A brief introduction on Industrial Revolution Industrial Revolution was a period in which fundamental changes occurred in agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure.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 Industrial Revolution was a major shift of technological, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It began in Britain and spread throughout the world. During that time, an economy based on manual labour was replaced by one dominated by industry and the manufacture of machinery. It began with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steam power (fuelled primarily by coal) and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity.The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries.
Effects on Singapore.
Increase of trade
In 1834, the British government ended the East India Company's monopoly on the China trade, allowing other British companies to enter the market and leading to a surge in shipping traffic. The trade with China was opened with the signing of the Unequal Treaties, beginning in 1842. The advent of ocean-going steamships, which were faster and had a larger capacity than sailing ships, reduced transportation costs and led to a boom in trade. AS New machines were invented. New sources of energy were also founded to drive these machines. Lots of goods were manufactured and the Europeans had to come to Asia to sell their goods. Raw materials such as rubber and tin were greatly demanded in America, Britain and other parts of Europe. As a result of the development of rubber planting a decade later Singapore grew to become the main sorting and export centre for rubber in the world.Acting as a coaling station for the Royal Navy and merchant ships, Singapore bought the rubber and tin from Malaya as Malaya had a lot of tin and rubber, and then exported them to the European countries. Besides all these, she also bought oil from Russia and America and re-exported the oil to other countries.By 1880, over 1.5 million tons of goods were passing through Singapore each year, with around 80% of it transported by steamships.The main commercial activity was entrepôt trade which flourish under no taxation and little restriction. Many merchant houses were set up in Singapore mainly by European trading firms, but also by Jewish, Chinese, Arab, Armenian, American and Indian merchants. There were also many Chinese middlemen who handled most of the trade between the European and Asian merchants.
Reason of choosing Singapore as the Port of Call
Geographical Position: Traders found Singapore a convenient place to trade. Therefore, they called at the port more often.
Free Port: The policy of free port made Singapore an attractive place to trade because traders who came to Singapore to trade did not need to pay any taxes or custom duties.
Security: British Government took action against the pirates. Traders found Singapore a safe place to trade as law and order was maintained
Free Trade: All the traders from the world were allowed call at the port, as the government did not impose any rules on them. This made the trading activities easier to be carried out
Good Services: Large trading companies provided services, which facilitated trading activities such as insurance shipping and banking
Increase of number of immigrants
The trade expanded extremely fast and attracted a lot of immigrants to
Singapore to seek for a job which explains diverse demographics of the population in Singapore in 1860s . As Singapore offered many economic opportunities and by 1860, 50000 Chinese had flocked to the island seeking their job.
How did Singapore become a prosperous country?
Singapore was a prosperous country and her tradings grew. New machines and new sources of power , e.g. the steam engine, was discovered. New machines were invented to produce more at a faster rate. This led to Singapore’s increase in trade. More traders could come to Singapore to trade and it would take a shorter time and it could be possible at any time of the year. Singapore’s economy grew and prosper as it was much more convenient to get raw materials, such as rubber and tin, much of which was shipped out through Singapore and also to find new markets. Traders came from all over the region to refuel, obtain food supplies and trade at the same time. Singapore became an important collection and distribution centre for traders. Other British companies were allowed in the market since they ended the East India Company’s monopoly on the China trade.The Industrial Revolution made Singapore closer to the rest of the world. The countries could communicate between one another as there were steamships to transport packages and important documents and letters. The Industial Revolutionhad made such a great change in the way people used to communicate, work and live. Thus I can conclude that Singapore changed since the Industrual Revoultion and continue to prosper.
The machinery industry was increasingly in the forefront of technological innovation as a result of the Economic Development Board's promotion of computer-controlled production, industrial robots, and flexible manufacturing systems. The industry's output increased by 17 percent in 1987 and 20 percent in 1988.
New inventions are invented to make the world a better place for living.
The invention of Spining Mule.
-In 1779, Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule that combined the moving carriage of the spinning jenny with the rollers of the water frame.
The spinning mule gave the spinner great control over the weaving process. Spinners could now make many different types of yarn. Finer cloths could now be made. -With the invention of spinning mule,we get to choose a variety of cloth.
-A 10 percent growth in the fashion industry in 1987 reflected both the new trend and a strong market among Western trading partners.
Communication by Post, Telephones and Telegraph, steamship.....
- The invention of the steamship, the railroad, and the telegraph demon- straited that the establishment of more direct lines of communication was entirely practicable,Communications improved a lot because last time, people would take about four-five months just to send a message but with the introduction of the Industrial Revolution, it would only take five weeks.Thus, without the introducing or the Industrial Revolution, life would be difficult for us
The invention of the electric telegraph, transport and communications were, in almost all cases, the same thing. Various forms of transport could be used in different ways to enable people of singapore to communicate without the need for them to travel. Letters and messages have been part of humanity's cultural repertoire since before the dawn of literacy and civilisation but, by the time of the foundation of British colonies in Australia, such communication had developed into a regular industry.For all of this invention, we do not need to wait for 3 to 4 months for our letters to be sent and received to or from Europe.Instead, it took only 1 to 2 minutes when we use MSN.
Way of life
-It has drastic change and transformation from hand tools, and hand made items to machine manufactured and mass produced goods. The industrial revolution effects society because that was the time period where machines were built. If those machines weren't built, then the people in singapore will all be farmers, and growing crops or sewing their own shirts without the sewing machine! Life would be very difficult because they would have to make everything themselves if the industrial revolution never happened.This change generally helped life, but also hindered it as well. Pollution, such as co2 levels in the atmosphere rose, working conditions declined, and the number of women and children working increased. The government, the arts, literature, music and architecture and man's way of looking at life all changed during the period. Two revolutions took place, both resulting in productive but also dire consequences.
-By 1989, Singapore had become the world's largest producer of disk drives and disk drive parts. Other related products included integrated circuits, data processing equipment, telecommunications equipment, and radio receivers.
Done by:shimengqing, wangmeiqiong,Diyana.
A brief introduction on Industrial Revolution 
