Proto-industrialization

Theory viewing rural handicraft production as a precursor to industrialization

Proto-industrialization is the regional development, alongside commercial agriculture, of rural handicraft production for external markets. Cottage industries in parts of Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries had long been a niche topic of study. In the early 1970s, some economic historians introduced the label "proto-industrialization", arguing that these developments were the main cause of the economic and demographic growth and social change that occurred in Europe over this period, and of the Industrial Revolution that followed. Several theories were proposed to explain the mechanisms of this proposed causation.

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