Forging Modernity

Front Cover
BoD – Books on Demand, Jan 1, 2023 - History - 450 pages
The Industrial Revolution provided the greatest increase in living standards the world has ever known while propelling Britain to dominance on the global stage. In Forging Modernity, Martin Hutchinson looks at how and why Britain gained this prize ahead of its European competitors. After comparing their endowments and political structures as far back as 1600, he then traces how Britain, through better policies primarily from the political Tory party, diverged from other European countries. Hutchinson’s Harvard MBA allows a unique perspective on the early industrial enterprises - many successes resulted from marketing, control systems and logistics rather than from production technology alone, while on a national scale the scientific method and commercial competition were as important as physical infrastructure. By 1830, through ever-improving policies, Britain had built a staggering industrial lead, half a century ahead of its rivals. Then the Tories lost power and policy changed forever. In his conclusion, Hutchinson shows how changes welcomed by conventional historians caused the decline of Industrial Britain. Nevertheless, the policies that drove growth, ingenuity and rising living standards are still available for those bold enough to adopt them.
 

Contents

What this Book Is About
1
Europes Potential
25
Britain in 1600 and Early Changes 160048
64
The Restoration Renaissance 164988
95
Iron Steam and Finance 16891720
137
The Industrial Revolution Takes
183
The ToryAssisted Takeoff 176183
216
Pitt Rotary Steam Engines and War 17841806
276
Liverpools Policies Lead to Modernity 180730
321
The Victorians and After
376
Bibliography
401
Index
413
Copyright

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About the author (2023)

Martin Hutchinson was born in London, brought up in Cheltenham, England, and has lived in Singapore, Croatia, London, suburban Washington, and since 2011 in Poughkeepsie, NY. He was a merchant banker for more than twenty-five years before moving into financial journalism in 2000. He earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is also the author of Britain’s Greatest Prime Minister: Lord Liverpool (Lutterworth Press, 2020).

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