This Unit aims to:

• Provide the basis for the rest of the course by examining the development of capitalism as it emerged in the first industrialised nation
• Examine, via a history of its development, the basis on which capitalism operates
• Look at the ways in which historical change comes about through the interaction of economic and social relations
• Provide an ‘alternative’ history of working-class people and their lived experiences
• Raise issues around the nature of history as it is usually written 

Terms and abbreviations

Capitalism: System in which private or corporate wealth (capital) is used in the production and distribution of goods resulting in the dominance of private owners of capital and production for profit.