Industrialisation and Economic Change, c. 1830-1870

Industrialisation and Economic Change, c. 1830-1870

1. Contemporary European lifestyle was opulent (as described by Adam Smith in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). He said this was due to specialisation in "division of labour", and he forsaw a grim future growth.

   • Gross Domestic Product Growth Per Capita (From 1820-1870): England and Wales almost doubled, which is reflected in the data for the entire UK. The us also grew significantly, however France and the Netherlands did now show a growth on par with the UK.
   • Gross National Product for the UK: There was a 90% increase between 1830-1870 (2.3% p.a)
   • Implications:
     • The growth was slow compared to modern standards, however Britain had the highest per captia income in the world untill 1880 (overtaken by USA)
     • Britain remained the worlds industrial giant: Evidence for this as in 1860 GB produced 53% iron, 50% coal, raw consumption was at 49% and energy consumption at 27%
     • Britain had 2% of the worlds population, however produced 45% of the global productive capacity during the mid 1800s

2. Why Did Britain Become so Industrial so Early?

   • Puritan Ethics
   • Peace, order and liberty
   • Specialisation: Developement of the transport system and monetary systems
   • Surpassing the energy barrier which had always limited growth

3. Periodisation: The UKs GNP growth was unconstant. The world trade doubled from 1800-40, then there was a period during the 40s known as "the hungry forties", which was followed by "the mid-Victorian boom, which then grew to the "great global boom" between 1850-1872 (during this time, world trade increased by 260%)

4. Booms and Busts; Manias and Panics:

   • Railway Mania: Between 1844-45, there was a liquidity crisis, credit contractions and bank runs (1844, 47 and 66)
   • Peel's Bank Charter Act (1844): Failed to prevent future panics in money markets

5. The Railway Age: A private (not public) enterprise:

   • The first railway to open was in 1825, and first entirely steam-powered was Liverpool-Manchester in 1830
   • Railway Development in GB Between 1840-1880:
     • The # of lines open in terms of miles grew from just 1,497 to 13,388.
     • Between 1850-70, the # of passenger journeys grew from 67 to 322 million.
     • In just 10 years from 18860-70, freight loaded doubled.
     • By 1873, GBs railways employed 275k people, and the technology exports were growing (from 1% in 1830s to 7& in 1900s)

6. Service Sector: There was a huge service sector as well as the industrial. This involved building, finance, transport. It grew rapidly (by 1881 it was 30.2% of GBs labour force and 42.1% in the SE)

7. Winners and Losers:

   • Regions: In 1881, 18.8% of Irish workers were employed in manufactoring, while 42.3% and 45.5% in England & Wales and Scotland respectively. There was little rural industry, mos was concentrated in towns.
   • Classes:
     • 'Real wages' rose by 30% from 1780-1850, however there was also an increased family size, poor public health, and reduction in poor law relief, therefore there was really only a 10-15% increase during this period, followed by a more sustained increase.
     • Between 1820-50, income inequality rose, however fell thereafter.( Development of WC holiday resulted in improvement)
     • NOTE: WC did not prosper. 40-60% of their income was spent on bread alone.

8. A Trading Nation?:

   • What does Britain Import?: Until 1870, Britain was the largest international trader. (1840, GB imports 40% of the worlds exports and 1872-3, 31%.
   • 1860 saw UKs peak in world trade. In 1876-85 its manufactured goods comprised of 38% of the worlds total output.
   • From 1840s-70s, GBs exports as a share of national income doubled
   • There was a long-term reorientation from advanced manufacturing to raw materials (after 1870).
     • Coal: 1% exports in 1830-9 compared to 10% in 1900-9
     • Iron and Steel: 11% to 14% between 1830-1909
     • Textiles: 72% to 38% between 1830-1909

9. A Rentier Economy: During 1880s, only 10% of farmland was farmed by owner occupiers ie 90% paid rent to landlords

10. The Agricultural and Industrial Changes in Victorian Britain

    • Agriculture:
      • There was a huge change in agricultural productivity. Medieval England was reaping the same as they were threshing per day, this changed by 1850 to around doubling the reaping than threshing.
      • There was a decline in agriculture after the highpoint of 1851
      • Between 1801 to 1901, the % of labour force employed in agriculture shrunk from 35.9% to 8.7%. This decline is also seen in the % of GPs national income, from 35.5% in 1801 to 10.4% in 1881.
    • Trades and Industry:
      • There was also a huge change in % of labour force employed in GB, from 29.7% in 1801 to 43.5% in 1881, which is paralleled in the % of GBs national income, from 23.4% to 37.6%
      • NOTE:
        • Technological innovation was also limited to select industries as water power was not replaced by steam as principle energy source until 1870s.
        • In 1831 only 10% of the male workforce were employed in manufactoring while 32% were hand-craftsmen.