Conclusion
As Paul Hohenberg states, “The major force making for economic
growth is, in fact, economic growth; in other words, …the process is essentially
a self-reinforcing one.”
[1]
England came out of an economic slump of the 14th
and 15th centuries and steadily gained economic ground in the next
three centuries. A number of very pivotal economic institutions helped with
England’s spectacular growth into an empire.
The Bank of England, The
London Stock Exchange, Joint
Stock Companies, and Maritime Insurance
were among the most important ways that the British fueled their economy,
enlarging trade and commerce and increasing wealth, land and influence. The
institutions that England helped to invent and used so effectively are ones
that define modern economics and nation building. The expansion of the British
economy and the exploration and its expansion into other areas in the world
set in motion the creation of one of the greatest empires in history. The
symbiotic relationship between economy and expansion that created this great
empire also brought about its downfall, and in the twentieth century England
returned to a lesser status.
[1] Paul Hohenberg. A Primer on The Economic History of Europe,(New York: Random House. 1968), pg 72