The Industrial Revolution is a central concept in conventional understandings of the modern world, and as such is a core topic on many history courses. It is therefore difficult for students to see it as anything other than an objective description of a crucial turning-point, yet a generation of social and labour history has revealed the inadequacies of the Industrial Revolution as a way of conceptualizing economic change. This book provides students with access to recent upheavals in scholarly debate by bringing a selection of previously published articles, by leading scholars and teachers, together in one volume, accompanied by explanatory notes. The editor's introduction also provides a synthesis and overview of the topic. As the revision of historical thought is a continual process, this volume seeks to bring the reinterpretation of such debates as working-class formation up to the present by introducing post-structuralist and feminist perspectives.

The Industrial Revolution is a central concept in conventional understandings of the modern world, and as such is a core topic on many history courses. It is therefore difficult for students to see it as anything other than an objective description of a crucial turning-point, yet a generation of social and labour history has revealed the inadequacies of the Industrial Revolution as a way of conceptualizing economic change. This book provides students with access to recent upheavals in scholarly debate by bringing a selection of previously published articles, by leading scholars and teachers.

This eleventh edition was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time and it is considered to be a landmark encyclopaedia for scholarship and literary style.

Written for the layman as well as the economic historian this famous and much-used book not only presents a general synthesis of the pattern of European industrialisation; it also provides material for a comparative study by illustrating, in separate case studies, the specific characteristics of development in Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Italy.

A transnational survey of the economic development of Europe, exploring why some regions advanced and some stayed behind.

Why did the industrial revolution take place in 18th century Britain and not elsewhere in Europe or Asia? Robert Allen argues that the British industrial revolution was a successful response to the global economy of the 17th and 18th centuries.

As editor Kenneth E. Hendrickson, III, notes in his introduction: “Since the end of the nineteenth-century, industrialization has become a global phenomenon. After the relative completion of the advanced industrial economies of the West after 1945, patterns of rapid economic change invaded societies beyond western Europe, North America, the Commonwealth, and Japan.” In The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History contributors survey the Industrial Revolution as a world historical phenomenon rather than through the traditional lens of a development largely restricted to Western society. The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History is a three-volume work of over 1,000 entries on the rise and spread of the Industrial Revolution across the world. Entries comprise accessible but scholarly explorations of topics from the “aerospace industry” to “zaibatsu.” Contributor articles not only address topics of technology and technical innovation but emphasize the individual human and social experience of industrialization. Entries include generous selections of biographical figures and human communities, with articles on entrepreneurs, working men and women, families, and organizations. They also cover legal developments, disasters, and the environmental impact of the Industrial Revolution. Each entry also includes cross-references and a brief list of suggested readings to alert readers to more detailed information. The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History includes over 300 illustrations, as well as artfully selected, extended quotations from key primary sources, from Thomas Malthus’ “Essay on the Principal of Population” to Arthur Young’s look at Birmingham, England in 1791. This work is the perfect reference work for anyone conducting research in the areas of technology, business, economics, and history on a world historical scale.

The first volume of The Cambridge History of Capitalism provides a comprehensive account of the evolution of capitalism from its earliest beginnings. Starting with its distant origins in ancient Babylon, successive chapters trace progression up to the 'Promised Land' of capitalism in America. Adopting a wide geographical coverage and comparative perspective, the international team of authors discuss the contributions of Greek, Roman, and Asian civilizations to the development of capitalism, as well as the Chinese, Indian and Arab empires. They determine what features of modern capitalism were present at each time and place, and why the various precursors of capitalism did not survive. Looking at the eventual success of medieval Europe and the examples of city-states in northern Italy and the Low Countries, the authors address how British mercantilism led to European imitations and American successes, and ultimately, how capitalism became global.

Through this book's roughly 50 reference entries, readers will gain a better appreciation of what life during the Industrial Revolution was like and see how the United States and Europe rapidly changed as societies transitioned from an agrarian economy to one based on machines and mass production. The Industrial Revolution remains one of the most transformative events in world history. It forever changed the economic landscape and gave birth to the modern world as we know it. The content and primary documents within The Industrial Revolution: History, Documents, and Key Questions provide key historical background of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States, enable students to gain unique insights into life during the period, and allow readers to perceive the similarities to developments in society today with ongoing advances in current science and technology. Roughly 50 reference entries provide essential information about the most important people and developments related to the Industrial Revolution, including Richard Arkwright, coal, colonialism, cotton, the factory system, pollution, railroads, and the steam engine. Each entry provides information that gives readers a sense of the importance of the topic within a historical and societal perspective. For example, the coverage of movements during the Industrial Revolution explains the origin of each, including when it was established, and by whom; its significance; and the social context in which the movement was formed. Each entry cites works for further reading to help users learn more about specific topics.

"The sixteenth century in Europe was a period of vigorous economic expansion that led to social, political, religious, and cultural transformations and established the early modern age. This resource explores the emergence of monarchial nation-states and early Western capitalism during this period. Also examined in depth are the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, which exacerbated tensions between states and contributed to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Readers will come to understand how these events developed, how they led to the age of exploration, and how they inform modern European history."