Industries Created by the Industrial Revolution

As the textile industry grew as a result of the machines produced by the Industrial Revolution, so did other industries. Coal mining was one of them. Although the water frame did its job well, it was limited in its capabilities because it had to be built near a river. The steam engine solved this problem, making it possible to set up a factory almost anywhere. There was one wrinkle in the solution however. Britain had been severely deforested over the years, and wood and charcoal were becoming too precious to use on a large scale in the textile industry. That's where coal came in. Soon the first mines were sunk, but they couldn't be dug too deep because of water. Again, the steam engine came to the rescue. A steam driven pump developed by Thomas Newcomen was able to pump the water out of the mines, giving factories access to as much coal as they needed.

Another industry affected by the rise in textile machinery was metallurgy. The new steam engines and textile machines needed iron to be produced. Britain had access to hordes of iron ore, but again, because of the lack of wood, it was impossible to smelt it on a large scale. Now that coal was being dug, the field could be developed. Henry Cort came up with the first useful method in 1784.

I personally find it amazing how "convenient" it was that one invention led to another after another, finally resulting in the industrial revolution. It just goes to show how amazing and intricate God's plan was, and is! All the right things just "fall into place" at the right time!