Industrial Revolutionaries Quotes

“It was already evident to the French and other Europeans that Britain was gaining an industrial lead in the first half of the eighteenth century.There was, for example, the newly acquired technique of smelting iron with purified coal or `coke' instead of charcoal, a fuel which was becoming prohibitively expensive. There were processes for the preparation of raw wool which were trade secrets and much sought after, as were some of the arcane skills of watchmakers.”
― Gavin Weightman, Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World 1776-1914