Innovate or Falll Behind. A Cautionary Tale - England and the Industrial Revolution
The Rocket - Famous Steam Locomotive England , more than any country, started the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s. And for over 150 years, England continued to discover new products and technologies. Yet England eventually fell behind the United States and Germany in industrial technology, commercial innovation, production efficiency, and economic growth. What happened? The seeds of England ’s relative economic decline were there right at the beginning. Producing cotton cloth was England's first big industry. But m illwrights, mechanics with specialized knowledge of how to build wool and cotton mills and their machinery, felt frustrated because they seldom became part owners and couldn’t find financing to start their own mills. Some illegally emigrated to the United States and France . Much of the early American textile mill technology was due to English immigrants and English technology. The first cotton spin...