The British and Global Economy. Industrial revolution in Britain - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... This means that the industrial revolution developed after a long process of technological innovation and interaction across the land mass (Allen, 2011: 366). However, many experts argue that neither Britain nor Europe had economic advantages more that the Indian regions until the occurrence of the industrial revolution. These countries were commercialized and productive since they benefited from advanced technologies.
One of the vital aspects that encouraged industrial revolution was the environmental availability of cheap and available coal in Britain. Coal was employed to produce fuel in heat industries, for example, furnaces. Eventually, it was used to produce steam power for the developing factories (Hobsbawm, 1968: 31). Britain was distinct since it had easy access to large reserves of coal, since it was an efficient source of power than wood and charcoal. The use of coal in the production of iron was efficient in the revolution means. The coalmines from early 17 the centuries were very significant, the Black Country developed in England, and it transformed the textiles centers of the world. The factories and industrial towns also developed with canals and roads (Crafts, 1987: 2). The development of railroad and steam ships widened the market of manufactured goods. Industrial revolution changed the way things were made as new machines that were invented during the 17th and 18th century. This meant that it was possible to mass production of goods in the factories. It developed from Britain and it spread through North America and Europe, resulting to an improvement on social and economic conditions. The geographical position of Britain geopolitical position, since it was an island situated off the coast of the European continent. This favored the development of British naval power and protection from the continental warfare. Naval power was necessary since it allowed Britain to conquer the trade routes and colonies that improved industrial revolution and it provides raw materials (Allen, 2011: 374). Britain was able to extract diverse amounts of wealth from the New World through the slave trade and plantations. Capitalist merchants controlled Britain and this made it efficient for it to extract wealth. It also indicated that wealth could be used to fund the development of industrial capitalism. During the 18th century, the British ships transported more than a million African slaves to the British Caribbean to offer labor. Britain built extensive utility of mercantilist trade strategies that protected the developing industries against imports that had high tariffs imposed on them (Hobsbawm, 1968: 29). According to Marxists, several factors contributed to the industrial revolution in Britain. The development of capitalism could not be defined as the primary reason of entrepreneurial spirit of the British. The British revolution was a long period of economic and political changes marked by violent upheavals such as English Revolution during the 17th century. However, during the beginning of the 18th century, Britain was identified as the European country where the social relationships were embedded firmly. There were two significant features of capitalism that are important in the industrial revolution in Britain, the first was the prior capitalist class that developed over the previous centuries asserting its dominance in the British society (Crafts, 1987: 4). The ...Download file to see next pagesRead More