The industrial Revolution was a period that took place between the 18th and the 19th century. During the period, major changes occurred in manufacturing, agriculture, technology, mining, and transport. Industrial Revolution had profound impact on the cultural conditions and socioeconomic beginning the United Kingdom. Subsequently, Industrial Revolution spread to other parts of Europe, North America and finally to the rest of the world. The period marks major changes in the history of human existence. Most aspects of the society were influenced by Industrial Revolution in one way or another. The population and average income started to show unprecedented growth. Similarly, the population of the world increased over six fold. The paper provides an explanation on some of the effects of the Industrial Revolution.

The first effect of Industrial Revolution is population increase. The period witnessed an increase in population and urbanization and also the emergency of social classes. In Europe, there was a dramatic increase in population. Germany and England indicated a growth rate of more than 1 percent each year. The rate of the population increase would have been double for the next 70 years. The United States even witnessed a more rapid increase of population. The population increase was more than 3 percent. It could have been disastrous if the United States was an already populated region. However, the region was empty with immense natural resources hence it could accommodate the high rate of the increasing population. However, the population France tend to remain constant after the 18th century. Some of the reasons as to why there was increase in population is the because of the increased supply of food that was readily available by the emergence of Agricultural Revolution, and the development of medical science. Measures in public health issues also contributed to the decline of the rate of death and increased the population.

The second of effect of Industrial Revolution is urbanization. A larger part of the population in the world was rural before the period of Industrial Revolution. But, the trend changed during the period and in the middle of 19th century, half of the population in England were living in cities. The same trend spread to other European counties. By the end of the 19th century, half of Europe’s population had moved from rural areas to cities. From 1800 to 1950, several prominent cities across Europe registered an increased growth. At the start of the 19th century, there were few cities in Europe which had a population of 100000. However, at the beginning of 20th century, the number of cities in Europe had increased to more than 150. The increased number of new cities was attributed to a number of ways which include the concentration of people who provided a work force during the period of Industrial Revolution. Most of the factories during the period were located near the source of raw materials such as coal. For instance, the city if Ruhr in Germany and Lille in northern France developed as a result of concentration of people around the factories. The finished goods from factories led to development of urban centers that had had access to railways and water. Some of the cities that developed similarly us Marseilles, New York, Liverpool, and Hamburg. In addition, people moved to urban centers such as Berlin, London, and Paris because they were regarded to be political centers and became the centers for marketing and banking functions during the period of Industrial Revolution. However, urbanization had negative effects. Some cities had bad living conditions such as lack of sanitation, water, and efficient transport facilities. Furthermore, the owners of the factories did not provide basic amenities for their laborers because they regarded them as commodities and not human beings.

The third effect of Industrial Revolution is the emergency of new working class. A new working class emerged as a result of Industrial Revolution. A new class of workers employed in factories emerged including women, men, and children. They worked in various sectors such as mines, pottery works, and textile factories. In most cases, skilled artisans were degraded to work as routine process workers since machined were introduced that enabled mass productions of different products that were previously produced by hand. In general, the laborers were paid lowly, worked long hours, and they worked in unpleasant and unfriendly working conditions. Young children were also subjected to long working hours in a day. In some cases, young children were employed to work as piercers and scavengers. Scavengers had the role of picking loose cotton under the machinery of the textile factories. Even though factory owners provided the workers with food apprentices, children constantly complained that the food was not quality. Sometimes people were forced to eat while working. The labor conditions was a serious matter of concern during the period of Industrial Revolution.

In a nutshell, the paper has provided an explanation on the three effects of Industrial Revolution which include increase in population, urbanization, and emergency of new working class. The increase in population was because health conditions were improved and there was plenty supply of food. Urbanization increased because people moved from rural areas to settle near areas which had factories. Finally, new working class emerged because of the workers employed in various sectors of the economy. As a result, Industrial Revolution brought significant effects on the lives of many people.