Passage:
In the field of historical economics, scholars long asserted that the 18th-century Industrial Revolution in Britain was driven primarily by domestic technological innovations in steam power and textile production. Economic historian Dr. Aris Thorne, however, argues that global maritime trade networks and cheap colonial raw materials were the true indispensable catalysts. Critics of Thorne's perspective point out that Britain possessed abundant, low-cost domestic coal reserves, suggesting that internal resource availability—not external trade—was the primary driver of industrial mechanization. Thorne responds to this objection by demonstrating that domestic coal could only be extracted and transported cost-effectively after foreign-sourced timber secured mine shafts and colonial capital funded early transport infrastructure.
Based on the passage, which of the following best describes the function of the critics' argument regarding domestic coal reserves?
- It presents a counterargument centered on internal resources that Thorne must address to uphold his global trade thesis.Cevap
- BIt serves as Thorne's main claim to demonstrate that Britain's industrialization was completely self-sustained.
- CIt proves that foreign-sourced timber was less economically vital to mining operations than domestic coal reserves.
- DIt offers conclusive proof that invalidates the role of colonial trade networks in financing transport infrastructure.