TY - BOOK AU - Jung,Joseph AU - Curtis,Ashley TI - The laboratory of progress: Switzerland in the nineteenth century T2 - Routledge studies in modern European history SN - 9781003243144 U1 - 330.9494 23/eng/20220330 PY - 2022/// CY - New York, NY PB - Routledge KW - Economic development KW - Switzerland KW - History KW - 19th century KW - HISTORY / Europe / Western KW - bisacsh KW - HISTORY / Modern / General KW - Economic conditions N2 - "The Laboratory of Progress: Switzerland in the 19th Century tells the improbable story of how a small, backward, mountainous agricultural country with almost no raw materials became an industrial powerhouse, a hub of innovation, a touristic mecca and a pioneer in transportation - all in the course of a single century. That a tiny landlocked country should become a dominant steamship builder for the rest of the world; that a country that had never seen a cotton plant should become the world's second-largest textile producer; that a country with hardly any level terrain should come to boast the world's most highly developed railway network; and that a country whose main export was impoverished emigrants should be transformed into one of the world's major financial centres - these astonishing developments, among many others, are explored and explained, both through the specific stories of individual innovators and through a prescient analysis of the political, economic, societal and cultural structures that formed the context in which Switzerland's astonishing transformation took place. The book is a compelling read both for professional historians and for general readers with an interest in Switzerland; it highlights the roles of transport networks and individual pioneers in industrial and political development"-- UR - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003243137 ER -