Socioeconomic Change and Industrialization in England Socioeconomic change and industrialization in England (1650-1850)

clearly shows the importance of the developments in the Atlantic World. The wool trade with Northwest Europe and population growth

Central factors in the process of change in Englands economy and society esp. in the southern countries Englands Achievements

Commercialization of agriculture and Development of woolen textile manufacturing as an import substitution industry (Northern and Northwest Europe) Development of political institutions, particularly the evolution of an effective parliamentary system of government Mid-seventeenth century

Although the growth of the of the woolen industry had significantly reduced Englands dependence on Northwest Europe manufacturers The country still lagged behind the major centers of manufacturing in the Low country and the GermanStates.

Late seventeenth century

The woolen industry faced difficulties at home and in North and Northwest Europe Exports to the Northwest stagnated as the states developed their own industries while growing imports of Oriental cottons and silks invaded on the industrys domestic market

Englands population had moved back and forth since the subsistence crisis of the fourteenth century Unable to break through the six million ceiling imposed by available resources

From Restoration (1660) to the early decades of the eighteenth century

Major changes in economy and society came from: agricultural development, leading to significant export surpluses; and the growth of service incomes connected with entreport trade

Eighteenth century

England centered on efforts by English entrepreneurs to develop local industries aimed in capturing the domestic market for manufacturers created by the developments (1650-1740) The early expansion quickly reached the limits of the pre-existing domestic market and could not sustain long-run expansion of manufacturing needed for a radical transformation of the organization and technology of industrial production Manufacturers struggled to secure markets overseas.

The pursuit of mercantilist policy by the states of Northern and Northwest Europe foreclosed those regions as major markets for the products of the developing English industries. Englands traditional manufactured export to Northern and Northwest Europe (woolen textiles) declined from 1.5M in 1701 to 1.0 million in 1806. England found their export markets in the Atlantic world. The sustained growth sales on the Atlantic market created growing employments

This stimulated population growth, overcoming the ceiling imposed for centuries by Englands agrarian society Growing population combined with export demand created the general environment for the transformation of the organization and technology manufacturing in the export industries making it possible to be successfully completed. Several regions in southern England had involved in proto-industrialization (16 and earlier)
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East Anglia and West Country Major centers of agriculture and industrial development Main centers of the woolen industry with export markets in Northern and Northwest Europe

Weald of Kent Major proto-industrial region, producing glass, iron, timber products and textiles

For centuries southern countries remained far more developed in agriculture, manufacturing and social organization Northern countries remained extremely backward

Lancashire and Yorkshire Feudal elements were still found in the agrarian structure and society

The ten (10) richest countries in England were in the south between 1086 and 1660 Between 1660 and 1850 the regional distribution of manufacturing and wealth in England was radically transformed.

Lancashire

Leading region in large-scale mechanized manufacturing, with the cotton textile industry, machine and machine-tools production

West Riding of Yorkshire West Midlands The Industrial Revolution was a phenomenon of these three English regions. Meanwhile, East Anglia and West Country Second in large-scale mechanized manufacturing, with woolen industry

Failed to transit to modern industrialization They had to be pulled into the modern era by the dynamism of the leading regions following the construction of railroads and creation of Victorian Empire The reasons for the changes in the economic fortune of Englands region are to be found in the geographical reorientation of Englands international trade (1650 and 1850) As Englands markets in Northern and Northwest Europe stagnated, the Atlantic markets became the main outlets for English manufacturers.

Northern Counties and the West Midlands manufacturers expanded export market, Southern counties had to contend with stagnating export markets
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These differing experiences also had consequences for the growth of the domestic markets in these two sets of regions.

1 set of counties employment growth in manufacturing and commerce led to growing population and wages 2 set of counties population and wages stagnated Therefore, the domestic market grew much faster in the former than in the latter counties. Transport improvements in the 18 century were strongly regional in their impact
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Limiting effective competition at home among Englands manufacturers to regional economies served by these regional transportation networks Changes in organization (the factory system) and technological innovation were concentrated in the fast growing regions of Lancashire, the West Riding of Yorkshire and the West Midlands