The industrial revolution in Britain was a long and gradual development. The favorable conditions in England were why industrialization took place earlier and faster than other countries at the time. The lack of physical barriers and the many canals helped with transportation of goods. Coalfields and thick forests, located close to large deposits of metal ores, provided fuel to power the furnaces that produced iron. Thriving commercial banks provided financing for investments in industrial plants …showed first 75 words of 1902 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1902 total…conduct were to characterize the coming Victorian era. The working class became the outsider looking in. By far the biggest class, workers had few rights and little security. The ruling and middle classes looked upon the working class with suspicion and feared their numbers and their potential for violence. However, they also provided the leaders who agitated for reforms in working conditions, political rights, and economic justice that ultimately improved the lives of British workers.