more efficient. Illustration of a pin factory, from The Encyclopedia by Diderot and D Alembert. 546