Inventing the British Industrial Revolution: Primary Factors and the Role of Contingency

Haris Kitsikopoulos

A chapter in The First Industrial Revolution and Global Divergence, 2026, pp 123-171 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter advances a novel thesis to answer the question of why Britain was the first country to go through the Industrial Revolution. Since the steam engine was the main contributor to productivity and output growth, it argues that discussion regarding technological change during the Industrial Revolution should focus on this particular technology and hence on the coal mining sector where this invention came about to address the drainage problem. The invention of the steam engine in mining was the outcome of several factors, all of which were indispensable with none of them rising to the level of a primary factor. The factors relevant to innovations in other leading sectors of the economy were different since each sector presented a unique ecosystem.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-26359-9_4

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