Exceptionalism and Industrialisation: Britain and its European Rivals, 1688–1815

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511523830

This 2004 book explores the question of British exceptionalism in the period from the Glorious Revolution to the Congress of Vienna. Leading historians examine why Great Britain emerged from years of sustained competition with its European rivals in a discernible position of hegemony in the domains of naval power, empire, global commerce, agricultural efficiency, industrial production, fiscal capacity and advanced technology. They deal with Britain's unique path to industrial revolution and distinguish four themes on the interactions between its emergence as a great power and as the first industrial nation. First, they highlight growth and industrial change, the interconnections between agriculture, foreign trade and industrialisation. Second, they examine technological change and, especially, Britain's unusual inventiveness. Third, they study her institutions and their role in facilitating economic growth. Fourth and finally, they explore British military and naval supremacy, showing how this was achieved and how it contributed to Britain's economic supremacy.

Review of the hardback:'… splendidly informative and thought provoking tribute to a great economic historian.'Times Literary Supplement

Review of the hardback:'We are brought to the very brink of a new phase of research by this highly significant and suggestive volume.'Business History

Review of the hardback:'… consistently interesting and focused. This book is an important collection.’History

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi
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Contents
pp vii-viii
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List of tables and figures
pp ix-xi
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List of contributors
pp xii-xiv
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Acknowledgements
pp xv-xvi
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid
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Introduction: Was British industrialisation exceptional?
pp 1-12
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid
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Part I - The origins of British primacy
pp 13-14
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid; Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
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1 - Britain's economic ascendancy in a European context
pp 15-34
- By Robert C. Allen, Fellow of Nuffield College and Professor of Economic History, University of Oxford
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2 - Comparative patterns of colonial trade: Britain and its rivals
pp 35-66
- By Javier Cuenca Esteban, Professor of Economics, University of Waterloo, Ontario
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Part II - Agriculture and industrialisation
pp 67-68
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid; Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
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3 - European farmers and the British ‘agricultural revolution’
pp 69-85
- By James Simpson, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla
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4 - Precocious British industrialisation: a general-equilibrium perspective
pp 86-108
- By N. F. R. Crafts, Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics, C. Knick Harley, Professor of Economics, University of Western Ontario, Canada
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Part III - Technological change
pp 109-110
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid; Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
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5 - The European origins of British technological predominance
pp 111-126
- By Christine MacLeod, Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History, University of Bristol
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6 - Invention in the Industrial Revolution: the case of cotton
pp 127-144
- By James Thomson, Reader in History, University of Sussex
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7 - Continental responses to British innovations in the iron industry during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
pp 145-170
- By Rainer Fremdling, Professor of Economic and Social History, Groningen University
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Part IV - Institutions and growth
pp 171-172
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid; Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
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8 - The monetary, financial and political architecture of Europe, 1648–1815
pp 173-190
- By Larry Neal, Professor of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research
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9 - Towards the comparative fiscal history of Britain and France during the ‘long’ eighteenth century
pp 191-215
- By Richard Bonney, Professor of History, Leicester University
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10 - Money and economic development in eighteenth-century England
pp 216-232
- By Forrest Capie, Professor of Economic History, Cass Business School, City University, London
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Part V - War and Hegemony
pp 233-234
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid; Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
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11 - Naval power: what gave the British navy superiority?
pp 235-258
- By Daniel A. Baugh, Professor Emeritus of Modern British History, Cornell University
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Conclusions
pp 259-260
- By Leandro Prados De La Escosura, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid; Prince of Asturias Distinguished Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
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Institutional change and British supremacy, 1650–1850: some reflections
pp 261-282
- By Stanley L. Engerman, Professor of Economics and Professor of History, University of Rochester
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Laudatio patritii. Patrick O'Brien and European economic history
pp 283-293
- By Gianni Toniolo, Professor of Economic History, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’; Research Professor of Economics, Duke University; Research Fellow, CEPR
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References
pp 294-323
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Index
pp 324-335
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Exceptionalism and Industrialisation

Britain and its European Rivals, 1688–1815

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