Chief purpose and goal of this course: to explain the origins of the modern Industrial Revolution (the subject of ECO 303Y). That involves the following questions: (1) why did that Industrial Revolution first took place in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales), and not elsewhere; (2) why did it take place only from the mid-18th century (when this course ends), and not earlier; and (3) why the Industrial Revolution first took place in the textile (cottons) and metallurgical (iron) industries.