industrial revolution means the phase of economic development in which the perio

d of agricultural predominance gives way to industrial predominance. nowadays it

means transition from under development to economic independence which should g
o together with political independence.
marxism says that the term means transition from feudal to bourgeois to a prolet
arian classless society. this has been disproven.
industrial revolution is a continuing pheno which is going on in front of our ey
es in countries which have already in the past experience a profound industrial
mutation. the indus rev is a rev of coal cotton and steel. but we can include ot
her things in such a category like internal combus engine, electricity, atomic r
eactor and rockets.
france is a case where there is ambigiuty about the phrase indust rev.
this is because it was imported to france from england. however there were sever
al french inventions such as Jacquard's loom, Thimonnier's sewing maching, Berth
ollet's chlorine bleacher or Philippe de Girard's flax spinner. the indus rev in
france was not spontaneous because it came from uk. it was slower. the word ind
us rev was given to it by an american historian and limited to 1815-1848.
historians always want to make indus revol younger i.e. bring it closer to the p
resnt time.
rostow said that the take-off of the indus rev took place between 1830 and 1860
same as the american historian. rostow's work is quanti whereas dunham's work is
qualit.
marczewski says that there is no discernible beginning of the indus rev in fran
ce. rate of indus growth is lower in france than other countries.
there has not been one dominant sector, but a succession of sectors depending on
the different periods. cotton at the beginning of the 19th century, wool at the
end of 19th century, silk bw 1800 and 1850, coal bw 1786 and 1810, metals bw 18
30 and 1910. chemicals in the last 40 years of the 10th century.
therefore rostow's hypothesis may be true or untrue.
growth of french indus rev was v gradual and did not have a true take-off point.
it was gradual because of political factors such as revolutionary wars, and eng
lish naval dominance deprived france of the supplies needed for technical advanc
es.
the first stat appeared in the 18th century. statistics was institutionalized an
d a gov dept was formed. it was removed by the Restoration gov and later re esta
blished by Thiers who was the minister of the interior. in 1840, the general sta
t office of france was created which continued the census work.