HistoryExtra Podcast – The Ruthless Revolution That Made Britain Great
Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Eleanor Evans
Guest: Edmund Smith, historian and author of "Ruthless: A New History of Britain’s Rise to Wealth and Power 1660-1800"
Episode Overview
In this episode, Eleanor Evans interviews historian Edmund Smith about his book "Ruthless," which re-examines Britain’s Industrial Revolution as a multi-faceted, global process. Smith dismantles the classic “steam and smokestacks” narrative, emphasizing the interconnectedness of technological innovation with colonial ambition, slavery, stolen knowledge, and environmental destruction. The discussion explores how “ruthless” pursuit of profit and power shaped Britain—and the world—providing a more complex, sometimes troubling, perspective on a pivotal era.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
Redefining "Ruthless": The Dual Edge of Innovation
- [02:38] Edmund Smith explains his use of "ruthless" to describe the era:
"Ruthless is a term that I think captured my imagination when I was writing... you see it apply today in contexts that range from admiring biographies of entrepreneurs... but also has a meaning that's merciless and cold-hearted."
He sees Britain’s rise as driven by both ambitious innovation and merciless exploitation—two sides of the same historical coin.
Rethinking the Industrial Revolution’s Timeline and Roots
- [04:25] Smith challenges the mid-18th-century, cotton-powered start of industrialization, pointing instead to the mid-17th century and the Restoration, which brought renewed investment in scientific communities (e.g., the Royal Society) and commercial organizations:
"For me to understand the ways in which this came about, I was forced to look back further... we're pushed back at least into the middle of the 17th century, which is where my book starts."
Wool: Britain’s First Industrial Commodity
- [05:53] Wool's economic dominance and transformation:
"Wool is so important to a level that is almost unimaginable... it’s a national story, albeit with different local contexts."
- Britain’s largest export and foundation for widespread skill and innovation.
- [08:19] Industrial process innovation:
"A lot of the innovation comes from the importation of new ideas... innovators break with tradition. They break with the regulated industry of woollens and start bringing over Dutch workers... training a new generation of wool makers in Britain about how to do these things."
- The evolution of wool manufacture, importation and integration of techniques (Dutch, Huguenot, continental), and the shift from heavy broadcloth to lighter, globally popular fabrics.
Global Networks and Cross-Pollination
- [11:19] The Industrial Revolution as an international process:
"Though we talk about the Industrial Revolution in Britain, it's far from a simple British story. There are so many other influences at play."
- Indian cottons inspired British industry; Britain never truly matched India’s artistic prowess.
Swansea and the Copper Kingdom: Mining and Regional Growth
- [13:05] The case of Swansea under Sir Humphrey Mackworth:
"Swansea becomes this hub of industrial activity because of what's initially an absolutely insane plan by a guy called Sir Humphrey Mackworth... it all blows up... but in its wake, we're left with lots of little smaller independent partnerships."
- The emergence of regional specializations and connections laid groundwork for global industry.
State Support and Mercantilism
- [18:35] The British state’s industrial strategy:
“State support we can see from the very start... a fairly coherent, especially for the early modern period, industrial strategy, to use modern parlance. There's an effort and a willingness throughout to try and bring Britain up the productivity chain.”
- State-backed monopolies, patents, and mercantilist policies directed the flow of materials and profits back to Britain, strategically exploiting colonies.
Metallurgy, Armaments, and Decentralized Networks
- [20:50] Gun manufacturing as a model industry:
“It’s... quite a complicated industrial unit... we see hundreds of small partnerships... where the craft skills... are now being applied, but in a more connected environment."
- Networked small producers, rather than a single factory, turned Britain into an arsenal.
Stolen Knowledge and the Loom (Lohm) Brothers
- [22:34] Industrial espionage and silk mechanization:
“The Lohm or Loom Bro are fascinating... the younger brother obtaining the secrets to the Italian silk industry, either through bribery or through espionage… he brings it back to England... builds what becomes the first mechanised textile plant.”
- Stolen intellectual property and imported workers catalyzed entire industries, influencing future innovators (like Richard Arkwright).
