Journey 6
Daniel Defoe
Norwich
Why did East Anglia lose its grip on the nation’s wealth?
In Defoe’s day, Norwich was Britain’s second city.
The answer as to why it declined in importance is simple. East Anglia doesn’t have any coal. When the
Industrial Revolution arrived, with its need for coal to fuel the mills, it took away all the jobs, factories
and industries to the areas of Britain that did.
The aspects of East Anglia that Defoe most admired – productive land, high immigration and high employment – may have made it a logical choice for the first part of his grand tour, but they were to slip away in the years that followed.
Just as he was wrong in his choice of East Anglia as holding the key to future prosperity, Defoe was wrong in his belief that his travel writings would make him rich. After writing the Tour, more of his business schemes went badly wrong, and he was financially ruined all over again.