Why did the revolution start in Britain?
There are multiple reasons why Britain was the first country to become industrialised. There were a lot of natural resources and people in this country were interested in technology and progress. There were many harbours to ship goods, but the most important reason is found in agriculture.
Since the seventeenth century, an agricultural revolution occurred in Britain. Here, farmers used new techniques and investment in farming led to an agricultural surplus. Because of the abundance of food, the population in Britain grew. It is estimated that in 1700 there were 5.5 million people, but in 1801 there were 9.3 million and in 1841 it grew to 15.9 million a growth of 60% in just 40 years. More people meant there was a higher demand for products, especially clothes.
Before the industrial revolution, clothes were made by farmers at home, who needed the extra income. But because of the population growth, they could not work their spinning wheels fast enough to satisfy the high demand.