Abstract
British coal is the fundamental resources which have made possible Britain's rapid and gigantic economic expansion. However, it is not that British coal has been regarded as valuable resources from the beginning. It was after 17th century that coal began to be used generally and became priceless resources in the true sense of the word.
Already in the Roman age coal was in use as fuel to a certain degree but this was only in limited localities. For a long time most of the rich coal fields in Britain had not been mined at all.
Nevertheless, when the method of melting iron by burning charcoal was discarded, when a new method of using coal in ironmanufacture was found, and when in production technics progress was made such as the invention of a steam-engine, and on the basis of such technical progress the development of the modern capitalist industry was realized, it was no longer possible for those rich coal fields of Britain to remain undisturbed.
In this sense, the history of British industry is at the same time the history of actualization of British coal resources.
