The Industrial Revolution provided the greatest increase in living
standards the world has ever known while propelling Britain to dominance on the
global stage. In Forging Modernity, Martin Hutchinson looks at how and
why Britain gained this prize ahead of its European competitors. After
comparing their endowments and political structures as far back as 1600, he
then traces how Britain, through better policies primarily from the political
Tory party, diverged from other European countries. Hutchinson's Harvard MBA
allows a unique perspective on the early industrial enterprises - many
successes resulted from marketing, control systems and logistics rather than
from production technology alone, while on a national scale the scientific
method and commercial competition were as important as physical infrastructure.
By 1830, through ever-improving
policies, Britain had built a staggering industrial lead, half a century ahead
of its rivals. Then the Tories lost power and policy changed forever. In his
conclusion, Hutchinson shows how changes welcomed by conventional historians
caused the decline of Industrial Britain. Nevertheless, the policies that drove
growth, ingenuity and rising living standards are still available for those
bold enough to adopt them.
List of
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Note on Money
1.
Introduction: What this Book Is About
2. The
Competitors: Europe's Potential Industrializers in 1600
3. Britain in
1600 and Early Changes, 1600-48
4. The
Restoration Renaissance, 1649-88
5. Iron,
Steam and Finance, 1689-1720
6. The
Industrial Revolution Takes a Whig Nap, 1721-60
7. The
Tory-Assisted Take-off, 1761-83
8. Pitt,
Rotary Steam Engines and War, 1784-1806
9.
Liverpool's Policies Lead to Modernity, 1807-30
10. Epilogue:
The Victorians and After
Bibliography
Index
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