It is the contention of this book that industrialization in Britain (and elsewhere) occurred first and foremost within regions rather than in the nation as a whole and that attempts to understand the 'first industrial revolution' as a fundamentally important economic, social and political process are best undertaken with the regional perspective at centre stage. In Regions and Industries a team of distinguished historians contribute a series of interconnected essays illustrative of the richness and variety of fundamental change at regional level. Each essay is focused around a set of clearly articulated themes, concerning the relations between agriculture, population, resources, communications and cultures, and the changing national and international context within which regional economies functioned. The volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the existing theoretical and empirical literature, and emphasizes again the need to evaluate aggregate studies of 'national' variables in the light of contrasting regional experiences.
List of figures; List of maps; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The regional perspective Pat Hudson; Part I. The Textile Heartlands of the Industrial Revolution: 2. Proto-industrialisation and the first industrial revolution: the case of Lancashire John K. Walton; 3. Capital and credit in the West Riding wool textile industry c.1750-1850 Pat Hudson; Part II. Other Paths, Other Patterns: 4. Continuity and change in an industrialising society: the case of the West Midlands industries Marie B. Rowlands; 5. Stages of industrialisation in Cumbria John D. Marshall; 6. The de-industrialisation process: a case study of the Weald, 1600-1850 Brian Short; 7. Work, culture and resistance to machinery in the West of England woollen industry Adrian J. Randall; Part III. The Diverse nature of the Outer Regions: 8. Two paths to economic development: Wales and the north-east of England Neil Evans; 9. Proto-industrialisation in Scotland Ian D. Whyte; 10. The environment and dynamic of pre-factory industry in Northern Ireland Leslie A. Clarkson; Index.
