The Industrial Revolution

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1027928145

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-159926

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Cunningham, William http://d-nb.info/gnd/128907487

Title:: The Industrial Revolution

Place of publication:: Cambridge

Publisher:: The University Press

Year of publication:: 1922

Scope:: xxii S., S. 404-886

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

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310 LAISSEZ FAIRE The changes which have taken place in England, during the last hundred and thirty years, at least suggest the direction of the movements which may be expected in other lands, as they are drawn more and more to adapt themselves to modern conditions. The time has not yet come to write the History of the Industrial Revolution in its broader aspects, for we only know the beginning of the story; we can trace the origin and immediate results in England, but we cannot yet gauge its importance for the world as a whole. It was not an accident that England took the lead in this matter; the circumstances of the day afforded most favourable conditions for the successful introduction of new fechanical appliances. Inventions and discoveries often seem to be rs merely fortuitous ; men are apt to regard the new machinery as oractical the outcome of a special and unaccountable burst of inventive genius in the eighteenth century. But we are not forced to be content with such a meagre explanation. To point out shat Arkwright and Watt were fortunate in the fact that the times were ripe for them, is not to detract from their merits. There had been many ingenious men® from the time of William Lee and Dodo Dudley, but the conditions of their day were unfavourable to their success. The introduc- tion of expensive implements, or processes, involves a large outlay; it is not worth while for any man, however energetic, to make the attempt, unless he has a considerable command of capital, and has access to large markets. In the eighteenth century these conditions were being more and more realised. The institution of the Bank of England, and of other banks, had given a great impulse to the formation of capital ; and it was much more possible, than it had ever been before, for a capable man to obtain the means of introducing costly improvements in the management of his business. It had become apparent, too, that the long-continued efforts to build ap the maritime power of England had been crowned with success; she had established commercial connections with all parts of the globe, and had access to markets that were prac- tically unlimited. Under these circumstances, enterprising men were willing to run the risk of introducing expensive A.D. 1776 —1850. wherever It spreads. 1 Calendars S. P. D. 1690—1692, s.v. Inventions.

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