Why Great Britain Started the Industial Revolution

Natural Resouces
1. coal, iron ore, etc.
Labour
1. Enclosure Movement
2. Population continued to grow on the base of the 18th-century population explosion
3. Better Forms of transportation
  1. eg. Railway
    1. 1830s and 1840s were the great age of railway building
  2. This allowed people to migrate to the cities
    1. by 1850, one-half of the population of England and Whales and one-quarter of the population of France and Germany had become town-dwellers
  3. Canals
Capital
1. Industrial Revolution grew on itself…
2. money made in early industries (textile, iron-making, etc.) was reinvested
Markets
1. the end of the French Revolution and the wars of Napoleon opened the continent up to British products
2. the Latin American wars of independence opened the markets of Central and South America
3. the United States and Canada demanded British products
4. through its control of India, Britain commanded the markets of southern Asia
Transportation
1. Canals
2. railways: 1830s and 1840s were the great age of railway building
Entrepreneurship
1. strong middle class
2. liberal nobles who were willing to invest in new ventures
Government Support
1. strong navy to protect merchant ships
2. commercially minded Parliament
3. few laws to limit what entrepreneurs could do

Resource summary

	Created by michelledu almost 9 years ago