History question Watch

(Original post by #clueless)
It was integral to the running of the steam engine which was the precursor to industrialisation and led to the development of the railway industry which accelerated the urbanisation of the country tenfold. Coal throughout history has also been one of the most important aspects of the British industrial economy, particularly in the North-East, so perhaps it could be inferred that coal itself was not so important as the minds who put it to good use, such as Thomas Newcomen or John Smeaton.

Furthermore, if you interpret "industrialised Britain" as not just the industrialised side of Britain between 1750 and 1900 but also as contemporary social attitudes, it introduced a new identity for the working class. To exemplify this identity (though it is rather far out of the time period), modern reactions to Thatcher's economic policies in the 1980s with the closure of the mines in the north evoke a strong sense of identity among many communities. However, to counteract this point one might consider Luddism in the 1810s as a violent reaction against this industrialisation.