Notes

“One of the major commodities exported from India to Britain was tea... A growing industry, by 1900 there were around 4,000 tea estates in north and south India, as well as over 2,000 in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This popular drink generated a hugely profitable industry, and a tea culture emerged in Britain with its own quintessentially [classically] English customs and rituals… …For a few decades in the 19th century British manufactured goods dominated world trade. Most mass manufactured items were produced more efficiently and competitively in Britain than elsewhere. ...In some industries, most notably textiles, massive changes took place in technology and in the organization of production causing dramatic productivity growth. This in turn brought a steep decline in prices. ...An unprecedented [extraordinary] range and variety of products thus came within the grasp of a new mass market both within Britain and overseas. No other country could at first compete so Britain became the workshop of the world…”