HISTORY OF SELECTED INDUSTRIES

The Industrial Revolution was preceded by the first steps in a long-term 'agricultural revolution' that began in Britain in the 18th century and continued into the 20th century. 
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From the Middle Ages until the late 19th century water and wind supplied the driving power for a huge variety of engines. Windmills dominated the flat lands of northwest Europe.
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Beer has been an enjoyable part of social interaction since ancient times and this fact is, naturally, reflected in the cultural landscape of Europe. In the Early Middle Ages ...
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The emergence of the chemical industry was triggered by the mechanisation of English textile production in the second half of the 18th century.
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The final phase of industrialisation witnessed a revolution in communications: circulation figures for newspapers reached hitherto unknown heights, people were able ...
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Hardly any other industry can trace its origins as far back in history as the European cutlery trade. Once it was widespread and primarily settled in places with ...
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Industrialisation caused a revolution in the construction of housing as a result of the grave deficit in decent housing caused by the thousands of workers who migrated to booming ...
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The continuous improvement in the processing of iron and concrete during the Industrial Revolution opened up new and previously undreamt-of potentials for architects and engineers.
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It was only around the end of the 19th century, with the second wave of industrialisation, that exposed mining tips and soot-ridden workshops, endless terraces of housing ...
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The origins of gun powder can be traced to China. There the oldest recipe for mixing charcoal, salpeter and sulphur dates from the year 1044. In the Far East though ...
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Two steps are needed to make iron and steel – the key materials of the industrial era - from iron ore. First, the ore has to be smelted in the blast furnace.
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The Industrial Revolution resulted in more and more smokestacks shooting out of the ground and a huge increase in factories, coal mines and steelworks; villages merged ...
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Coal from European and American collieries was the universal fuel during the Industrial Revolution. Nonetheless technical inventions in mining played a relatively insignificant role.
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It all began in China. Comparatively early, the Chinese empire started to build up a large bureaucracy. This was probably why in the 2nd century BC the process of papermaking ...
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Domestic handmade textile production was typical for the pre-industrial age. The father sat at the loom and the women of the family were responsible for spinning the yarn.
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For thousands of years salt has been a very important material: it was not just used for seasoning, but was needed much more as a preservative. Before ice boxes, fridges and ...
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The thousands of rattling bobbins on the spinning frames in cotton factories have become a byword for industrialisation. British cotton mills were indeed the forerunners.
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During the early years of the Industrial Revolution there was a radical change in transportation. The arrival of pounding steamships and steam locomotives ...
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No European country has as close a relationship to water than the Netherlands. For this reason water construction technology developed here first. At the start ...
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