Why Did England Became The “Workshop Of The W Essay, Research Paper
Why did England become the workshop of the world in the 18th century? In the latter part of the eighteenth century, England was a step ahead of the global environment. It became the workshop of the world because of its geographic location and it had possessed assets that initiated and favored the development of an Industrial breakthrough which her European neighbors mainly France, Holland and Germany were lacking. According to J. Michael Allen and James B. Allen in World History from 1500 they mentioned that England was neither the richest nor the most populous country in Western Europe [but instead] it had a unique combination of elements that enable them to industrialized first. England assets had included a stable government, an experience business class, excellent sea transportation facilitating trade, mineral wealth, strong consumer market, adequate capital, skilled workers and scientific technology. These factors were just a few that summed up why England became the workshop of the world.Firstly, England gained a dominant position in the world because of its geographic location. It was centered or rather the crossroad of International trade. Internally, Britain was endowed with easily navigable natural waterways, which it trades and communicates with the world at large. Since the water transportation was the cheapest means of carrying goods, Britain was able to reduced prices and thus consumer demand at both domestic and international levels increased. Its geographic location also facilitated the shipping of raw materials (for example, coals and iron) which gave England the edge in the distribution of manufactured goods.Furthermore, during the latter part of the seventeenth century and throughout the eighteenth century, England enjoyed a relatively stable and predictable government, which prevented possibilities of any civil upheavals, or any foreign armies threatening the country s peace. Consequently, the domestic economy operated freely and fairly, thus encouraged citizens to use their personal initiative that brought about a change, which increased production and productivity in the economy. Meanwhile on the other hand, during the same period, France was experiencing political changes and other countries were having economic rivalries, which prevented such achievement in their respective economies.Moreover, England had an experience business class that was eagerly sought to make profits and accumulate capital. Thus there was a large class of hired agricultural labors that were mobile and this contributed to large labor force that British entrepreneurs welcomed. This resulted in an increased in agricultural production that was in proportion to England s rapidly growing population. The population boom of the latter 1700 s influenced industrialization not only by its enlargement of the labor force, but also by expansion of the market for goods. According to J. Michael Allen and James B. Allen they noted that by the mid-eighteen century, England s agriculture was in a process of a radical and technological desirable transformation and it was producing 300% more food than they had produced in 1700. Also, since the British Government did not established legal monopolies or taxes on domestic trade, people who turned to the new business pursuits encountered relatively few obstacles to their ambitions. At the same time tariffs on certain goods from abroad presented barriers to potential foreign competitors, this thus gave English businesses advantages by both freeing and restraining enterprise. While in France and Germany, peasants were restricted to their respective villages earning pittance. In France for example, the price of food increased faster than wages. With the absence of internal tariffs, such as those existed in France or Italy or between the German states made Britain the largest traded area in Europe.
In addition, the rising of wealth had a duel effect. It both increased the market for products and provided capital for industrial expansion. And unlike, France and other countries, the central banking system in England had expanded rapidly, which yield additional investment funds. Entrepreneurs were able to borrow money to finance the building of new factories, improved technological innovations in agriculture and in the manufacturing of cloth. These were extremely helpful since the demand for British products worldwide and domestically were on the rise resulting in England securing a strong consumer market. According to Paul Mantoux in The Industrial Revolution in the Eighteen Century , he mentioned that the pressure to produce more goods for a growing market was directly related to the first decisive breakthrough of the Industrial Revolution .the creation of the first large factories in the English cotton textile Industry. A product of the creation was the flying shuttle, a single person operation to weave cloth. England also enjoyed a large domestic market since goods were easily transported by sea throughout the country. Numerous canals were built with the help of Dutch, within the country to facilitate such trading, less any tariffs. These conditions were very unlike the case in France, where tariffs were imposed on traders, which resulted in reducing their profits, with the aim of raising for the French government.Finally, the scientific technology of the British was far more superior to the rest of the world. Thus, the creation of the world s first steam engines and the building of the railroad, together these innovations when combined rocketed the British economy to the top where it occupied this position throughout the most part of the nineteenth century. It should also be noted that this technology was so advanced and complicated that very few engineers outside of England understood the developments.In conclusion, England dominance of the European power was fashioned around a unique combination of elements. It flooded the continent with cheap merchandise that enable them to control the global market. When the pace of England s economy began to accelerate in the 1780 s, neighboring countries adopted the new method as they proved to be profitably for England. Last but not least their geographic location enable England to have access to the world at large which resulted in them being the workshop of the world. Bibliography Allen, J. Michael, and Allen, James B, World History from 1500, New York, Harper Collins Publisher 1993. Mantoux, Paul. The Industrial Revolution in the Eighteen Century, Harper & Row Publisher New York 1992. J. Walter Wallbank, Alastair M. Taylor, Nels W. Balkey, et al., Civilization Past and Present, single volume: 5th edition; NewYork: Harper Collins, 1983.