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Question: Why did the Industrial revolution start in England!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
England - Well, Britain to be more correct, had the right raw materials that were easily obtained, the right economic climate - wealthy landowners wanting to make more money, the right agricultural climate - innovations were making many of the rural poor out of work, the right political climate, it was stable and the right markets for the products - Empire!.
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http://www!.fordham!.edu/halsall/mod/modsb!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

One word: Fuel

England at the opening of the 17th century was sporting rapid population growth!. And as more British are born, the demand for burning fuel for cooking/heating increases alongside!. During this period, wood was the primary source of fuel for the average household, and it came from forests in the countryside!.

Bu unlike the mainland European countries, England was an island and did not have as much trees as did France or Italy!. Soon, the forests of England became exhausted and prices for firewood skyrocketed (not only because they were running out of trees, but because wood had to be transported from ever more distance forests in the countryside hence increased cost)!. The problem was getting out of hand, until people decided that they had enough of wood and decided to burn coal instead!.

Coal was relatively abundant in England, also coal mines were situated near rivers where they could be transport easily to the urban centers of London and elsewhere!. But the coal on the surface of the mines was soon exhausted, and miners had to dig ever deeper in order to get their coal!.

These mine shafts soon went so deep that they started to fill with water from underground!. Driven by the ever increasing demand for coal, the English had to invent devices to pump out the water so that they could work the deep shafts below the water table!. Many of these devices worked on the principle of atmospheric pressure and steam!. And from one of these devices, a English mechanic by the name of Watts got the idea for building the first true steam piston engine!.

One thing led to another, and England became the first industrial powerhouse of the world!.

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The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain!. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe and North America and eventually the world, a process that continues as industrialisation!. The onset of the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in human society; almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

By this I assume you mean "why in England and not somewhere else"!. The answer really is down to wealth and power!. England owned and controlled much of the known world at the time!. This afforded it to allow people to have a very good education and indulge in research and development!. Combine this with almost unlimited access to coal and steel and very little could stop the progress!. Once the steam engine was developed it was only a case of designing machinery it could power!. The expansion is almost exponential then as factories can run 24 hours a day producing cheap goods!. England's university system produced many brilliant mathematicians, engineers and in general problem solvers!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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