What is industrial revolution? Discuss if Zambia has experienced industrial revolution. Justify your answer with examples.

The Industrial Revolution is the name given to the period in the 18th and 19th centuries when Britain was transformed from a predominantly agricultural nation into the manufacturing workshop of the world. Rapid scientific, technological and commercial innovations, a rising population, improved transportation and expanding domestic and international markets provided the context for the development of thousands of mills, factories, mines and workshops. Mining, engineering and manufacturing continued to provide employment for millions of people well into the 20th century[1]. In addition Investopedia defines industrial revolution as “a period of major industrialization that took place during the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Industrial Revolution, beginning in Great Britain, quickly spread throughout the world. This time period saw the mechanization of agriculture and textile manufacturing and a revolution in power (i.e., steam ships and railroads) and had a massive effect on social, cultural and economic conditions”. Investopedia further explains industrial revolution as it has been argued that the factory systems developed during the Industrial Revolution are responsible for the modern cities we know today. During the Industrial Revolution, workers came to cities in droves to look for employment in the new factories. Because the industrial system was new, there were no experienced workers, and thus everyone had an opportunity to find employment. Technological advancement followed, which increased overall production[2].

According to history.com the Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine, played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of transportation, communication and banking. While industrialization brought about an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it also resulted in often grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes[3].

The website of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute explains industrial revolution the era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period in which fundamental changes occurred in agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure in England. This period is appropriately labeled revolution, for it thoroughly destroyed the old manner of doing things; yet the term is simultaneously inappropriate, for it connotes abrupt change. The changes that occurred during this period (1760-1850), in fact, occurred gradually. The year 1760 is generally accepted as the eve of the Industrial Revolution. In reality, this eve began more than two centuries before this date. The late 18th century and the early l9th century brought to fruition the ideas and discoveries of those who had long passed on, such as, Galileo, Bacon, Descartes and others[4].

What Effect

The industrial revolution has bought about profound changes industrially and Economically[5]. 1. The invention of steam power which was used to power factories and transport and allowed for deeper mining.,2. Enhancement of iron making techniques allowing for vastly higher production levels.,3. The textile industry was altered by new machines such as the Spinning Jenny and factories, again allowing for much higher production at a lower cost.,4. Improved machine tools allowed for more and better machines. 5. Enlargement in metallurgy and chemical production.,6. Formation of new and quicker transport networks thanks to first canals and then railways.

In addition industrial revolution had Changes Socially and Culturally.[6]1. Speedy urbanisation leading to dense, overcrowded housing and living conditions. 2. New-fangled city and factory cultures affecting family and peer groups. 3. Deliberation and laws regarding child labour, public health and working conditions. 4. Anti-technology groups such as the Luddites.

Causes of the Industrial Revolution

There are many concerns being addressed to understand the resons why industrial revolution took place. It is often cited with some common causes such as :1. The end of feudalism changes economic relationships. 2. Higher population because of less disease and lower infant mortality allowed for a larger industrial workforce. 3. The agricultural revolution frees people from the soil, allowing – or driving – them into cities and manufacturing. 4. Proportionally large amounts of spare capital for investment. 5. Inventions and the scientific revolution allowing for new technology. 6. Colonial trade networks. 7. The presence of all the required resources close together. 8. Culture of hard work, taking risks and developing ideas.

The spirit of industrialization is Innovation and Industrialization. Before mechanization and factories, textiles were made mainly in people’s homes (giving rise to the term cottage industry), with merchants often providing the raw materials and basic equipment, and then picking up the finished product[7]. In the 1700s, a series of innovations led to ever-increasing productivity, while requiring less human energy. For example, around 1764, Englishman James Hargreaves (1722-1778) invented the spinning jenny (“jenny” was an early abbreviation of the word “engine”), a machine that enabled an individual to produce multiple spools of threads simultaneously. By the time of Hargreaves’ death, there were over 20,000 spinning jennys in use across Britain. The spinning jenny was improved upon by British inventor Samuel Compton’s (1753-1827) spinning mule, as well as later machines. Another key innovation in textiles, the power loom, which mechanized the process of weaving cloth, was developed in the 1780s by English inventor Edmund Cartwright (1743-182[8]. Developments in the iron industry also played a central role in the Industrial Revolution. In the early 18th century, Englishman Abraham Darby (1678-1717) discovered a cheaper, easier method to produce cast iron, using a coke-fueled (as opposed to charcoal-fired) furnace. In the 1850s, British engineer Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) developed the first inexpensive process for mass-producing steel. Both iron and steel became essential materials, used to make everything from appliances, tools and machines, to ships, buildings and infrastructure[9]. The steam engine was also integral to industrialization. In 1712, Englishman Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) developed the first practical steam engine (which was used primarily to pump water out of mines). By the 1770s, Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819) had improved on Newcomen’s work, and the steam engine went on to power machinery, locomotives and ships during the Industrial Revolution[10].

