The Industrial Revolutions: The Coal & Iron Industries v. 10

In the long run, the introduction of mineral fuel technology in the production of iron was critical to Britain's world leadership in coal and iron production and trade, as were the innovations in power transmission and transport originating in the coal industry. In other countries different natural resource endowments, cost structures, domestic markets and commercial policies resulted in contrasting timing and patterns of development in the heavy industries. Major themes treated in the key readings in this volume, and highlighted in a substantial introduction, include the process of technological change, its diffusion and effects, and the comparative roles of entrepreneurs and governments in the major producing and consuming industries.