ABSTRACT
A systematic comparison of the eighteenth-century English economy with that of another country - and France as the leading Continental power at that time seems the obvious choice - should bring out more clearly what factors were peculiar to England and might therefore have determined what is a unique phenomenon, the English Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century. The first point to be made is that the forwardness of England and the backwardness of France, clearly noticeable on the eve of the French Revolution, were not of sudden or recent appearance. Another weakness of French trade was its great dependence on San Domingo. The fundamental difference between the two economies is in the technological field. Although neither the differences in social structure and mentality between the two countries in the eighteenth century nor features of the English social environment which favoured entrepreneurial spirit should be minimized, the contrast does not appear to be as sharp as is often said.
