... role of the population, we must first look at its general trend. In 1680, the population of Britain was at 8.1 million. But this had increased to about 20.6 million by the end of 1820, showing an overall growth rate of 154%. Nevertheless, before the start of this period, the population was quite small and the structure was predominantly made up of majority of the population lying in the working age with very few dependents. This population structure was thus more productive and had lower demand for consumer goods. This allowed greater resources to be set aside for investment and production of capital goods, and as a result may have been the first step towards industrialisation. However, during the 18th century, there was a sharp increase in population growth rates. In fact, 1826 represents the point at which the population was at its youngest. This trend was mainly attributed to ...

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