The cotton industry was mainly located in which county?

• A. Yorkshire
• B. Lancashire
• C. Devon
• D. Nottinghamshire

Answer: (B)

The question tests where Britain's cotton industry concentrated because location depended on power, workers, and transport. Lancashire became the main center because it offered a perfect combination of these factors: many mills and factories built to harness steam power, a large urban workforce drawn to factory jobs, and, crucially, easy access to the port of Liverpool for importing raw cotton from the Americas and exporting finished cloth. The region also benefited from well-developed networks of canals and, later, railways to move inputs and products efficiently. While other areas like Yorkshire had textile activity, their strength was more in wool and worsted styles rather than cotton on the same industrial scale, and counties like Devon and Nottinghamshire did not develop the same extensive cotton mill system or transport links. So Lancashire stands out as the central hub of cotton manufacture.