THE IMPACTS OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION TO

MODERN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY SYSTEM

1
Paul Sanyaolu; 2Comfort Okosun Sanyaolu and 2Moses Duruji

1
Department of Chemistry, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria.

2
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Covenant University,

Ota, Nigeria.

Abstract

Chemical industry is one that used chemistry concepts in transforming raw materials that are

chemically oriented into finished products. It emergence and development coincided with

industrial revolution.

Indusrial revolution is the tranformation from traditional means of powering and managing of

workplace into modernized format that meet the goals of modern development. Great Britain

gave birth to industrial revolution with intense investment in technological innovations. This

great turning point globally impacted almost every facets of life. Consequently, the level of

distribution between the rich and the poor create gully in income per capita between developing

and developed countries. Economics growth indices have been used to show that industrial

revolution has positive correlation to modern state system development. The focus of this work

is to explore the impact of industrial revolution to modern state system.

It critically explored the basis of industrial revolution and its metamorphosis to modern state

system.
The study used expolratory method both, primary and secondary facts were collated through the

use of interview and review of documented facts. It was largely agreed upon that Industrial

revolution impacted positively on transformation of economic and sociopolitical systems across

the globe through introduction of machine and factories development.

Ketwords: Industrial revolution, modern state, system, chemical industry, development


Corresponding Author: sunyakay2014@gmail.com; +2348148026557.

Introduction

Chemical industry is one that used chemistry concepts in transforming raw materials that are

chemically oriented into finished products. It emergence and development coincided with

industrial revolution, (Aftalion, 1991).

Indusrial revolution is the tranformation from traditional means of powering and managing of

workplace into modernized format that meet the goals of modern development. It was the

transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the US, in the period from about 1760

to sometime between 1820 and 1840. It embraced the changing from manual processes to

mechanized processes, especially in the chemicals and spinning processes of the textile material

handling; this saved cost, time and improved level of productivities. The industrial revolution

also gave birth to increase in the rate of population growth.

Both chemicals and textile industries were the major case study of the industrial revolution in

terms of large scale employment, level of output and capital invested. It was the first to use

modern production approaches (Landes , 1969; Derry and Williams, 1993).

Great Britain gave birth to industrial revolution with intense investment in technological

innovations. (Horn, et al. 2010; Wrigley, 2018), By the mid-18th century Britain has become the

world's leading commercial nation, (Reisman, 1998); controlling a global trading empire with the

used of instrument of colonization and mass media propagation; they have colonies in North

America and the Caribbean, and with well-established political system in the Indian

subcontinent, through the activities of the East India Company. (Landes, 1999). Since, the

history of mass media emanated from man struggle for liberty and freedom, which include

freedom of expression, freedom to write and express one’s self; especially on issues of industrial

revolution. This struggle was given deep consideration in 18th century, (Paul Sanyaolu, 2017).

The development of chemicals and trade gave birth to the rise of business were major causes of

the Industrial Revolution. (Landes, 1969).

Intellectual well established societies regularly come together to fashioned way forward based on

science and technological application to manufacturing, chemical development, engineering

innovation by the network of informal philosophical societies. Such as the London-based Royal

Society of Arts and the London-based Royal Society of Science. The latter formed the

revolutionary committee that championed industrial revolution and modern state system,

(Stephenson, 2017).

Also, encouragement of knowledge of innovation acquisition spread by several means across the

Europe favored the industrial revolution and chemicals development. Manufacturing firms in

Europe made study tour their fundamental policy; this encouraged study tours to others

developed nations, such as United States of America to under study their manufacturing process;

gathered information on productivity improvement, and returned back to share it among the
working class for better productivity and quality improvement. People were honored based on

their contribution to human chemicals and physical development positive indices. Consequently,

independent study tour to France, Sweden, and Switzerland; became daily norms among the

people.

