INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: Essay #10

Transport

   In the eighteenth century England´s transport system was in terrible conditions and it did not contribute to the nation´s growth since it was very difficult to move goods from one place to another. It seemed impossible to cover long distances. England was experiencing a time of great commercial expansion so merchants began to claim for solutions to have an improvement both on roads and means of transports.

   One of the most serious difficulties that merchants found in English towns was the bad conditions of the roads. The government ignored the damaged roads and they did not offer money to repair them. Instead, some people from the near parishes tried to repair them with the scarce resources they possessed. Roads in that time used be like a swamp infested with swarms of armed robbers. As a consequence, pack horses appeared as the only available method for transporting goods for short or long distances but it was very expensive.

   Coast water-borne trade was quicker, cheaper and freer than pack horses. Traders and the government wanted to take advantage of this so they established more control over the rivers. This helped to connect important cities such as Manchester and Derby. Consequently, the products became cheaper and they managed to rich both local and national market.

   During that time, many businessmen were looking for the opportunity of investing their money wisely so as to obtain convenient benefits. That’s why some of them decided to keep the maintenance of a particular section of a read and in return they were allowed to charge a fee every time people used those roads for transportation of goods. Parliament supported enterprisers to do this by giving them private acts. These investors were known as the Turnpike Trusts and they turned out to be quite dishonest since they only cared about money and they did very little to help road transport. London was the exception since its trustees were really involved and concerned with the ease of transport.

   In conclusion, the improvement of transport was highly necessary for guaranteeing merchants the possibility of trading with other towns. That would give them the chance of growing economically and having a better position among society. The improvement of roads was not a difficult task for the unconcerned government and it really facilitated merchants´work.