Why was Britain the first country to industrialize?

Why was Britain the first country to industrialize?

The Industrial Revolution began first in Britain in the 1700s. Historians have identified several reasons for why the Industrial Revolution began first in Britain, including: the effects of the Agricultural Revolution, large supplies of coal, geography of the country, a positive political climate, and a vast colonial empire.

Britain also had all the factors of production that the Industrial Revolution required. These factors of production included land, labor (workers), and capital (wealth).

Painting depicting the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830, the first inter-city railway in the world.

Cyrus McCormick reaping Machine of 1831 led to huge improvements in how grain was harvested

MAIN CAUSES

1.

Agricultural Revolution

2.

Geography

4.

Government

5.

Colonial Empire

Agricultural Revolution

The Agricultural Revolution was a major event in world history and had a profound effect on life in Britain. The Industrial Revolution began due in part to an increase in food production, which was the key result of the Agricultural Revolution.

Food production increased due to new innovations and inventions, including: the discovery of crop rotation by Charles Townshend and the invention of the planter by Jethro Tull. Increased food production allowed Britain's population to increase as well, which benefited the Industrial Revolution. The increase in population helped produce workers for factories and mines.

Geography

Britain has a damp climate. This was good for textile production, because it helped to keep the fibers in the material soft and easy to work with. In addition, Britain has many deposits of coal and iron, both of which fueled the machines.Britain’s location also kept it isolated from European wars. This allowed the nation to focus on industry: factories and creating new types of transportation. At the time Britain had some of the best rivers for easily and affordably transporting goods and resources. As such, the geography of the country allowed industrialization to flourish because it made transporting goods easy for the factory owners.

Government

Britain had the advantage of an absence of internal trade barriers. Products and goods could move from one area of Britain to another, without being taxed. This encouraged internal British trade. Travel and trade were also made easier by the early development of canals and rivers and the building of railways.

Colonial Empire

The final reason for why Britain was the first country to industrialize was due in large part to its vast colonial empire. When the Industrial Revolution began, Britain had the largest empire out of all of the countries participating in the Age of Imperialism. By the 1700s, Britain had control over areas such as: North America, South Africa, Egypt, India and Australia. This is important because it gave Britain access to huge amounts of natural resources and the colonies also gave Britain exclusive trading rights to hundreds of millions of people. This resulted in Britain having a massive market for its goods to be sold in.

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Made by Isabel Medrano and Paula Méndez