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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > History > To what extent was this a period of industrial boom?

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• There was also the possible misapprehension that the boom was caused by free trade.
• There was too great a dependence on single industries such as textiles.
• When the American Civil War broke out, the supply of the vital raw material (cotton) dried up. Lancashire was devastated and the workhouses could not cope.
• Countries that were to be future rivals USA, Germany were involved in wars, from which Britain benefited.
• There was little or no investment in vital areas such as coal cutting. It was still done by a man with a pick.
• However, Henry Bessemer made vital inventions in steel manufacturing in 1856, and a product of real quality produced in 1858 in Sheffield, but it took a long time for the benefits of steel to be known.
• There was too great a dependence on world trade.

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