The rapid expansion of the northern towns and cities that were to become the epicenter of Britain’s Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century was not solely to meet the labor demands of new mills, foundries, mines, and factories. Nor was it the result of hordes of optimistic country folk moving into the cities with ambitions of either making or marrying into a fortune. Rather it was catalyzed by substantial and rapid improvements in agricultural productivity that were made possible by technological advances.