Further, training, on-the-job retraining and capacity development were encouraged among the

chemicals manufacturing and factory workers. Workers were trained on novel method of

productivity improvement and total quality management; these were shared among themselves

for massive positive impacts. Civil servants, technicians and professionals undertake study tours.

Since total quality management approaches are based on improving on efforts drawn on the

previously accompanied outcomes and methodologies of quality assurance and control,

(Sanyaolu, 2015). These practices were common in developed nations like Great Britain and

America. Individual firms and factories invest heavily on study tours to improve their techniques

and approach of production.

This great turning point globally impacted almost every facets of life. Economically, the mean

income and population started to grow in geometrical progression; the most remarkable impact

of industrial revolution was increased in standard of the living of the people, (Luca, 2002;

Feinstein, 1998; Szreter & Mooney; 1998).

A few work on development has been focused on the distribution of productivity in firms across

the globe; for instance, In Asia and Caribbean America ; such as China,, or Mexico, the ratio of

labor productivity of the top firms to bottom firms is on the order of 10:1; and 2:1 in the U.S.

The qualities of products have been on declined. Developing nations have bad distributions,

with the vast majority of their firms using low productivity technologies.
Consequently, the level of distribution and chemicals development, create gully in income per

capita between developing and developed countries. These factors have anchored on the

availability of technological and innovational development. And comparative advantage in factor

costs, this is why the developing country firms opted for sub-optimal level of inputs. Hence, low

level of productivity. Firms that are unproductive face low distortions,

Economics growth indices have been used to show that industrial revolution has positive

correlation to modern state system development. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per capita

has been reportedly stable before the industrial revolution and modern economic growth due to

impacts of capitalist economies, (Lucas, Jr. 2003; Lucas, 2003). The world GDP have remained

stagnated before the era of industrial revolution; this has grown at the rate of 2.4 percent for the

first sixty years of the 20th century, of one percent for the entire 19th century, of one-third of one

percent for the 18th century, (era of industrial revolution). Also, Economic historians supported

the latter view; it was established facts that the events of human endeavor experience great

positive metamorphosis of the domestication and transformation of animals and plants due to

embraced of innovation in diversity, (McCloskey, 2004). This led to great Engineering materials

development; especially in the iron production; that accounted for structural transformation from

agricultural outputs to mechanized industrial inputs in Britain, especially in United Kingdom

around 1760. (Keibek, 2016).

Industrial revolution led to positive transformation of economic, sociopolitical systems

chemicals development across the globe through introduction of machine and factories

development. (Hobsbawm, 1991; Inikori. 2005; Berg and Hudson, 1992; Lorenzen , 2005).
These great impacts sporadically spread throughout the Europe from Great Britain to United

States in the around 19th century, Belgium and United States were known with textile and coal

development around the same period, while France made great impacts in textile development.

Before industrial revolution, British textile manufacturing industries could not compete with

those in Indian. The level of one fifth to one-sixth that of British's. (Gupta, 2016). Immediately,

when industrial revolution set in Indian textile manufacturing industries could not be compared

to those in Britain, due to exponential increase in productivity.

Also, politically, British government enacts policies and set up laws that protected the domestic

textile manufacturing industries. Between 1700 to 1721, the British government passed the

Calico Acts to protect the local woolen and linen industries from closed down, due to increase in

level of cotton fabric imported from India, (Ayres, 1989).

Conceptual Theoretical Framework

The major conceptual theoretical framework used for proper comprehension of this study is

capitalist theory. It states that the rich will continue to get richer while the poor and lazy hands

will continue to get poorer. The British advancement was due to the presence of an

entrepreneurial class which believed in progress, technology and hard work.(Foster, 2004) This

theory established that capital accumulation and wealth concentration in an entrepreneurial

culture following the industrial revolution made the industrial revolution possible.

Conclusion
It was largely agreed upon that Industrial revolution impacted positively on transformation of

economic and sociopolitical systems across the globe through introduction of machine and

factories development.

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