Another important area where the spirit of industrial revolution has been noticed by the transportation industry also underwent significant transformation during the Industrial Revolution. The advent of the steam engine, raw materials and finished goods were hauled and distributed via horse-drawn wagons, and by boats along canals and rivers. In the early 1800s, American Robert Fulton (1765-1815) built the first commercially successful steamboat, and by the mid-19th century, steamships were carrying freight across the Atlantic. In the early 1800s, British engineer Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) constructed the first railway steam locomotive. In 1830, England’s Liverpool and Manchester Railway became the first to offer regular, timetabled passenger services. By 1850, Britain had more than 6,000 miles of railroad track. Additionally, around 1820, Scottish engineer John McAdam (1756-1836) developed a new process for road construction. His technique, which became known as macadam, resulted in roads that were smoother, more durable and less muddy[11].

A powerful tren that has been reflected by the spirit of the revolution has been communication and banking. Communication became easier during the Industrial Revolution with such inventions as the telegraph. In 1837, two Brits, William Cooke (1806-1879) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875), patented the first commercial electrical telegraph. By 1840, railways were a Cooke-Wheatstone system, and in 1866, a telegraph cable was successfully laid across the Atlantic. The Industrial Revolution also saw the rise of banks and industrial financiers, as well as a factory system dependent on owners and managers. A stock exchange was established in London in the 1770s; the New York Stock Exchange was founded in the early 1790s. In 1776, Scottish social philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790), who is regarded as the founder of modern economics, published “The Wealth of Nations.” In it, Smith promoted an economic system based on free enterprise, the private ownership of means of production, and lack of government interference[12].

The industrial revolution has also noticed some profound changes in the human aspect of life. In the l8th century the population grew at a faster rate than ever before. There are four primary reasons which may be cited for this growth: a decline in the death rate, an increase in the birth rate, the virtual elimination of the dreaded plagues and an increase in the availability of food. The latter is probably the most significant of these reasons, for English people were consuming a much healthier diet. Industry provided higher wages to individuals than was being offered in the villages. This allowed young people to marry earlier in life, and to produce children earlier. The old system of apprenticeship did not allow an apprentice to marry. City life provided young people with a greater choice of prospective partners, in contrast to the limited choices in some isolated village. Finally, industry provided people with improved clothing and housing, though it took a long time for housing conditions to improve. With the adoption of the factory system, we find a shift in population. Settlements grew around the factories. In some cases, housing was provided to workers by their employers, thus giving the factory owners greater control over the lives of his workers. In some cases factories started in existing towns, which was desirable because a labour pool was readily available. The prime consideration for locating a factory was the availability of power. The early form of power was derived directly from moving water. Thus, we find factories cropping up in the hills near streams and rivers. Later, when steam power was developed, factories could be located near any source of water. Other factories, such as those involved in the manufacture of iron, had considerations of a different kind involving their location. Due to the great difficulty in moving bulk materials, such as iron ore, these mills had to be located close to the mineral source. In such situations, large communities grew directly above the seams of ore in the earth[13].

Industrial Revolution in Rest of the Word especially in Zambian Context

The British enacted legislation to prohibit the export of their technology and skilled workers; however, they had little success in this regard. Industrialization spread from Britain to other European countries, including Belgium, France and Germany, and to the United States. By the mid-19th century, industrialization was well-established throughout the western part of Europe and America’s northeastern region. By the early 20th century, the U.S. had become the world’s leading industrial nation. Subsequent to the colonization, imperialism and increased interaction between West and East Industrial revolution has also began and engulf the countries in Africa and Asia.

