British Empire and British Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Britain provides the first example of industrial capitalism, as opposed to exchange between individuals. British industrial revolution created large industrial enterprises, and their supporting small- and medium-scale industrial manufacturing units. All these were financed through the profit from the transatlantic slave trade and exploitation of Bengal in India where in 1757 East India Company got the contract to collect taxes, which eventually became East India Company’s Indian empire. This chapter explains how that was achieved, and what role these have played in the industrial revolution in Britain.