Time For A Revolution! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Farming

The majority of people in England prior to the Industrial Revolution made their living by farming. Many times their income would also be supplemented by making handcrafted items that were manufactured in the home. The regimen of life, as well as farming techniques, had changed little for centuries. Gradually during the Industrial Revolution, society began to move from a predominantly agrarian, rural way of life to an industrial, urban one.

Answer: Putting-Out System

Also called the workshop system or domestic system, the putting-out system was used in several industries in pre-Industrial Revolution England, including textile production, shoemaking, and the manufacturing of small firearms. It was used as a way to by-pass the guild system, which had survived from medieval times, because it was unnecessary for workers to go through the process of becoming an apprentice, journeyman, and submitting a masterpiece in order to become a master craftsman.

In addition, guild members had to complete their products from start to finish; division of labor, like the one used in the putting-out system was forbidden. Using the putting-out system, workers would manufacture items in their homes, and then bring them to a central location for assembling and sale. Many times the raw materials for the items were furnished by the buyer. Considerable profit could be made by those skilled at their craft, and families could work together and stay together. Of course, the coming of the factory system changed the lives of countless people, and there were those who understandably feared the change. Luddites were people who were opposed to technological change. Although they could not destroy every new machine invented, they did their best to try!

Answer: Agricultural Revolution

Although some disagree on exactly when the Agricultural Revolution began in England, it was in full swing by the mid-1600s. With the use of new techniques, such as crop rotation and selective animal breeding, more food could be produced. During the Middle Ages, a two-field system was used, which allowed for half of the land to remain fallow every year.

With the introduction of the three-field system, the amount of fallow land was reduced to a third and each field was rotated to a different crop every year. By the time of the Agricultural Revolution, a four-field system was used. It was also discovered that growing legumes in fields that were previously left fallow could help restore fertility in the soil. Selective animal breeding practices led to larger animals, which produced larger animals and therefore more meat. Increasing the food supply went hand in hand with a rapid population growth; it is estimated that in England and Wales the population grew from 5.5 million in 1700 to more than 9 million in 1801. England now had a labor force to work in the new factories!

Answer: Seed Drill

Jethro Tull is considered to be one of the early proponents of using a more scientific approach to farming. His seed drill not only sowed at the correct depth and spacing, creating orderly, even rows, but also covered the seeds. Previously, the seeds had been sown by hand and lightly harrowed. Soon Tull made a machine that would plant three rows at a time! In addition, he demonstrated that hoeing the land and using manure for fertilizer increased the production of crops.

Answer: Enclosures

Since the Middle Ages, England's agriculture had been based on an open-field system, where farmers had cultivated small plots of land and shared a common pasture. Grouping these small plots into larger farms increased agricultural output and efficiency; enclosure was accomplished by purchasing the land or buying the rights to it, and by government decree.

Although enclosure increased the agricultural output of the land, it was not accomplished without controversy. When a village was enclosed, the common land was usually divided up according to the size of each farmer's land holdings. Many small tenant farmers lost this land; they eventually became part of the labor surplus that went to work in the factories.

Answer: Enlightenment

Although some may see the Enlightenment as more of an intellectual movement that focused on the rights of the individual (progress and humanitarianism), it also was based on naturalism, a belief in science and natural law. Scientists used the scientific method, and founded societies that facilitated the exchange of ideas in the scientific community. Advances were made in many fields, such as physics, chemistry, geology, and medicine.

The new scientific thinking was also applied to mechanical and technological challenges in order to develop machines that would make work easier.

Answer: Canal

Smith wrote that "Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expense of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly upon a level with those in the neighbourhood of the town. They are upon that account the greatest of all improvements". Truthfully, however, England's canal system was superior to its system of highways at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Canals allowed goods to be shipped faster and cheaper.

A horse could pull a barge along a canal with a load "dozens of times larger" than was pullable in a cart on a road.

The success of the Bridgewater Canal, which opened in 1761 and is considered to be the first true canal in England, led to the construction of more. A vast network of canals was built to link the manufacturing centers of the Industrial Revolution; in addition, improvements in road construction were made.

Answer: Coal

For centuries, wood from the forests of England had been used for fuel, shipbuilding, and housing; by the time of the Industrial Revolution, however, few forests remained and people were forced to find an alternate source of energy. Coal was in great supply, but it didn't take long to deplete the easy-to-find deposits. Shafts had to be dug, but they continually filled with water.

The problem of how to remove water from mine shafts eventually led to the development of a new machine - the steam engine that ran on coal!

Answer: Patent

By creating patents that were a form of intellectual property, the English government protected the rights of the inventor for a certain period of time, while making the invention immediately known to the public. There was a specified process that the inventor had to follow in order to obtain a patent.

For example, James Hargreaves was disappointed to discover that he was not eligible for a patent on his new spinning jenny because he had already sold several of the machines before applying.

Answer: True

Although they were late-comers to the Age of Exploration, the English did not take long to catch up and surpass other European powers in the number of colonial holdings. By 1773, shortly after the Industrial Revolution is said to have begun, writers were already calling their colonies "a vast empire on which the sun never sets".

The British government encouraged trade, expanded its navy to protect trading interests, and granted monopolies to companies that would explore and colonize. Colonies were expected to trade only with Britain; raw materials that were not present in England were now available cheaply from the colonial possessions.

In addition, the colonies were expected to provide a market for finished products - and were only allowed to trade with England!