Slaan posted:

In the case of the UK, the textile industry was a heavy driver of their industrialization. To feed the mills for that industry, the British took over places like Egypt and India which were good for both cotton farming and food; this could be considered land reform in that the incoming cash crops lowered agricultural prices at the same time new jobs were opening up in industries like textiles and ship building. It was a much more organic process than we have seen recently, to be sure, though.