Age of Reform and Empire, 1815–1914

Abstract

The rise of Britain to become the greatest imperial power in history was not alone responsible for the divergence between her and the other European powers. Economic development and the rise of nationalism further constituted and accentuated the process of divergence. The harnessing of technological change led to an economic transformation of the country, not least as a consequence of the benefits of readily available capital and labour and the burgeoning markets of growing home, colonial and foreign populations. The Wheal Virgin steam engine of 1790, produced by the Birmingham partnership of Boulton and Watt, could do the work of 953 horses. Widespread use of the abundant and easily-worked British supplies of coal to fuel mechanical power freed the economy from its earlier energy constraints, reducing costs and increasing the availability of heat energy. This was exploited in a host of industries such as soap production, glass-works and linen bleaching. The rate of growth in coal mining substantially increased in mid-century as demands from the iron industry grew. As a mobile source of energy, the steam engine permitted the concentration of industrial production in towns and was also responsible for a growth in the range of products for the growing middle class.