Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BRITAIN
CONTENT
1.
2.
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4.
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Itstartedwiththemechanisationofthetextile
industries,
the
development
ofironmakingtechniques and the increased use
ofrefined coal. Trade expansion was enabled
by the introduction ofcanals,improved
roadsandrailways.Factoriespulledthousands
from low productivity work in agriculture to
highproductivityurbanjobs.
The introduction ofsteam powerfuelled
primarily by coal, wider utilisation ofwater
wheelsand powered machinery (mainly
intextile manufacturing) underpinned the
dramaticincreasesinproductioncapacity.The
development of all-metalmachine toolsin the
firsttwodecadesofthe19thcenturyfacilitated
the manufacture of more production machines
for manufacturing in other industries. The
effectsspreadthroughoutWesternEuropeand
North America during the 19th century,
eventually affecting most of the world, a
processthatcontinuesasindustrialisation.
Second Industrial
Revolution
DuringtheFirstIndustrialRevolution,theindustrialist
replaced the merchant as the dominant figure in the
capitalistsystem.Inthelatterdecadesofthe19thcentury,
when the ultimate control and direction oflarge industry
came into the hands of financiers, industrial capitalism
gavewaytofinancialcapitalismandthecorporation.The
establishment of behemoth industrial empires, whose
assets were controlled and managed by men divorced
from production, was a dominant feature of this third
phase.
UltimatelythisledtothePeasants'Revoltof1381,which
was in turn suppressed and followed up with theStatute
ofCambridge1388,whichbannedworkersfrommoving
around the country. Yet conditions were improving as
serfdomwasbreakingdown.
In1772slaverywasdeclaredtobeillegalinR v Knowles,
ex parte Somersett,and the subsequentSlave Trade Act
1807andSlavery Abolition Act 1833 enforced
prohibition throughout theBritish Empire.The turn into
the 19th century coincided with the start of the massive
boom in production. Gradually people's relationship to
their employers moved from one of status - formal
subordinationanddeference-tocontractwherebypeople
were
formally
free
to
choose
their
work.However,freedom of contractdid not, as the
economist Adam Smithobserved, change a worker's
factualdependencyonemployers.
WatTyler,leaderofthePeasants'
RevoltiskilledinfrontofKing
RichardII.
Menleavingthepit,before
thestartoftheGreatWar.
TheUKminers'strike(19841985)wasabitter
confrontationbetweentheThatchergovernment
andcoalmineworkers.
UnitedKingdomproduced60%ofitsconsumednatural
gasin 2010. In five years the United Kingdom moved
from almost gas self-sufficient to 40% gas import in
2010. Gas was almost 40% of total primary energy
supply(TPES)andelectricitymorethan45%in2010.
Underground storage was about 5% of annual demand
and more than 10% of net imports. There is an
alternativefuelobligationintheUnitedKingdom.
Gasfields
includeAmethyst
gasfield,Armada
gasfield,Easington
Catchment
Area,East
Knapton,EverestgasfieldandRhumgasfield.
A gas leak occurred in March 2012 at theElginFranklin fields, where about 200,000 cubic metres of
gas was escaping everyday.Totalmissedoutonabout
83mofpotentialincome.
TheformerBattersea
PowerStation
Bank of England
The Bank of England was founded in 1694 to act
as the Government's banker and debt-manager. Since
thenitsrolehasdevelopedandevolved,centredonthe
managementofthenation'scurrencyanditspositionat
thecentreoftheUK'sfinancialsystem.
ThehistoryoftheBankisnaturallyoneofinterest,
butalsoofcontinuingrelevancetotheBanktoday.
Fromthemiddleofthe17thcentury,Englandand
London in particular, buzzed with ideas - indeed the
era has been dubbed 'the age of projects' - but one
which kept coming to the fore was the notion of a
nationalbank.Peoplesensedthatthecountrywason
thebrinkofatremendousexpansionoftrade,butone
vital element was lacking: what was needed was a
bankor"fundofmoney"-moreliquidity,inmodern
parlance - to drive the trade of the country. They
lookedwithsomeenvyacrosstothecontinentatthe
exampleoftheDutchwhowerethenpre-eminentin
Europe.
1732-1734 George
Sampson
1925-1939
Sir Herbert
Baker