‘Why the Industrial Revolution was British’ shows that the Industrial Revolution was Britain’s response to the challenges of globalization. First, world trade brought new products to Britain including Chinese porcelain and Indian cotton cloth. They were in high demand and British firms sought to imitate them. Second, growth in trade and empire opened new markets for British products, and the ensuing expansion of production and commerce generated high wages and cheap energy. Competing in that environment was the overriding engineering challenge that British industry so creatively met. Third, commercial expansion and increased wages aided British industry in meeting the challenge of foreign competition by improving workforce health, literacy, and skills.
