Capitalism in the nineteenth century

Capitalism in the nineteenth century

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As the nineteenth century began, the United Kingdom was locked in a struggle with Napoleonic France that did much to define the terms for institutional developments, capitalist and otherwise, in the remainder of the century.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - France

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Napoleon sought to introduce a "continental system" that would render Europe economically autonomous, making the Royal Navy's blockading power irrelevant. It involved such strategems as the use of beet sugar in preference to the cane sugar that had to be imported from the tropics.

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The Continental system did cause some mercantile circles within the UK to agitate for peace, but the government was able to resist that agitation, in part because the United Kingdom was well into the industrial revolution. The war stimulated the growth of certain industries -- pig-iron output, which was just 68,000 tons in 1788, soared to 244,000 tons by 1806.

Related Topics:
Industrial revolution - Pig-iron - 1788

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