FourthRyte100

long time ago..on some forum i was lurking i saw an argument ensue between some members... an afrocentrist was arguing that because of the raw minerals of the british colonies in africa and her other colonies were the sole reason why the industrial revolution happened...and would not of happened without it..... your opinion on this


he then went on to say modern day europe needs africa and her resources, since africa is the richest resources in the world..and that usa/uk and other european countries are pillging it and interfering with there politics to keep africa down.....

its pretty crazy...what do you guys think

bartieboy

Haha ludicrous! Britain didn't colonize Africa till the late 19th century while the industrial revolution took place in the start of the 19th century!

FourthRyte100

im not that knowledgeable on british history that much...... so maybe the other colonies britian had contributed to it...but africa contributed very little

Gudenrath

Lack of royal privileges in Britain as compared to the continental absolute monarchies is one reason. There was very little incentive for manufacturers with royal monopolies to invest in efficiency, as opposed to the competitive system in Britain.

Of course there was other reasons as well, but this one was certainly no minor cause.

pugsville

High wages, cheap coal. I read a book which argued that when certain British innovations became economically viable they were adopted on the continent. There were early adopters but they went broke.

dagul

The British Empire implementing the rule of law and so the agreements and contracts were freely forged between and amongst the parties with full trust and confidence over the same, with all due regard to other reasons as the case maybe.

Isoroku295

money

dagul

You can't be wrong with that and that is also attributable to the things that the British Empire amassed from their colonies.

viking

The Industrial Revolution started before the nineteenth century. While most focus on the factory system and the steam engine, it is not widely known that before that there was a thriving industry in Wales based on local material and a local market. The discovery that copper sheathing of a boat was a successful anti fouling barrier was vital to England during the Napoleonic Wars. Wales had copper and coal in abundance and the navy provided a ready market.
The rise of the factory system, Blake's dark Satanic mills, came from the inventions in spinning and weaving machinery that lowered production costs, and steam energy fed by coal. Add to that a ready low cost labour force created by change in rural society. A large proportion of raw cotton came from America and fed the manufacture of cheap cotton goods. Manufacture is only the first step, the next step is market. In this one colony stands out and it was not Africa. India produced a very fine cotton. As a colony it was easy for the British to destroy the Indian production and create a market for it's cotton goods.

Mike McClure

War. The most important invention at the beginning of the industrial revolution was the cannon borer.