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The website sheds light on changes in the workforce. It observes that as much of Europe languished in subsistence farming, male agricultural workers in Britain fell by over a third (64% to 42%) from 1600 to 1740. At the same time, from 1600 to 1700, the share of the male labour force involved in goods production rose by 50% to reach 42% of all men.

This means that the share of the British labour force working in manufacturing rather than agriculture was three times that of France by 1700, Shaw-Taylor calculated. “The English economy of the time was more liberal, with fewer tariffs and restrictions, unlike on the continent,” he noted.

1 posted on 04/05/2024 4:26:37 AM PDT by Cronos
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To: Cronos

Consider the source...


2 posted on 04/05/2024 4:30:57 AM PDT by mewzilla (Never give up; never surrender!)
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To: Cronos

Interesting because the climate alarmists typically date “the industrial age” as starting around 1850, which just happens to be when the earth began to warm after the little ice age. No reason at all ever given for their using this time frame. I always went with the introduction of steam power in the 1700s but now maybe earlier still, giving the lie again to the scammers.


3 posted on 04/05/2024 4:33:46 AM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
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To: Cronos

This isn’t a really new idea. Enclosure had a lot to do with it. Agricultural workers lost access to common land and became less viable. Other work became necessary.


4 posted on 04/05/2024 4:37:23 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (It's not "Quiet Quitting" -- it's "Going Galt".)
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To: Cronos

I would’ve focussed on patent law as the first catalyst and cornerstone to the industrial revolution. It’s all the foundling smaller things that made the big event possible.


5 posted on 04/05/2024 4:40:35 AM PDT by himno hero (had'nff )
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To: Cronos

Industrial revolution began when the WHEEL was invented thousands of years ago. Human mobility and productivity sky rocketed using wheels.


6 posted on 04/05/2024 4:56:51 AM PDT by Bobbyvotes (I will be voting for Trump/whoever in November. If he loses in 2024, country is toast.)
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To: Cronos

As a history major in college a half century ago, I attended a lecture by J. H. Plumb, a prominent British historian of that era. Short, bald-headed, and trim, Plumb contended in a lucid and entertaining manner that urban manufacturing culture in Britain began in the 17th Century when popular literature and schoolbooks began to promote the virtues of thrift, good habits, and diligence in the workplace. Plumb also discussed the economic evidence for the importance of manufacturing and the trade in goods. I am pleased to see Plumb’s thesis vindicated.


7 posted on 04/05/2024 5:07:42 AM PDT by Rockingham (`)
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To: Cronos

10 posted on 04/05/2024 5:58:18 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: Cronos
I'm looking at the repro Brown Bess Musket on my wall. It was among the first military firearms to be built to a standard pattern for the purposes of not only having standardized parts, but also standardized performance on the battlefield so commanders could plan their employment/deployment according to known standards.

It came into service in 1722.

No doubt the capabilities of building them to a common standard, and the theories behind doing so would have preceded their adoption by some time, so yes, I would agree, based on that alone, one could reasonably assert the "industrial revolution," had its roots in the late 1600s.

15 posted on 04/05/2024 6:47:17 AM PDT by Joe 6-pack
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To: Cronos
Maybe it's because the serfs had been freed and could move to other occupations.

From ChatGPT:

Elizabeth I played a crucial role in fully ending serfdom when she freed the last remaining serfs in 1574/i>

19 posted on 04/05/2024 11:43:56 AM PDT by Fractal Trader
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To: Cronos

They started to learn to code.
The machines created to weave used what was the first use of punch cards.


20 posted on 04/06/2024 12:54:44 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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