The population burst seemed to happen at just the right time to provide labour for the Industrial Revolution. But why? Macfarlane says When you start moving towards an industrial revolution, it is economically efficient to have people crowding together, but then you get disease, particularly from human waste
Historical records revealed that there was a change in the incidence of waterborne disease at that time, especially of dysentery, and Macfarlane deduced that whatever the British were drinking must be important in regulating disease. He says; We drank beer and ale. For a long time, the English were protected by the strong antibacterial agent in hops, which were added to make beer last longer. However in the late 17th century a tax was introduced on malt resulting in the poor turning to water and gin, and in the 1720s the mortality rate began to rise again then it suddenly dropped again but what caused it?
Macfarlane looked to Japan which was also developing large cities at this time and also had no sanitation, however waterborne diseases had a much looser grip on the Japanese population than those in Britain. Could it therefore be the prevalence of tea in their culture? Macfarlane says Thats when I thought, what about tea in Britain?
Tea in Britain was relatively expensive until a direct clipper trade with China was started in the early 18th century and by the 1740s about the time infant mortality was dipping, tea was common. Macfarlane guessed that the fact that the water had to be boiled, together with the stomach-purifying properties of tea, meant that the mothers breast milk was healthier than it had ever been. No other European nation sipped tea like the British, which by Macfarlanes logic pushed them out of contention for the revolution. If tea is the factor in the combination lock, why didnt tea soaked Japan forge ahead and have an industrial revolution of its own?
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