Natural Resources

                                                                   Coal

 Before the Industrial Revolution, the demand for coal was low.  Coal was regarded merely as a cheap fuel, and mining took place on a fairly small scale.  However, as factories grew and steam engines improved, the demand for coal increased dramatically.

To keep up with the demand for coal, mines were dug deeper and deeper, and eventually coal mining became very dangerous.  Explosive gas could be found in the deeper mines, and the workers had to be careful not to create sparks while digging.  However, the biggest danger to miners was not explosive gas, but flooding.  James Watt's improved steam engine helped reduce the dangers of flooding, but by no means did it completely resolve the problem.

Despite these problems the production of coal, which was of course needed to power steam engines and to produce iron, took a dramatic increase.

 Iron

The iron industry began in heavily forested areas because charcoal, which is made from trees, was needed to produce iron.  However, iron making and shipbuilding eventually caused the forests to diminish and it became necessary to search for an alternative fuel.  In 1709, Abraham Darby discovered a process in which coal was turned into coke.  Coke was used in the  smelting process to produce iron.  The discovery of coke elimated the demand for charcoal, which was a  more expensive and less efficient fuel.  Another breakthrough in iron production was when Henry Cort invented a process to shape iron to its desired size and form.  These advances enabled iron, which was rather plentiful, to be used in new ways such as in the building of heavy machinery.  Iron came to be used in many industries because of its strength and durability, and was essential to the development of railroads.

 Bibliography:

1. "Dawn of the Industrial Age." World History: The Modern Era. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005: 198.

2. Outman, James L. and Elisabeth M. Outman. Industrial Revolution Almanac. Detroit: Thomas Gale, 2003: 49-52.