Essays on Industrialisation in France, Norway and Spain

Omtale

This collection of essays explores the process of industrialisation that was set in motion in most European countries during the 18th and 19th centuries. The book presents the results of research into specifi c aspects of that process, in specifi c localities, within and across the borders of Norway, France and Spain, over longer or shorter periods. Some of the most important ingredients of the industrialisation process are discussed: culture, institutions, technology, fi nance and natural environments. The employment of new techniques and machinery in production is described, as are the international activities of fi rms, state-driven industrial initiatives, regional patterns of change and labour migration. These are stories about the decisions and actions taken by individuals, fi rms and groups across widely dispersed areas. The micro-level foundation of these studies helps to reveal how social factors could make industrialisation take many forms, and provokes questions about how we can incorporate detailed regional diversity into our conceptualisation of the European industrialisation process.