Essays in Industry and Technology in the Eighteenth Century

This collection of essays is devoted to the industrial history of England and France in the 18th century and concentrates in particular on transfers of technology between them. There are specific studies of technical transfer in the steel, glass and hardware industries, and on the place of the skills of the workmen in the diffusion of technology. Industrial espionage, too, early had its place, and one essay investigates why it was resorted to and how it was carried out. In the new introductory chapter, John Harris surveys the rise of a new range of technologies in England, based on dramatic increase in the use of coal, and emphasises that this was basic to British industrial leadership and a main reason for her expertise being desired abroad. Throughout, the part played by individuals - from inventors and entrepreneurs to managers, ministers and skilled workers - is regarded as essential to the process of industrial development. Ce recueil est voue   l'histoire industrielle de l'Angleterre et de la France au 18e siecle et se concentre plus particulierement sur les transferts de technologie entre les deux pays. Certaines etudes traitent specifiquement des echanges techniques dans l'industrie de l'acier et celle du verre, ainsi que de l'importance de la competence des ouvriers quant   la diffusion de la technologie. L'espionage industriel, qui lui aussi a rapidement vu jour, fait le sujet d'un article enquªtant sur sa raison d'ªtre et les methodes employees. Dans le nouveau chap®tre d'introduction, John Harris evalue l'essor d'un nouvel eventail de technologie en Angleterre, base sur l'augmentation dramatique de la consommation de charbon; il insiste que ce fait etait   la base de la preponderance industrielle britannique et l'une des raisons principales pour lesquelles son expertise etait si recherchee   l'etranger. Le r´le joue par l'individu - de l'inventeur   l'administrateur en passant par les e