The Industrialisation of continental Europe began with Britain at the centre of the world economy. By the eighteenth century she already had various regions specialising in the manufacture of certain products. These included cotton yarn (importing raw cotton from the USA) and piece-goods in Lancashire, Woollens in the West Riding (Bristol, Bath) hosiery in Nottinghamshire, steel in Sheffield and metal goods and hardware in the Black Country. This stood Britain in at the centre of this growth process transferring a mainly agricultural economy into the worlds into the world’s first industrial nation. However other countries, chiefly the north western European nations were not far behind even though the spread of the ‘industrial revolution’ was not felt throughout Europe until after 1820. Germany, France and Italy were still agrarian Economy’s in 1815. Great Britain firmly maintained its position at the top until the 1880’s when it began to fall back and by 1914 it was in third place. At this time world industry was still concentrated geographically: Germany (14.3%), UK (14.1%) and France (7%) with the rise of Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Italy, Japan and Spain, from 78% in 1870 they showed an overall drop in their share.
British supremacy declined from 1875 to 1900 with Germany becoming the second biggest industrial power in the world due to its rapid progress. Britain reached its full maturity ahead of its time having exploited all its own resources it reached the limits of technology. A cause of this decline was the social factors with English industrialists hanging on to old forms of production and technology, their attitude of self-satisfied superiority contrasted with that of the German entrepreneur who was more innovative and managerial. English education was the cult of practical experience whilst Germany based more on lab work in the fields of chemicals and electricity. In England enterprises remained in the family while in Germany a relationship...