The Origins of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began in England, as is evident from the question. This primarily is due to the following:
- a supply of cheap labor, due to the enclosure movement causing unemployment among farmers
- a good supply of coal and iron for development and energy
- the availability of large supplies of money from commercial activity in the previous centuries
- a class of inventive people who posessed the knowledge and skill to develop industrial technology
- colonial resources
- a sympathetic government which allowed development
- no wars
The industrialization of the continent took much longer because they did not have most of these advantages. Continental industrialization began in Belgium and France. Germany followed only when they employed tariffs to ensure investments in German enterprises.
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