British exceptionalism

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Leandro Prados de la Escosura, ed. Exceptionalism and Industrialisation:
Britain and Its European Rivals, 1688-1815. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2004. xv + 335 pp. Tables, figures, bibliography, index. No price
listed (cloth), ISBN 0-521-79304-1.
Reviewed by: Andrew Hann, Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester.
Published by: H-HistGeog (December, 2004)
Europe's Industrialization Compared

This collection of essays, assembled to honor the distinguished career of
Patrick O'Brien, began as a series of papers delivered at a March 2001
conference in Madrid. The volume brings together some of Europe's leading
economic historians to address the enduring question of British
exceptionalism in the period 1688-1815. It examines why during this period
Britain emerged from comparative obscurity to "a discernible position of
hegemony in the domains of naval power, empire, global commerce,
agricultural efficiency, industrial production, fiscal capacity and
advanced technology" (p. i). The contributors' stated intention is to
produce a "textschrift" that will make these debates accessible to "a
larger audience of university students and non-specialist readers," and in
this respect they are at least partially successful (p. xv). Key arguments
are sketched out clearly in a readable style that will appeal to a wide
audience. The assembled papers provide a good overview of current
scholarship in the field, and highlight the variety of approaches that have
been used. At the same time contributors have been given some latitude to
introduce original research, so the volume is also a platform for taking
the debate forward, while the extensive bibliography will prove useful for
those who wish to trace the development of this debate in greater detail.

full: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=80051105032296

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