Introduction

The industrial revolution in England, and in other countries which have industrialized, resulted in more people with more goods. The industrial revolution was an example of successful growth, the achievement of 'the growth of output per head of population'. Economists and historians are both interested in economic growth. With a quickening interest in growth, it was inevitable that both economists and historians should look more closely at the industrial revolution in England. Poverty, the economists believe, tends to be self-perpetuating, while growth also tends to generate its own momentum, once it has commenced. After 1660 a large number of small growth points of increasing employment outside of agriculture absorbed an increasing proportion of the agricultural underemployed into productive enterprise, both in industry and in commerce. In agriculture, advances in husbandry technique and improvements in agrarian organization boosted the supply of food and raw materials, improved agricultural incomes, and expanded the market for industrial goods.