The Industrial Revolutions

Latest Episodes:

Chapter 24: The Luddites Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

The Industrial Revolutions is on Patreon! Become a sustaining supporter today: https://patreon.com/indrevpodThe Industrial Revolutions store is live! Get your t-shirts or sticker here: https://industrialrevolutionspod.com/storeAs capitalists invested in machine technology, they put many of their traditional competitors out of business, forcing them into the factories as deskilled workers. Then, between falling incomes and rising prices, those began to strike back. And the Luddites – a shadowy network of militant 20-somethings, led by a man who probably never existed – went to war with the machines and their owners. This is their story.

Chapter 23: The Albion Mills Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

One of the world’s first coal-powered factories was the Albion Mills, smack-dab in the heart of London. Built by Boulton & Watt, it put the competition out of business. Its eventual destruction was a source of inspiration, not only for a burgeoning labor movement, but for one of Britain’s most important poets – and England’s unofficial national anthem.

Chapter 22: Industry on the Post-Napoleonic Continent Jul 23, 2019

Show notes

First came the French, led by Napoleon, ending feudal economic traditions across Europe. Then came the British, bringing their knowledge of new, industrial production methods and business practices. And as a result, the first Industrial Revolution spread to pockets of France, the Low Countries, Germany, and Eastern Europe.
Characters in this episode include:
John Holker, a former Jacobite who spied on the British for French industry
Jacques-Constantin and Auguste Charles Perier, who built steam engines and water pumps
Claude Perier, who built a textile-printing empire and became an investment banker
Adolphe and Eugene Schneider, who built a metallurgical empire in Le Creusot
Louis Motte-Bossut, who built massive textile factories but couldn’t get his parents’ approval
Lieven Bauwens, who built Belgium’s first mechanized spinning mill
William and John Cockerill, Anglo-Belgians who made industrialization happen across Europe
Alfred Krupp, who created a steel empire in Germany and provided generous benefits for his workers
Ernest Knoop, who spread industrialization to Russia
The Silesian weavers, who rose up against the local capitalists and the Prussian authorities

Chapter 21: The French Revolution and Empire Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

If you compare the histories of Great Britain and France in the 16th through 18th Centuries, you see how they led to very different transitions into modernity. For Britain it was the Industrial Revolution. For France it was the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon. This is what Eric Hobsbawm called the “dual revolution.”
Today, we explore Hobsbawm further as we step over to France and see how the chaos of these years transformed the political, religious, and economic orders of Continental Europe.

Chapter 20: America's First Great Debate Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

As the first President of the United States, George Washington appointed two cabinet secretaries who went to war with each other. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson fought on many fronts, but perhaps the most significant front was Hamilton’s economic agenda.
Looking to the recent success of Great Britain, Hamilton tried to bring the Industrial Revolution to America – and Jefferson tried to stop him. In this episode, we’ll discuss the intricacies of Hamilton’s plan, why he fought for it, and why Jefferson fought against it.

Chapter 19: The American Revolution Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we explore the underlying intellectual reasons for the American Revolution, and how that Revolution reshaped those ideas into a philosophy that would take over the world as industrialization spread.

Chapter 18: Men of Faith (Part 2: Religious Upheaval) Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

In the late 18th Century, increasing religious freedom led to violent rioting in London and Birmingham. The Quakers, meanwhile, kicked a gun manufacturer out of their denomination. And without knowing it, Enlightenment thinkers started to develop a brand-new religion – a religion that most of the world believes in today.

Chapter 17: Men of Faith (Part 1: The Great Awakening) Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

After the suppression of the Puritans, religiosity died down in Great Britain and British America. Then, in the mid-18th Century, a revival of nonconformist churches swept over the English world. And it had a profound impact on the coming Industrial Revolution.
In this week’s episode, we’ll talk about the two main Protestant forces behind this first Great Awakening – the Baptists and the Methodists – and how they shaped the new, industrial working class.

Chapter 16: Men of Science May 28, 2019

Show notes

As the first Industrial Revolution was beginning to turn the world upside down, the Age of Enlightenment produced scientists whose breakthroughs helped shape that upside-down world. Today we discuss three of them: Antoine Lavoisier; Dr. Edward Jenner; and Sir Humphrey Davy.

Chapter 15: We Got Chemistry May 17, 2019

Show notes

The Industrial Revolutions were made possible thanks to the Scientific Revolution, which began centuries earlier as militaries needed to invest in new ways to gain an edge in battle. With it came the Scientific Method and advancements in chemistry. Starting in the mid-18th Century, a few individuals took those chemistry lessons out of the laboratory and applied them to industry. These are their stories.In this episode, we’ll cover: John Roebuck and his works mass-producing sulfuric acid; Nicolas Leblanc and his method for manufacturing soda ash; Charles Tennant and his bleach powder empire; and more!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Industrial Revolutions

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected