Rethinking The Industrial Revolution: Five Centuries Of Transition From Agrarian To Industrial Capitalism In England (historical Materialism Book Series)

"In Rethinking the Industrial Revolution, Michael Andrew Žmolek offers the first in-depth study of the evolution of English manufacturing from the feudal and early modern periods within the context of the development of English agrarian capitalism, from 1350 to 1850" Contents 8 List of Tables and Diagrams 14 Acknowledgments 16 Foreword 18 Introduction 22 Why the Industrial Revolution began in England 24 The transition debate 29 Marx on property relations: Brenner’s point of departure 38 The specificity of capitalism and agrarian capitalism 44 Market dependency 49 The elusive origins of capitalism and industrialization 53 Conclusion 61 Part One: England Transformed: Manufacturing and Agrarian Capitalism, 1348–1783 66 1. The Pre-History of Industry 68 Wage labour and the guilds 70 The evolution of the guild system in England 78 Queen Betty’s Law 87 The economic context in Tudor and Stuart times 91 Nef’s ‘early industrial revolution’ 95 ‘Capitalism’ in medieval and early modern mining 102 Mining and agrarian capitalism: The instructive case of Whickham 107 The so-called phase of proto-industrialization 112 Conclusion 122 2. Parliament and Revolution 126 The crisis of the early seventeenth century 128 Parliament’s civil war 137 Restoration to Glorious Revolution 157 The post-revolution settlement 167 The glorious financial revolution 169 ‘Free trade’ 177 Conclusion 183 3. Agrarian Capitalism: The Key to Britain’s Rise to Power 186 Views on the relationship between agriculture and manufacturing 187 War, debt and the land tax 192 The storm before the calm 195 Stability and ‘old corruption’ 203 The so-called agrarian depression: 1730–50 213 The return to war and the ’45 227 Conclusion 233 4. An Empire in Crisis 236 Pitt and empire 239 The emergence of popular politics: Wilkes and George III 244 Rebellion at home and abroad 256 The survival of empire 265 Conclusion 269 5. Harvesting the Agrarian Revolution 274 The end of the demographic pause 277 Internal and external expansion 280 Parliamentary enclosures and the consequences of increasing agrarian productivity 286 The great enclosure debate 291 Conclusion 300 Part Two: ‘Such Machines . . . As Cannot Err’: Capital and Technology in the Making of Industrial England, 1700–1800 302 6. Technology and History 304 The ahistoricism of technological determinism 309 The technology of antiquity 322 Medieval to early modern technology 328 The technology of the Industrial Revolution 343 Conclusion 359 7. The Social Origins of the Factory 364 ‘Plen-ty of time’: The multifarious conditions of labour, 1700–60 369 Wages and the emerging labour market 376 Concentration and regional specialisation 380 Solutions for poverty 389 The first factory 400 ‘A gymcrak of some consequence’ 405 The turning point 414 Conclusion 417 8. Factories and Machinery 422 Wedgwood 424 The specific role of machinery 436 Manufacture versus machinofacture 441 ‘King Cotton’ and the cotton king: from factory to factory system 449 Technological versus organisational innovation 465 Discipline and control 472 The arrival of the power-loom 476 Conclusion 478 9. Capital and Industry 482 Woollens and worsted 483 Linen: the second-class textile 488 Iron and steam 490 Mining 500 Beer, paper and chemicals 504 The capitalist 511 Origins and definitions of capital 516 Conclusion 521 Part Three: Custom’s Last Stand: The Rise and Fall of Artisan-Led Resistance to Capitalism in England, 1783–1848 528 10. Custom and Law 530 The paradox of custom 532 ‘A Whig state of mind’: political economy, the bloody code and the decline of paternalism 542 ‘Is there any principle in these things?’: the return of radicalism 553 ‘You offer no motives’: outdoor relief and the problem of the poor 569 Conclusion 576 11. Rebellion and Reaction 578 ‘A tribute to Welsh pluck’: invasion, rebellion and mutiny 579 ‘The Radicals are drinking Pitt’s health’: the Combination Acts in context 583 The tension within Radicalism 593 ‘So simple is the plan, so faithful are the men’ 598 The second generation of industrialists in charge 604 War, commerce and British capitalism 606 Luddism and the repeal of Queen Betty’s law 613 Conclusion 624 12. Class and the State 630 The post-war crisis 635 The ‘Malthusian moment’ 639 ‘Bread or blood’ 645 The makings of a working class 