Why Britain Was The First Industrial Revolution

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Why was Britain the first country to experience an Industrial Revolution? Mokyr’s description of Britain as the ‘economic trail blazer of the industrialised world’ is undebatable due to its early economic and technological progress as it surpassed the other powers in Europe and the Americas. Although this is evident, the causes which led to Britain being the first to experience an Industrial Revolution are less clear cut, with historians debating what actually resulted in Britain becoming the primary Industrialised nation of the world. Although many factors did contribute, the Political and Geographical situation of Britain was what ultimately ensured Britain’s early Industrialisation. Hoppit’s view that ‘laws, taxes, privileges and proclamations…frame(d) economic life’ does in fact bear…show more content…
The Glorious Revolution in 1688, was one of the most significant political occurrences which contributed towards the Industrial Revolution. The transformation from a monarchic nation to one of parliamentarian supremacy was highly influential in explaining Britain’s early Industrialisation. Compared to the aristocratic France, the British political situation facilitated rather than hindered economic growth. Significant measures such as the reformation of the Board of Trade greatly aided Britain’s Industrialisation plight, even leading to Britain becoming the largest free trade area in Europe by 1707. The increasing international relevance, which was greatly owing to the new political measures, did influence the speed of the industrialisation process as it exposed Britain to a larger market, thus establishing a larger scope for growth and also allowed Britain to import raw materials, further increasing productivity, output and innovation. New laws regarding property rights instated more confidence both within the nation and amongst

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