Economic and technological revolution

This section highlights the life-changing discoveries and innovations in scientific thinking, technology and medicine in the Age of Revolution, their impacts on work and society, and relationships with trade and the economy.

Rapid advancements in transport and manufacturing culminated in the development of the steam engine. This revolutionised industry, transforming the landscape and the way people lived and worked. Mines and factories opened in new industrial towns, and people and goods travelled further, faster and cheaper than ever before on thousands of miles of newly built canals and steam-powered railways. The printing press was industrialised, allowing the rapid spread of events and campaigns across the country and beyond, alongside new postal and telegraph systems. In medicine, anaesthetics were discovered and the first vaccinations introduced.

The period also saw electricity being generated for the first time, the discovery of new planets, the advent of photography, the first ‘computers’ and the birth of ‘scientists’ themselves – a term first coined in 1833.

Sub-themes

  • A colour print of a large hot air balloon, the balloon is blue and decorated with gold faces, cherubs, lions and eagles.

    Transporting revolution

    From steam trains, canals and ocean liners, to bicycles and hot air balloons, the Age of Revolution saw major advancements in travel and transport, with people and goods travelling further, faster and more cheaply than ever before.

  • A black and white print showing a textile factory with a large loom. Child workers can be seen in the foreground in tattered clothing.

    The impact of industry

    The industrial revolution transformed the British landscape, manufacturing and the way people lived and worked, but with progress came dire social consequences for many with long and dangerous working hours and conditions, overcrowding, disease and poverty.

  • A square wooden base supports a early engine. The brass cogs and wheels are numbered.

    Medicine, science and the people

    Some of the astonishing innovations and discoveries spawned in the Age of Revolution, including the steam engine, anaesthetics, vaccinations and electricity, and their impact on people’s lives.

  • A printed advertisement for a Chartists demonstration

    Printing revolution

    Advances in printing led to the mass production of newspapers, pamphlets, poster and satirical cartoons, democratising print and spreading the revolutionary word far and wide.

  • The Blessings of Peace of the Curse of the Corn Law, Cruikshank

    Trade, tariffs and taxes

    Industrialisation, overseas commerce and the move towards international free trade in the Age of Revolution.

Courtesy of the SS Great Britain Trust - A lithograph print of a painting showing the launch of the SS Great Britain steamship. Huge crowds can be seen gathered to watch the ship being launched into Bristol's floating harbour.

In the Classroom

A range of educational resources for teachers relating to the Age of Revolution.

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