The Industrial Revolution : The State, Knowledge and Global Trade

The British Industrial Revolution has long been seen as the spark for modern, global industrialization and sustained economic growth. Indeed the origins of economic history, as a discipline, lie in 19th-century European and North American attempts to understand the foundation of this process.

In this book, William J. Ashworth questions some of the orthodoxies concerning the history of the industrial revolution and offers a deep and detailed reassessment of the subject that focuses on the State and its role in the development of key British manufactures. In particular, he explores the role of State regulation and protectionism in nurturing Britain's negligible early manufacturing base. Taking a long view, from the mid 17th century through to the 19th century, the analysis weaves together a vast range of factors to provide one of the fullest analyses of the industrial revolution, and one that places it firmly within a global context, showing that the Industrial Revolution was merely a short moment within a much larger and longer global trajectory. This book is an important intervention in the debates surrounding modern industrial history will be essential reading for anyone interested in global and comparative economic history and the history of globalization.

“This is an excellent book, ideal for lively debates in graduate seminars. It combines impressive research with a convincing argument that expands the chronological and contextual boundaries traditionally associated with the Industrial Revolution. It is a welcome intervention in the historiography.” – Journal of Modern History

"The author demonstrates convincingly that state policy, driven by the increasing demands for state revenue, played a critical role in determining Britain's industrial turn … Ashworth's The Industrial Revolution should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand industrialization and the role of the state more clearly. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." - CHOICE