Industrial Britain

In the 18th century, the United Kingdom was the core of the British Empire, and saw the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, which came to change the face of the planet, and the way of life of most people on Earth, more than any historical period before.

Though many British mines, industries and railways were closed down in the second half of the 20th century, many of the structures and artefacts remain to bear witness of these glorious years.

Understand
The Industrial Revolution was not a single event, but a lengthy process across centuries. Though technology and economy had developed since ancient times, some innovations and reforms of the 18th and 19th centuries caused rapid changes; such as mechanized textile-making, steam power, large-scale metalworking, and deregulation of commerce.

England contained many industrial clusters; while London became a world-leading commercial centre, the West Midlands was a centre of the textile industry, and Northwest England pioneered rail transport and shipbuilding.

Wales was the main coal mining and metalworking district, and the cradle of the British labour movement. Welsh nationalism rose in the 1920s, and today, Wales defines itself as a country on its own.

Scotland provided raw materials such as wood and wool. The Calvinist church had a preference for literacy, which contributed to the Scottish Enlightment in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some famous Scottish talents were James Watt (who did not invent the steam engine, but improved it to be widely useful), economist Adam Smith who promoted free markets, and John McAdam, who named a new method for road building. Today, North Sea oil dominates the Scottish economy, and has made Scotland Europe's third largest oil producer after Russia and Norway.

Ireland, which was part of the United Kingdom until the 1910s, was struck by mass famine during the 1840s, causing mass emigration and a population decline; as of the 2020s Ireland is one of few countries in the world with a smaller population than 200 years ago. Though Ireland itself remained a farmland with less industries and infrastructure than Great Britain, Irish migrant workers have contributed to the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States and Australia. Many Irish became navvies, who built the British canals and railways, and the construction sector in the UK still has a large proportion of Irishmen. The "Irish question", namely what to do with Ireland and whether to grant it "home-rule" and to which degree was at the forefront of British domestic politics in one way or another for most of the 19th century. Many events during this era have left a deep mark on the national psyche of Ireland and have been enshrined in song, murals or other forms of collective memory.

Northern Ireland contained the shipyards of Belfast. Shipbuilding used to be an important industry for Britain, with the British navy and merchant fleet ruling the seas from the 16th century until World War II.

History
The economic structures of the Industrial Revolution changed over time, and the causes and effects are not apparent. Until the 19th century, the British Empire relied on a mercantilist system, where export and import were limited, tolls were high, and overseas dominions were crucial for providing raw materials for the industry. The First Empire included the North American colonies; some of them breaking away in the 1770s, founding the United States of America.

Plantations in the Americas used slaves from West Africa shipped overseas in the transatlantic slave trade; one of the largest forced migrations in world history. The role of slavery in the Industrial Revolution has been debated; while the plantation economy contributed to Britain's wealth and provided raw materials for industry (in particular cotton), the British Empire was among the forces which ended international slave trade. The Royal Navy began to enforce its prohibition from 1807, while slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833. The supply of cotton and other materials was disrupted by the American Civil War; Britain however remained neutral.

In contrast to its mercantilist beginnings, the later British Empire became one of the first and most vehement advocates of "free trade" often being opposed in the goal by rising powers such as Germany or the USA. In the mid-19th century, commerce became more international, a trend which has continued until present day. The Second British Empire primarily held land in Africa, Canada, Australia and Oceania, as well as the British Raj in South Asia. Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire from 1837 to 1901. Though her role was mostly ceremonial, her reign is today known as the Victorian era, and many places around the world bear her name, as diverse as Africa's largest lake, a state in Australia, and the capital of Hong Kong.

World War I demanded unforeseen amounts of military equipment, difficult for the industries to provide. The Shell Crisis of 1915 led to the creation of the Ministry of Munitions, to increase arms production. Still, total industrial output fell during the war. As the United Kingdom was one of the victorious Allies in World War I, it would gain colonies from the defeated Central Powers in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, reaching its greatest extent in 1921. While the 1920s were a time of peace and prosperity, many industrial sectors failed to revitalize, and industries and their workers were hit hard by the Great Depression beginning in 1929. The nation went through a much broader industrial mobilization for World War II, and even though the German bombings damaged many facilities, and submarine raids held back imports, industrial production in the UK became a key factor for the Allied victory. Both wars depleted workplaces of male workers, leading to a record number of women on paid jobs, and political and economic empowerment of British women. The franchise was extended to women between the wars and finally granted to all people over 21 on equal grounds in 1928 - later than in the U.S., Germany or even some of Britain's former colonies but earlier than in France, where universal adult suffrage was only granted in 1946.

During the Cold War decades, real wages increased tremendously, causing many traditional industries such as textiles, mining and metalworking to fail against overseas competition, being replaced over time by new sectors, such as North Sea oil, financial services and information technology. The biggest changes occurred during the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, who governed Britain from 1979 to 1990 and privatised many government-owned enterprises and cut subsidies for the privately owned, while focusing on establishing London as a major financial centre. Many post-industrial areas have never recovered economically. Thatcher's legacy is controversial to this day: she and her policies are downright loathed in areas of northern England and Wales that used to be mining country, as well as in oil-rich Scotland, so tread with caution when mentioning her name. However, other parts of English society - particularly conservatives in the south of the country - idolise her and deem her policies to have been long overdue reforms that ensured the economic viability of the UK.

Midlands




North of England
















Itineraries

 * West Somerset Railway, the country's longest heritage railway