“We Were Required to Characterise This Age of Ours by Any Single Epithet, We Should Be Tempted to Call It, Not an Heroical, Devotional, Philosophical, or Moral Age, but, Above All Others, the Mechanical Age. It Is the

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Essay one “We were required to characterise this age of ours by any single epithet, we should be tempted to call it, not an Heroical, Devotional, Philosophical, or Moral Age, but, above all others, the Mechanical Age. It is the Age of Machinery, in every outward and inward sense of that word; the age which, with its whole undivided might, forwards, teaches and practises the great art of adapting means to ends.” * Thomas Carlyle, “A Mechanical Age” (1829) – In the following pages I will focus on the agricultural changes before and during the Industrial Revolution. It will clear up if Carlyle’s statement about the mechanical age will fit in with the agricultural topics. The reason why I am going to have a closer look at agriculture is because that the changes in the agriculture were necessary and essential for the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore I will consider the growth of population as a consequence of higher food production, the environment of the farmers such as changes of relations between landlords and tenants, the transformation from fallow land to farmland and the improvement of seeds and plants. In the end I will focus on the mechanical inventions such as steamboats, spinning machines and steam locomotive together with improvements in transport. The industrial revolution refers to the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society from the late 18th century until the end of the 19th century. The age of the Industrial Revolution was characterized by a tremendous development of technology and science, a considerable increase in productivity, a profound change in the economic, social and demographic situation. The historical significance of the Industrial Revolution is comparable to that of the Nomad’s choice to settle down during the Neolithic revolution. Both the Industrial Revolution and the Nomad’s settlements had a profound effect on

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