Analyse the process and nature of industrialization in Britain

 Process and nature of industrialization in Britain:

It was in Britain that modern industrial production was first realised, reaching its high point in the middle of the nineteenth century. Britain was the first industrial nation which was able to sustain a balance between production and population. For the first time during the nineteenth century, rapid increase in population was accompanied by rise in per capita. For more than fifty years, Britain remained in the forefront of the industrial world. The main factors which propelled this first major industrialization were as follows:

i) Agrarian Structure: Demographic Changes: The rate of population increase in Britain was faster than on the European continent. During the 18th century, irreversible growth in population occurred and the number of people in England and Wales increased almost three-fold from about 5.8 million in 1701 to about 14 million in 1831. While the population increase in the first half of the 18th century was modest, it rose very fast during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1781 and 1911, an average of 10 per cent increase per decade was recorded. Demographic growth in England far exceeded those of other European countries. While the English population increased by 133 per cent between 1680 and 1820, comparable increase in France was 39 per cent and in the Netherlands just 8 per cent.

ii) Demographic Changes: The rate of population increase in Britain was faster than on the European continent. During the 18th century, irreversible growth in population occurred and the number of people in England and Wales increased almost three-fold from about 5.8 million in 1701 to about 14 million in 1831. While the population increase in the first half of the 18th century was modest, it rose very fast during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1781 and 1911, an average of 10 per cent increase per decade was recorded. Demographic growth in England far exceeded those of other European countries. While the English population increased by 133 per cent between 1680 and 1820, comparable increase in France was 39 per cent and in the Netherlands just 8 per cent.

iii) Technological Innovations: The practical use of mechanical devices for enhancing production was of revolutionary consequence in the process of industrialization. Moreover, it was not the adoption of a single invention but a series of innovations which marked the first wave of modern industrialization. Rather, the increasing adoption of a cluster of innovations was eventually decisive in radically transforming the economy in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain. At the technological level, British entrepreneurs were relatively more innovative and risk-taking.

iv) Factory System: The factory which evolved from the manufactory system of production was another important characteristic which defined the era of modern industry. Some of the new technological innovations, particularly in spinning such as water frame and mule, were too large and expensive to be put in artisanal homes. They required larger sources of energy, such as water or steam, to operate them. To be feasible and more profitable they had to be installed in factories built around a central power source initially water wheels and later large steam engines. This resulted in the most revolutionary change in the structure of the industry by concentrating a large number of workers in a factory under a single roof.

v) Role of Government: The role of the government was also significant in creating an overall environment for entrepreneurship, investment and trade. The British government supported entrepreneurship at all levels, worked towards eliminating internal barriers, provided parliamentary support for enclosure of land, kept the resentment of the dispossessed sufferers in check by maintaining strict law and order, and invested heavily in the pursuit of foreign and military policies. Growth of the British navy, which was capable of defeating its rivals and defending its trade, helped in great measure the capital accumulation and expansion of an overseas market. This was one of the most significant achievements of the government.

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