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Why did the Industrial Revolution begin and have its maximum expression in England and not in other countries? Why did the Industrial Revolution take place in England in the 18th century and not in France or Holland, countries with a similar structure? Some authors tried to give an EXPLANATION OF THE RELATIVE BACKGROUND OF THE FRENCH INDUSTRY. Thus, authors such as Sawyer and Landes, argue that the cause was the more conservative and aristocratic mentality of French businessmen, compared to the British.
This would explain why French companies were mostly small and familiar, and not very modern and competitive. This interpretation has been widely criticized, among other things because it is not possible to attribute to the "mentality" of certain social groups what happened in the productive structure of a country. Some also say that, in reality, French industry had these characteristics because it was what was convenient for it at the time, having low costs and risks and investing low capital.
The reader will find this type of debate in this extremely interesting text.