Topic 3

Did the Industrial Revolution affect the way people lived and worked in the 19th century for the better or the worse? Explain your answer

I think that the Industrial Revolution affected the way people lived and worked greatly as during that time, many new machines were created and the discovery of new sources of power.During the 18th century,people could only produce enough cloth for oneself but however, during 19th century, the invention of the spinning machine greatly changed the ways goods were produce and it shortened the production time.

Secondly, the invention of the steam-engine causes railway trains and steamship to be invented soon after the discovery of the steam-engine.This help people travel a longer distances and to reach a place in a shorter time. However,the building of this machines needs raw material and they began to look East for raw materials and one place they turned to was Asia.Singapore was the most visited port during that time as it was because the Europeans obtained the raw material and needed markets to sell them and therefore,Singapore had a growth in its trade.Singapore also became a port-of-call as ships stopped to refuel and obtain food supplies.

However, during the Industrial Revolution,working conditions were unsanitary and dangerous,education drop due to work demands,women have double burden of factory work and domestic chores,men have higher pay than women,pollution of environment,growth of material wealth and the workers proposes that child and female should not work.

Therefore,I concluded that the Industrial Revolution had its own good and bad points and it did not affect it for the better or worse.