The Origins of the Industrial Revolution

Read the section “Other Factors Needed for an Industrial Revolution”. In this section, are the authors suggesting that Great Britain led the Industrial Revolution primarily because it had access to raw materials, markets and cheap labor? Which line from the article supports your answer?

• Yes; "Coal and cotton were the raw materials necessary for industrialization. Great Britain had access to both."

• Yes; "Great Britain also had colonies around the world — colonies that could provide both raw materials and markets to buy British manufactured goods."

• No; "One innovation that many historians point to as being the catalyst — cause — for the Industrial Revolution is the invention of the steam engine."

• No; "However, the game changer for Great Britain in defeating global competition was mercantilism."

Success in certain areas of production was replicated across industries during the Industrial Revolution. Which excerpt from the article BEST supports this idea?

• Capital (money) was becoming more concentrated. Certain people and companies were becoming richer, and able to create large businesses

• Finally, trade connections were growing stronger through transportation innovations such as canals and turnpikes (like early highways), and later, steamships.

• Historians Kenneth Pomerantz and Steven Topik make the argument that “the scale, complexity, and social organization of the sugar mills,” made them the first modern factories and therefore, a blueprint for other factory systems. (227)

• Kenneth Pomerantz and Steven Topik. In sugar production, the workers were mostly slaves. They were seen as interchangeable parts within the process, like parts in a machine.

Read the sentences from the section “Other Factors Needed for an Industrial Revolution”.

Great Britain’s exports increased dramatically during this time period, while its imports from Asia (mostly India) declined. Great Britain put tariffs (taxes) on imported fabrics from India until British manufacturers could match the quality and cheaper cost of imported Indian textiles.

Which answer choice BEST describes the relationship between these two sentences?

• The first one describes a problem and the second one explains its solution.

• The first one describes an effect and the second one describes its cause.

• The first one states a cause and the second one describes the effect.

• The first one states a reaction and the second one describes the action that preceded it.

Read the section “Cotton, Coal, Colonies, and Cheap Labor.” What is the MAIN purpose of including the chart "Manufacturing Output: 1750" in this article?

• It emphasizes the fact that Great Britain lagged far behind other areas of the world in production

• It is intended to provoke questions in the reader about China's dominance.

• It allows the reader to compare the production of many specific European and Asian countries.

• It is intended to impress readers with Great Britain's swift and admirable rise in manufacturing.