The Deep Integration of Slavery and Colonial Profits
- [26:05] Moving beyond the obvious impacts of slavery:
“There's a secondary aspect whereby the very success of plantations... created in themselves huge markets for the sorts of British goods that supported industries in Britain, adding a new incentive to innovate...”
- Copper for Caribbean sugar, Liverpool’s growth tied to the slave trade, and the critical importance of slave-grown cotton:
"Raw cotton, of course, is absolutely necessary for the industrialization of Britain's textiles. You simply can't produce cotton cloth without raw cotton."
(29:06)
Narratives and Blind Spots
- [29:12] On why the deep reach of slavery is often overlooked:
"Studies of technological development or innovation science in Britain perhaps have limited themselves to understanding how the machines were created... rather than understanding the wider commodity chains that had to attach into it."
- Both economic and social histories often missed these interconnections.
Contemporary Resonance and Reflections
- [30:52] How profit and progress were rationalized historically (and today):
"There was the changing notion that it was possible for human endeavor... to profit more and more from extracting more and more. Whether that was finding better ways to exploit the planets or people or technology."
- [34:02] Parallels to AI and modern technological shifts:
“AI, I think, is so challenging to put into this sort of context. Because it's still so unclear where AI will make its impact... I think the challenge... is understanding how it can be connected into these wider sectors... without incredible investment related to things like energy resource extraction… Those are issues that I think have a greater risk of replicating some of the damage we see in the Industrial Revolution.”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On wool’s foundational role:
"You can't, I think, separate that huge, vast expanse of workers who are so expert in the use of wool across the country, and the landowners whose wealth depends on those flocks of sheep. Without them, you don't have the underlying sort of swell of economic activity that's needed to sustain further industrial development."
— Edmund Smith, [07:44] -
On innovation’s double edge:
"…the same ideas and same methods are being applied to lots of other parts of the economy, whether that's the exploitation of miners or enslaved people, or the destruction of the environment that also carries with it this merciless aspect as well."
— Edmund Smith, [03:32] -
On the spread of slavery’s impact:
"That link, I think, is incredibly clear and incredibly important because it's the thread that connects between the slave trade, the sale of cotton goods in Africa, the transportation of people to the Caribbean, their production of raw cotton, its return to Liverpool, its passage to Manchester, and then its reproduction into yet more goods that could be sent to Africa and other markets to start this cycle all over again."
— Edmund Smith, [28:30] -
On parallels with modern AI:
"Those are issues that I think have a greater risk of replicating some of the damage we see in the Industrial Revolution because they're so demanding and so open for exploitation and at scales that we've just never seen before."
— Edmund Smith, [35:32]
Key Timestamps for Important Segments
- 02:38 – The meaning and resonance of “ruthless”
- 04:25 – Rethinking the Industrial Revolution’s timeline
- 05:53 – The importance and transformation of the wool industry
- 11:19 – The international roots and global inspiration for British industry
- 13:05 – The Swansea “Copper Kingdom” story
- 18:35 – State support and mercantilist policy
- 20:50 – Gun-making, networks, and small entrepreneurs
- 22:34 – Intellectual property theft and the Loom(Lohm) brothers
- 26:05 – Deep economic integration of slavery and colonial wealth
- 29:12 – Why slavery’s broad impact is often unacknowledged
- 30:52 – Historical and current debates around exploitation
- 34:02 – Industrial Revolution parallels with the rise of AI
- 36:39 – Final reflections and national narratives
Final Reflections
Smith wraps up by emphasizing his desire to craft a national, interconnected story:
"I'm really happy that in my book I've had a chance to tie all these different stories together into a connected, more national narrative. And I think that's something that hopefully readers will appreciate as well."
— Edmund Smith, [36:39]
Eleanor Evans and Smith close with thanks and a call to readers to consider the breadth, complexity, and contemporary relevance of this ruthless revolution.
Recommended for listeners interested in:
- The global roots of industrialization
- The intertwining of innovation, exploitation, and empire
- The hidden threads of colonialism and slavery in Britain’s wealth
- Modern echoes in today’s technological revolutions
Guest’s Book:
Ruthless: A New History of Britain’s Rise to Wealth and Power 1660–1800 – Edmund Smith