First—although it is a somewhat pedantic matter—it is unlike
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
First—although it is a somewhat pedantic matter—it is unlikely that the country’s gross national product (GNP) was ever the largest in the world during the decades following 1815. Given the sheer size of China’s population (and, later, Russia’s) and the obvious fact that agricultural production and distribution formed the basis of national wealth everywhere, even in Britain prior to 1850, the latter’s overall GNP never looked as impressive as its per capita product or its stage of industrialization.
chapter: Britain as Hegemon?