Explain what is meant by proto-industrialisation.
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Source: TextbookProto-industrialisation refers to the phase of industrial development that existed even before the establishment of factories in England and Europe. It was a decentralised system of production where merchants based in towns supplied raw materials to peasants and artisans in the countryside. These rural families would then produce goods, often using hand tools in their own homes. The finished products were then collected by the merchants and sold in the international market. This system was "proto" because while it was for large-scale market production, it was not based in factories and it operated alongside traditional agriculture.
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