Consider the following statements regarding the Industrial Revolution in Britain : I. There was availability of banks which could loan money to set up industries. II. There was a good transport network. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.I only
- B.II only
- C.Both I and II
- D.Neither I nor II
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Both I and II. Easy credit from banks and a good transport network were both among the reasons Britain became the first country to industrialise.
By the eighteenth century Britain had a central bank, the Bank of England founded in 1694, and hundreds of provincial banks that lent money to men setting up mills and mines. At the same time it built a network of canals, from the Bridgewater Canal of 1761 onwards, improved turnpike roads and, later, railways, which moved coal, iron and finished goods cheaply. Other factors were political stability, plentiful coal and iron ore, a growing population and markets in its colonies.
A is wrong because statement II is also correct. B is wrong because statement I is correct too. D is wrong because both factors are standard explanations of Britain's lead.
Exam tip: Britain led the Industrial Revolution because of capital and banks, coal and iron, canals and railways, and colonial markets.
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