Name one of the major causes of the Industrial Revolution.

It is difficult to choose a single cause of the Industrial Revolution, because there were so many factors that went into the making of such a complex event. However, the most immediate cause was the development of new technologies in the eighteenth century that made mass production and the mechanization of key industries possible. These included the following:

• the "spinning jenny," by James Hargreaves, which made the mechanization of spinning thread possible


• the water frame,...

It is difficult to choose a single cause of the Industrial Revolution, because there were so many factors that went into the making of such a complex event. However, the most immediate cause was the development of new technologies in the eighteenth century that made mass production and the mechanization of key industries possible. These included the following:

• the "spinning jenny," by James Hargreaves, which made the mechanization of spinning thread possible


• the water frame, by Richard Arkwright, which enabled the use of water power for spinning


• the power loom, by Edmund Cartwright, which made it possible to weave cloth in a mill or factory setting


• the steam engine, by James Watt, which could provide power for a number of machines, including looms, pumps, and eventually locomotives

Each of these inventions, and many more, contributed to the mechanization of productive tasks that had previously been completed by skilled individuals. They further made the consolidation of the production process (of textiles, at least) possible as early as the late eighteenth century. These inventions, in short, ushered in the Industrial Revolution.