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Zusatztext it is an independent work of real substance, massively founded on fresh empirical research which not only reworks sources known to Nef but also greatly extends the evidential base for consideration of the nature and development of the industry ... this is not only a work of impressive scholarship but also one which is engaging and very well written ... And it is accessible, eschewing theoretical grandeur in favour of guiding the reader carefully along `the unprepossessing route of empirical evidence'. It is a model of how economic history can and should be written. Klappentext This is the first volume which completes the definitive five-volume History of the British Coal Industry. Well before 1700 Britain had become heavily dependent upon coal for its fuel, and coal mining had taken its place among the nation's staple industries. Hatcher traces the production and trade of coal from the intermittent small-scale activity which prevailed in the Middle Ages to the rapid expansion and rising importance which characterized the early modern era. Thoroughly grounded in a formidable range of sources, the book explores the economics and management of mining, the productivity and progress of technology. Hatcher examines the owners and operators of collieries and the sources of mining capital, as well as the colliers themselves, their working conditions, and earnings. He argues that the spectacular growth of coal output in this period was achieved more through evolutionary than revolutionary processes. Completing the definitive five-volume history Zusammenfassung This is the eagerly awaited first volume of the definitive History of the British Coal Industry. Well before 1700 Britain had become heavily dependent upon coal for its fuel, and coalmining had taken its place among the nation's staple industries. John Hatcher traces the production and trade of coal from the intermittent small-scale activity which prevailed in the Middle Ages to the rapid expansion and rising importance which characterized the early modern era. Thoroughly grounded in a formidable range of sources, the book explores the economics and management of mining, the productivity and profitability of colliery enterprise, and the progress of technology. Dr Hatcher examines the owners and operators of collieries and the sources of mining capital, as well as the colliers themselves, their working conditions and earnings. He argues that the spectacular growth of coal output in this period was achieved more through evolutionary than revolutionary processes. This is a scholarly, detailed, and comprehensive study, which will be an essential source for all historians of the medieval and early modern economy, and fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the British coal industry. Part 1 Towards the age of coal: the era of cheap fuel -from early times to the mid-16th century; from abundance to scarcity - the rise of coal 1550-1700. Part 2 Regional developments and national trends: the coalfields of Britain. Part 3 The production of coal: mines and the techniques of mining; ownership and enterprise; management; labour relations and work discipline; the economics of mining; life and labour in the collieries. Part 4 The consumption of coal: sales and transport; measuring the coal trade; the organization of the East cost trade; the coal industry and the economy in early modern Britain....