654 ‘A land of Roast Beef and Plum Pudding’ 664 ‘A ramshackle and cumbersome machinery of government’ 667 ‘A prey to be plundered’: the reversal of the combination laws 677 Conclusion 694 13. Reform and the Oligarchy 698 High politics 699 Swing 710 ‘No kings, No lords, No inequalities’ 718 Free labour 730 Grand Union 737 The New Poor Law 748 Capital formation and the railway boom 759 Conclusion 765 14. Chartists and Liberals 770 The People’s Charter and the National Petition 771 The age of petitioning 782 The strike of 1842 786 Reform and disorder under Peel 789 The repeal of the Corn Laws and the Irish Potato Famine 794 ‘All men are brethren’ 799 ‘A paddock and a pigsty’ 806 Conclusion 811 Conclusion 814 The crisis of feudalism and the origin of agrarian capitalism 817 The sixteenth century 821 The seventeenth century 824 The eighteenth century 827 Technology and the labour process 833 Capital, custom and the law 838 The early nineteenth century 843 Summary 858 Epilogue 862 References 866 Index 890 Table of contents Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction PART I: ENGLAND TRANSFORMED: MANUFACTURING AND AGRARIAN CAPITALISM, 1348–1783 1. The Pre-History of Industry 2. Parliament and Revolution 3. Agrarian Capitalism: The Key to Britain’s Rise to Power 4. An Empire in Crisis 5. Harvesting the Agrarian Revolution PART II: ‘SUCH MACHINES ... AS CANNOT ERR’: CAPITAL AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE MAKING OF INDUSTRIAL ENGLAND, 1700–1800 6. Technology and History 7. The Social Origins of the Factory 8. Factories and Machinery 9. Capital and Industry PART III: CUSTOM’S LAST STAND: THE RISE AND FALL OF ARTISAN-LED RESISTANCE TO CAPITALISM IN ENGLAND, 1783–1848 10. Custom and Law 11. Rebellion and Reaction 12. Class and the State 13. Reform and the Oligarchy 14. Chartists and Liberals Conclusion Epilogue Bibliography Index In 'Rethinking the Industrial Revolution: Five Centuries of Transition from Agrarian to Industrial Capitalism in England', Michael Andrew ‌molek offers the first in-depth study of the evolution of English manufacturing from the feudal and early modern periods within the context of the development of agrarian capitalism. With an emphasis on the relationship between Parliament and working Britons, this work challenges readers to "rethink" the common perception of the role of the state in the first industrial revolution as essentially passive. The work chronicles how a long train of struggles led by artisans resisting efforts by employers to transform production along capitalist lines, prompted employers to appeal to the state to suppress this resistance by coercion In Rethinking the Industrial Revolution: Five Centuries of Transition from Agrarian to Industrial Capitalism in England , Michael Andrew Žmolek offers the first in-depth study of the evolution of English manufacturing from the feudal and early modern periods within the context of the development of agrarian capitalism. With an emphasis on the relationship between Parliament and working Britons, this work challenges readers to 'rethink' the common perception of the role of the state in the first industrial revolution as essentially passive. The work chronicles how a long train of struggles led by artisans resisting efforts by employers to transform production along capitalist lines, prompted employers to appeal to the state to suppress this resistance by coercion In This Book, Michael Andrew Žmolek Offers An In-depth Study Of The Evolution Of English Manufacturing From The Feudal And Early Modern Periods Within The Context Of The Development Of English Agrarian Capitalism, From 1350 To 1850. Introduction -- The Pre-history Of Industry -- Parliament And Revolution -- Agrarian Capitalism: The Key To Britain's Rise To Power -- An Empire In Crisis -- Harvesting The Agrarian Revolution -- Technology And History -- The Social Origins Of The Factory -- Factories And Machinery -- Capital And Industry -- Custom And Law -- Rebellion And Reaction -- Class And The State -- Reform And Oligarchy -- Chartists And Liberals -- Conclusion. By Michael Andrew Zmolek. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "In Rethinking the Industrial Revolution, Michael Andrew Žmolek offers the first in-depth study of the evolution of English manufacturing from the feudal and early modern periods within the context of the development of English agrarian capitalism, from 1350 to 1850"