The Zambian concern such as if Zambia has been industrialized in the way that Britain has had envisaged in the 18^th century seems very interesting academic, scholarly and pubic concern. At the time of independence Zambia was expected to become one of the wealthiest nations in Africa. With access to raw materials such as copper and land, Zambia seemed to have all it needed to succeed in the global economy. However, it is now one of the world’s poorest nations. So how did this dramatic change take place in last few decades? Much of Africa has experienced economic decline in the past decades. Zambia’s situation compared to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa is different and is it affected by the geographic context in which it exists[14].

Before it was colonized, Zambia was inhabited by a large number of different tribes, organized into chieftaincies and monarchies. There was an active trading network in copper, ivory, rhino horn and slaves. In 1964, Zambia won independence from Britain, and Kenneth Kaunda became the first leader of the country. Zambia has a dual sector economy based on traditional subsistence farming, predominantly in the rural areas, and a market-oriented sector in urban areas, responsible for tax revenues and foreign exchange[15].

There are many roads to industrial revolution in Zambia. However it is wrong to look at Zambian economy and society on the western one-dimensional and straight line approach o development that looks every society goes to modern advanced state of nationhood only through a condition called industrial revolution. This means there are many roads to industrial revolution. Zambia is too diverse and rich in natural resources and human resource with a strong agrarian social base. Currently, agriculture makes up approximately 15% of GDP, but is still a relatively small portion of exports[16]. Coffee, paprika, sugar, cotton, and other products are likely to encourage export growth to developed country markets. (NBER, 2005). Agriculture seems like a potential area where growth is possible.

Historically, Zambia is a mono-economy built around mining of minerals such as copper and cobalt. To reduce dependence on the mining sector, the country faces challenges to diversify the economic base and to strengthen other sectors of the economy (Brenthurst Foundation, 2010). Mining[17] is currently the main export of Zambia, even though it isn’t nearly as lucrative as it once was. The manufacturing sector was significantly built up through national plans from 1964 to 1971, and through Import Substitution Industrila revolution (ISI) profit from mining was used to subsidise state-owned manufacturing companies and consumers. The manufacturing sector in Zambia made up 25% of real GDP in 2004. A wide range of activities including vehicle assembly, petroleum refining, production of chemical fertilizers, textile mills and more took place[18]. The Zambian textile industry has almost completely shut down. In 1991, Zambia had more than 140 textile manufacturing firms, but by 2002, this number had fallen to just eight. (www.africanfocus.org, 2004). One source of income for Zambia comes from its hydroelectric resources. Though it does not currently provide power to everyone within Zambia, it does export 40% of the electricity produced to the neighboring countries[19]. Though estimated to be only about four percent of Zambia’s economy, tourism[20] is one of Zambia’s top three growth sectors. Zambia is home to Victoria Falls, and a number of national parks[21].

According to the World Bank, “Over the last three decades, Africa has been marginalized from global trade. Africa's share of world exports has dropped by nearly 60 percent.” So  it is clear that Zambia representative of a broader issue. Within the African development discourse, recent literature argues that without a growing industrial sector, African economies will find it increasingly difficult to sustain growth and to participate fully in global economic activity (Page, 2010:4; UNIDO, 2009). Western countries give little assistance to manufacturing industries in Africa, which potentially could provide thousands of jobs (Brautigam, 2009:91,92). Not unrelated, aid for the past sixty years is often criticised as an effective tool for development and for poverty reduction (Moyo, 2009; Brautigam, 2009). Zambia is largely a mining country with abundant deposits of copper, cobalt, emeralds, coal,amethyst, gold, lead and zinc. Historically, the industry has been a pillar of Zambia’s economy and continues to do so  today. It is also the country’s largest foreign exchange earner. However, volatility of world market prices in the past led to instability in the sector and, thus, the economy as a whole[22]. Ferguson (1999) describes the socialist labour regime under Kaunda, as following a “myth” if modernity, a social context of imagining the nation as moving forward. The real Zambianisation of the economy did not last long, with international copper prices deteriorating through the financial crises of the 1970s, the foreign debt burden increased (Kragelund, 2009:647). Zambia accepted its first conditioned loan from the International Money Fund given to finance government expenditures. Debt led to substantial external influence on development plans in Zambia, where the World Bank introduced Structural Adjustment Programmes. By 1984, Zambia had become one of the most indebted countries in the world relative to its size (Saasa and Carlson, 2002:39).

