The Industrial Revolution Evolution

The moral, social, and intellectual level of the mediaeval period keeps getting “adjusted upward”!

I first came across the idea that the Scientific Revolution might be a bit of a myth when reading Steven Shapin’s Scientific Revolution (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1996). A further bit of research from economists at the University of Warwick makes a similar point with respects to the Industrial Revolution. After pointing out that mediaeval England was a far more prosperous place than previously imagined, Prof. Stephen Broadberry states;

Our research shows that the path to the Industrial Revolution began far earlier than commonly has been understood. A widely held view of economic history suggests that the Industrial Revolution of 1800 suddenly took off, in the wake of centuries without sustained economic growth or appreciable improvements in living standards in England from the days of the hunter-gatherer. By contrast, we find that the Industrial Revolution did not come out of the blue. Rather, it was the culmination of a long period of economic development stretching back as far as the late medieval period. [1]

Notes:

1. “Medieval England Twice as Well Off as Today’s Poorest Nations.” ScienceDaily, December 6, 2010. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100909004112.htm.