What was proto-industrialisation ? Explain the importance of proto-industrialisation.
(a) Proto-industrialisation – This was the early phase of industrialisation in Europe and England when there was large-scale industrial production for an international market. This was not based on factories. Many historians refer to this phase of industrialisation as proto¬industrialisation. (b) The features of proto-industrialisation were as mentioned below : It was a decentralised system of production. It was part of a network of commercial exchanges. Control of production was in the hand of merchants. Goods were produced by a vast number of producers working in their family farms, not in factories. Whole of the family was involved. It allowed peasants a fuller use of their family labour resources. At each stage of production – spinning, dying etc., 20 to 25 workers were employed by each merchant. This meant that each clothier was controlling hundreds of workers. By working for the merchants, workers could remain in the countryside and continue to cultivate their small plots. Income from proto-industrial production supplemented their income from cultivation.