Zambia, a landlocked country at the centre of the SADC, was classified a middle-income country in 1969 (Ferguson, 1999). Due to the financial crises of the 1970s, Zambia spiraled down to be classified a LDC (Kragelund, 2009).  Zambia was reclassified from being a low-income country to a lower-middle income country in 2011 against the background of high economic growth due to Chinese demand for copper and favourable prices for metals on the world market (Bretton Woods Project, 14 September, 2011). Despite upgrade in the informal sector; the poverty levels and inequality are rampant5 (Carmody, 2009; Muneku, 2009:164). Zambia has enacted a number of reforms to foster economic development and to improve the investment climate through the Private Sector Development Reform Programme (PSDRP) (Chisala, 2008:13). Despite some improvements in recent years, Zambia has challenges with contextual factors on the supply side such as poor infrastructure, policy inconsistence, weak institutions, corruption and limited credit available for the productive sector (Brenthurst Foundation, 2010; van der Lugt et al, 2011). Zambia need to take a fresh look at industrial development, as they are dependent on market access to create the number of jobs needed to ensure sustainable livelihood for their people and to reduce poverty. Tackling high youth unemployment and poverty remains a top priority, with as much as 60% of the population below the poverty line, although there are wide disparities between rural and urban areas. Part of this high level of poverty is due to lack of employment opportunities for youth. As a proportion of the labour force, 63% of the urban 15-19 age group are out of work and this improves to only 48% in the 20-24 age category. In rural areas, 16% of the 15-19 age group and 7% of the 20-24 age group are unemployed but these figures mainly reflect informal agricultural employment. Significant gender disparities are also prevalent[23].

ZAMBIA has already won political independence, but it is yet to gain full economic freedom which is a rare menu on political and economic debates[24]. Researchers say industril revolution is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and metallurgy production. It is the extensive organisation of an economy for the purpose of manufacturing. Industril revolution also introduces a form of philosophical change where people obtain a different attitude towards their perception of nature, and a sociological process of ubiquitous rationalisation. Historically, the industril revolution process involves the expansion of the secondary sector in an economy originally dominated by primary-sector activities. Lack of an industrial sector in a country can slow growth in the country’s economy and power, so governments often encourage or enforce industril revolution[25]. The presence of a strong industrial sector in a country brings strong prospects for wealth creation and improved living standards of the people.

With many studies and statistics about Zambian economy, society and industry against the criteria that Industrial revolution occurred in Britain by 18^th century it is a testimony that Zambia is no more in terms of industrial revolution. It was then that a combination of coal, steam engines, spinning machines and an army of former agricultural workers coalesced into the Industrial Revolution[26] but that cannot be seen in the Zambian society as of now. No African society including Zambia has experienced any of those things may be called industrial revolution has occurred even at the remotest of scale. At the same time Zambia had tremendous potential to experience industrial revolution since it has been exposed to the ideas of nationality, modernity etc with its colonial association with Britain.   The level of industrila revolution remains low and industry is technological backwards, leaving an industrial revolution to lie in the future for Zambia.

In fact Zambia had been subjected to loot and depletion due to reasons that has been witnessed in the same degree by every African nationality.

Reference

Brautigam, D. (2009): The Dragon's Gift – The real story of China in Africa. New York: Oxford

University Press. 

Brenthurst Foundation (2010) “Mobilising Zambia.” Discussion paper, No. 2. Accessed 17 May

2011:[www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/Files/Brenthurst_Commisioned_Reports/BD1002_Mobilising-Zambia.pdf] 

Bretton Woods Project (14 September 2011) “Bank upgrade of Zambia fails to impress.” Accessed 20 October

2011: [www.brettonwoodsproject.org/art-568996] 

Carmody, P. (2009) “An Asian-Driven Economic Recovery in Africa? The Zambian Case.” World Development

Vol.37,No.7, Pp 1197-1207, Elsevier Ltd. 

