Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book belongs to those who consider economic history as a branch of what the French call the historical sciences and suggests that it is impossible to treat usefully of the rise, decline and metamorphosis of industries and economies without some consideration of the part played by the efforts of individual men and women in these processes. The origins of economic history as a major branch of historical study in Britain are twofold. First came histories of particular industries and especially of the textile, coal and iron trades. Secondly, there appeared, sometimes embedded in the encyclopaedias or in biographical dictionaries, lives of inventors and businessmen. Although most British economic history today continues to be written in native tradition, a distressing cleavage has arisen of recent years in the attitude of economic historians towards their subject.