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East India Company
The formation of the East India Company played a major role in providing a trade monopoly that assisted in increasing production, demand and profit. The company had increased Britain's economy and it strengthened their trade, which allowed for competition with its neighbors. -
Abraham Darby
Darby was a British ironmaster who first successfully smelted iron ore with coke. In 1709 he produced marketable iron in a coke-fired furnace. He leases the furnace and was able to sell 81 tons of iron goods in that year. He has become a crucial figure in industry, due to his methods of producing iron fueled by coke rather than charcoal. -
Thomas Newcomen
Newcomen, in 1712, invented the very first successful atmospheric steam engine. It pumped water by using a vacuum that is created by steam. It became an important method of draining water from deep mines which made it a vital invention that helped spark the Industrial Revolution in Britain. -
Silk Factory (Lombe's MIll)
The first successful silk throwing mill of its kind, in England, started by John Lombe. -
Flying Shuttle
The Flying Shuttle is a name given to a weaving machine that was invented by John Kay. It's significance is that it allowed for greater weaving productivity using automatic machine looms which could weave wider fabrics and speed up the manufacturing process. This was an important step towards automatic weaving. -
Cotton Industry
In 1750, cotton clothes were being produced by using raw cotton that came from overseas. Exporting cotton assisted in making Britain a commercial success. -
Bridgewater Canal ("Dukes Cut")
The Bridgewater Canal opens in 1761. It was named after Francis Egerton, third Duke of Bridgewater who commissioned it in order to transport the coal from his mines in Worsley. It revolutionized transport in Britain and marked the beginning of the golden canal era. -
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James Watt
Originally set out to repair the steam engine invented by Newcomen, James Watt figured out a way in which the steam engine can be used more efficiently by reducing the consumption of coal used in heating the water to produce steam. By 1769, he was granted Watt's new steam engines were so powerful that he had to create a new unit to quantify them: The Horsepower . -
Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright became an entrepreneur and opened a cotton spinning mill using his invention of the water frame. -
Power Loom
The power loom was invented by Edmund Cartwright, who trademarked the mechanized loom which used water to increase the productivity of the weaving process. His ideas were shaped and developed for years to come. -
Wool Combing Machine
Edmund Cartwright produced another invention called a wool combing machine. He trademarked the invention which arranged the fibers of wool. -
Coal Mining
By 1800, around 10 millions tons of coal was mined in Britain. -
Richard Trevithick
A pioneer of steam-powered transport, who built the first working railway locomotive. He drove his steam powered locomotive down the streets of Camborne in Cornwall. -
Cotton Export
Cotton becomes the biggest export in Britain, overtaking wool. -
Iron Warship
The first iron warship, HMS Warrior is launched.