Chisala, C. (2008) “Unlocking the Potential of Zambian Micro, mall and Medium Enterprises” Institute of

Developing Economies (IDE), Discussion Paper No. 124. Accessed 12 August 2011: [http://hdl.handle.net/2344/725] 

Ferguson, J. (1999): Expectations of Modernity – Myths and Meanings of Urban Life on the Zambian Copperbelt

London: University of California Press Ltd. 

Kragelund, P. (2009) “Knocking on a Wide-open Door” Review of African Political Economy Vol. 36, No. 122, Pp

479-497. 

National Bureau of Economic Research March 2005 (NBERG) Globalization and Complementary Policies:

Poverty Impacts in Rural Zambia Balat, Jorge, and Porto, Guido

Moyo, D. (2009): Dead Aid: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa. South Africa: Penguin

books. 

Muneku, A. (2009) “Chinese Investments in Zambia.” Pp 160-202 in Baah, A. Y. / H. Jauch (eds.) (2009): Chinese

Investments in Africa: A labour perspective. African Labour Research Network. Accessed 14 June 2012: [http://sask-fi bin.directo.fi/ @Bin/082b385da0ccb270c0af1fc0a8751eb4/ 1347198680/ application/pdf/ 298928/China-Africa%20Report%202009-final.pdf]. 

Saasa, O. / J. Carlson (2002): Aid and Poverty Reduction in Zambia – Mission Unaccomplished Uppsala: The Nordic

Africa Institute.  

UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) (2009): Industrial Development Report

2008/9 Breaking in and Moving Up: New Industrial Challenges for the Bottom Billion and the Middle-Income Countries Geneva: UNIDO 

Endnotes

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[1] Anne Dodd and Ian Miller, What was the Industrial Revolution?, Oxford Archelogy, (http://thehumanjourney.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=110) accessed on 21-03-2013

[2] Investopedia, Industrial Revolution,( http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrial-revolution.asp) accessed on 21-03-2013

[3] Industrial revolution, histry.com, (http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution) accessed on 21-03-2013        

[4] Joseph A. Montagna, The Industrial Revolution, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, (http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html) accessed on 21-03-2013

[5] Robert Wilde, The Industrial Revolution - An Overview, About.com Guide, (http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/theindustrialrevolution/p/OverIndRev.htm) accessed on 21-03-2013

[6] Ibid.

[7] Industrial revolution, histry.com, (http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution) accessed on 21-03-2013

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Joseph A. Montagna, The Industrial Revolution, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, (http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html) accessed on 21-03-2013

[14] Economy and Globalization in Zambia, link available at (http://www2.myoops.org/course_material/mit/NR/rdonlyres/Political-Science/17-199JFall-2005/14431833-A3A7-4533-BA1F-2C491E79FD4B/0/EconomyandGlobalizationinZambia.pdf) accessed on 21-03-2013.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] See (www.zambiamining.co.zm)

[18] See (www.fao.org)

[19] Economy and Globalization in Zambia, link available at (http://www2.myoops.org/course_material/mit/NR/rdonlyres/Political-Science/17-199JFall-2005/14431833-A3A7-4533-BA1F-2C491E79FD4B/0/EconomyandGlobalizationinZambia.pdf) accessed on 21-03-2013.

[20] Shapi Shacinda, Feb. 8, 2005, Zambian Tourism Booms Crisis in neighboring Zimbabwe boosts foreign travel, Reuters (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6936734)

[21] (www.msnbc.msn.com)

[22] Sustainable Development in Zambia: Experiences and Ways Forward, UNU-IAS, (http://www.ias.unu.edu/sub_page.aspx?catID=107&ddlID=207) accessed on 21-03-2013

[23] Zambia, African Economic Outlook, (http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/southern-africa/zambia/) accessed on 21-03-2013

[24] Darlington Mwendabai, PF’s industrialisation plan: Hope for better tomorrow, Mar 18th, 2013,( http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/?p=862) accessed on 21-03-2013

[25] What Makes an Industrial Revolution? November 8, 2007, Wall Street Journal, (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119135743412446729.html) accessed on 21-03-2013.

[26] What Makes an Industrial Revolution? November 8, 2007, Wall Street Journal, (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119135743412446729.html) accessed on 21-03-2013.