New research suggests the Industrial Revolution began over a century earlier than traditionally believed, with Britain shifting from agriculture to manufacturing as early as the 1600s. Academics at the University of Cambridge have created the most detailed occupational history of a nation, using over 160 million records spanning three centuries.
The study reveals that during the 17th century, Britain saw a steep decline in agricultural peasantry and a surge in manufacturing. By 1700, the share of the male labour force involved in goods production had risen to 42%, three times that of France. This period laid the foundations for the world's first industrial economy, with networks of home-based artisans working with merchants.
Professor Leigh Shaw-Taylor, who led the project, said: 'A hundred years has been spent studying the Industrial Revolution based on a misconception of what it entailed. By cataloguing and mapping centuries of employment data, we can see that the story we tell ourselves about the history of Britain needs to be rewritten.'
The research also highlights the role of women, estimating that labour force participation for adult women was between 60% and 80% in 1760, though it declined to 43% by 1851. The project aims to add pre-19th century data for female workers as a major next step.
In the 19th century, the service sector almost doubled in size, a boom often thought to have begun closer to the 1950s. This included sales clerks, domestic staff, professionals, and transport workers on canals and railways.
