The Industrial Revolution. Was it a Revolution?

When we come to think of revolutions we tend to believe that they have to do with overall changes that happen overnight. This was not evidently the case with the industrial revolution,  which, in my personal opinion, was a very gradual economic, political and social change with a not clear beginning and not a definite end, despite the fact that historians have tried and decided to think of a time around 1750 to mark its beginning, we might undoubtedly say this is an arbitrary date to comply with their needs rather than something certainly connected with what was going on at the time in England.
Anyway we might say that several influences came together at the same time to revolutionise Britain's industry: money, labour, a greater demand for goods, new power, and better transport and obviously we cannot disregard the British political stability at the time, the encouragement given to science from the ruling class and the whole atmosphere  created by the Enlightenment that favoured research and inventions.
 When we speak of a revolution it is difficult to determine the real causes and their progressive order. We could surely say that one of the most important ones was the context we have already suggested, but then we should add the Agricultural Revolution which led to some relevant connected facts: enclosures, population growth, the emigration of peasants to cities,etc. The people that had been forced to moved into cities now needed to buy things they had no needed before. This created an enormous opportunity to produce and sell more goods than ever before. Inventions allowed factories to produce large quantities of goods quickly and cheaply. The first idea of  "mass production" had been created and cities became large and cvercrowded, creating problems for years to come.
 By the 1740`s the main problem holding back industrial growth was fuel. The use of coal for changing iron ore into good quality iron or steel was perfected and this increased production made it possible to manufacture new machinery, one invention quickly leading to another one and thus making Britain the most advanced industrial country in the production of  cotton, woolen cloth and china among other goods.
 The invention of the steam engine combined with iron and steel gave birth to the railway and other improved transport which made the cost of these goods cheaper than ever. British exports also grew to umprecedented quantities for the time, creating the need for raw materials from its colonies.
 The Industrial Revolution also brought political and social changes. The old landed aristocracy lost some of its power that went directly into the hands of the rising middle class on "bourgeoisie" and the old peasants that had worked on the farms became the working class. Universal suffrage for men and the secret ballot were created making Britain one of the most progressive societies in the world.
Little by little society started undergoing profound changes, giving more participation and some improvement to the lives of the middle class and the working class people. The appearence of sports, holidays, the division of time and entertainment associated to the previous radical changes created a new culture that was exported to the world making Great Britain an international power.The world also changed forever.

Bibliography:

• Mc Dowall, D. (1991), An Ilustrated History of Britain, Harlow: Logman
• Aylett, J. (1985), In Search of History, London: Hodder and Stoughton Educational 
• Brown, R. (2000), Revolution, Radicalism and Reform, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press