Description:
Historians have generally taken a sceptical view of the contribution of the aristocracy to economic growth in England. This paper suggests that although it is almost impossible to quantify the group's overall contribution, their positive role in promoting the agricultural revolution, exploiting mineral resources, improving the transport network, and developing new towns, was substantial. Despite the debts that many families accumulated, and the penchant for indulgent spending on elections, countryhouse building and other marginally productive pursuits, the aristocracy made a substantial contribution in terms both of financial investment, and of less definable roles such as their encouragement of tenants' farming practices through the types of lease they granted. Consequently the paper suggests a more positive view of the aristocratic role than has usually been acknowledged.