Why Not China?

 Between 1791 and 1831 the population of
England and Wales nearly doubled: from about 7.7 million to 13.2 million
 It doubled again to around 25 million by the 1860s.

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 In 1762 China had a population of more than
200,000,000, and by 1834 the population had doubled to 400 million
 During this period there was no increase in the amount of cultivable land. Land hunger became a growing problem and food production could not keep up.
 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-70991

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Only about 11% of China’s land is suitable for farming, even today. Reliance on intensive, garden-style, highly productive agriculture methods
 Every bit of available land was intensely farmed

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China had just about reached the limit of what could be produced agriculturally using human labor and the basic available technology. To be more productive, and thus wealthier as a society, a technological leap —that is to say, mechanization —was necessary, but in a situation where there was always a surplus of cheap labor, there never was a strong incentive for technological innovation and development.
Because of its large population and (ironically) because of its early and considerable economic success, China stalled just short of modern industrialization and could not break through, as the West did. http://continuinged.ku.edu/is/previews/hist640/le sson2.html

 Privileged Classes
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Emperor and his family
Scholars/Bureaucrats
 Gentry (landowners)
 Working Classes
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Peasant farmers
Artisans or workers
 Merchants
 Lower Classes
 Military members
 Slaves, indentured servants, entertainers, prostitutes, beggars

 Confucian principles regarded peasants
(farmers) as the most honorable of the three working classes since they performed honest labor and provided the food that supported the entire population.
 Merchants were lower than farmers

Why were merchants considered lower working class?
 Confucianism did not have a very positive view of commerce and the world of business, precisely, because the competition of traders could be disruptive to the equilibrium of society and because the amorality of the market could undermine the cultured morals of the
Confucian gentleman.

 promises stability and order
 polite and gentle social interactions
 peace and harmony throughout one's personal life and the entire culture

 [1:5] Confucius said: "If you would govern a state of a thousand chariots (a small-to-middle-size state), you must pay strict attention to business, be true to your word, be economical in expenditure and love the people. You should use them according to the seasons."
 [ Comment ] "Usage of the people according to the seasons" is extremely important in an agriculture-based society, where planting, cultivating, or harvesting a certain crop during a certain few-day period can be critical. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring
States periods in China, selfish and aggressive warlords frequently pulled farmers off their land at important farming times, to use them for public works projects, or have them fight in the ruler's personal wars.

Chinese Government policy reflected the Confucian social order
 Their principal concern, was to preserve the stability of a large agrarian society, not to promote rapid economic development through trade. Thus, unlike some of their European counterparts, Chinese authorities did not adopt policies designed to strengthen both merchants and the state by authorizing merchants to pursue their efforts aggressively in the larger world. (Bentley & Ziegler p.738)

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How could this be if trading was looked down upon in China?
 Landed gentry and sometimes bureaucrats were silent supporters of merchants.
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They provided financial backing “behind the scenes”

Britain was king of trade in the 18 th century
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Strong fleet of the most modern and capable ships
Government policies that supported trade
Military might that supported trade and enforced government policies
Entrepreneurship, capitalism, merchants were viewed favorably
Had the resources and transportation system to engage in trade/industrialization