1. Before the Industrial Revolution
Even before factories began to dot the landscape in England and Europe, there was large-scale industrial production for an international market. This was not based on factories. Many historians now refer to this phase of industrialisation as proto-industrialisation.
2. Hand Labour and Steam Power
In Victorian Britain, there was no shortage of human labour. Poor peasants and vagrants moved to the cities in large numbers in search of jobs. Therefore, industrialists had no problem of labour shortage or high wage costs and generally preferred hand labour over expensive steam-powered machines, especially for seasonal industries.
3. Industrialisation in the Colonies
The history of industrialisation in India illustrates how colonies were utilized. Before the age of machine industries, silk and cotton goods from India dominated the international market in textiles. However, British colonial policies and the influx of machine-made goods eventually decimated the Indian textile industry.
4. Peculiarities of Industrial Growth
European Managing Agencies, which dominated industrial production in India, were interested in certain kinds of products. They acquired land at cheap rates from the colonial government and invested in tea and coffee plantations, mining, indigo, and jute, which were exclusively for export.
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