The term 'Industrial Revolution' was popularised in English by which historian, in his lectures on English economic history delivered in 1881?

The term "Industrial Revolution" was popularised in English by the British economic historian Arnold Toynbee, in his lectures delivered at Oxford in 1881; they were published after his death as "Lectures on the Industrial Revolution in England" (1884).

About the term:

It describes the great changes in industry, technology and society that began in Britain in the second half of the 18th century.

NCERT on the term:

NCERT notes that the term "Industrial Revolution" was used by European scholars, such as Georges Michelet in France and Friedrich Engels in Germany, and that it was used for the first time in English by the philosopher and economist Arnold Toynbee to describe the changes that occurred in British industrial development between 1760 and 1820.

About Arnold Toynbee:

• He was born on 23 August 1852 in London.
• He taught economic history at Balliol College, Oxford.
• He was a social reformer, who worked to improve the conditions of the poor in industrial cities.
• He died on 9 March 1883, at the age of only 30.

He should not be confused with his nephew, Arnold J. Toynbee, the famous historian who wrote "A Study of History".

Features of the Industrial Revolution in Britain:

• The use of new machines in the textile industry, such as the spinning jenny (James Hargreaves), the water frame (Richard Arkwright), and the power loom (Edmund Cartwright).
• The development of the steam engine by James Watt.
• The growth of the iron and coal industries.
• The development of canals and railways.
• The growth of factories and industrial towns, such as Manchester.

Why it began in Britain:

Britain had coal and iron, colonies that supplied raw materials and markets, capital for investment, and political stability.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Adam Smith wrote "The Wealth of Nations"; Karl Marx wrote "Das Kapital"; Eric Hobsbawm was a 20th-century historian.