The future is another country: Offshore views of the British industrial revolution

Abstract

This article is built upon a dense description and inferences drawn from the diaries and memoirs of travellers who visited the British Isles between 1815 and 1850. The majority came from Mainland Europe and North America and arrived aware of the economic growth and social change underway in Britain. We comment upon and analyze the ways that they reported and the language they used to describe novel features of the British economy. We reflect upon the key issues raised by these travellers on the economic, social and political change that they observed at first hand. Finally, we reflect on the overall contribution that sources from offshore might offer for the plurality of meanings attached to the First Industrial Revolution. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.