Week 8 Journal Entry

The Industrial Revolution was one of the three most important times in history. The Paleolithic Era, which was a hunter/gatherer period, was followed by the agricultural period, and after the Renaissance, came the Industrial Revolution which changed not just how humans behave, but how our planet behaves too. The Industrial Revolution was important because it was the first instance where humans where able to mass produce different products, it was also when profit became an important motive, and when the application of energy was used in the development of engines. Engines like the internal combustion engine amplified human labor by burning finite resources. This will eventually contribute to climate change and global warming. During the Industrial Revolution, there was a sharp rise in orphanages and orphans, specifically in London. I learned that many of these orphans, or children who were mistaken for abandoned orphans, were shipped to Australia to increase the British presence in the Australian colony. It was an interesting thing to learn about, specially because it gives you a perspective on how one person's (or many people) misery can end up being a contribution to a flourishing Western society in Southeast Asia. The Industrial Revolution was important because it changed a natural process (burning of natural resources) into a manmade process. This was made possible by internal combustion engines.