Short answers, pulled from the story.
Henry VII signed the Intercursus Magnus treaty with Flanders in 1496 to secure the export of English wool. This agreement marked a turning point for England after the population collapse caused by the Black Death in the mid-14th century.
Abraham Darby I opened a coke-fired blast furnace at Coalbrookdale in 1709 replacing charcoal as fuel for iron production. James Watt developed a powerful reciprocating steam engine capable of powering machinery during the last quarter of the 18th century.
Sir Robert Peel repealed the Corn Laws in June 1846 removing tariffs on imported grain to lower living costs. Grain prices fell dramatically from 56 shillings per quarter in 1867, 71 to 27 shillings 3 pence by 1894, 98.
Parliament authorized 8,000 miles of railways with projected future totals reaching £200 million during boom years spanning 1836 and 1845, 47. Hudson manipulated funds paying large dividends out of capital until his system collapsed bursting the bubble in the late 1840s.
Britain ranked as the world's largest trading nation in 1860 but lost ground to both the United States and Germany by 1913 when their exports each totaled $2.3 billion. Financial houses in London achieved unprecedented control over industry contributing to concerns among policy-makers protecting investments overseas particularly those in foreign government securities.