Final answer:
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain due to an abundance of coal and favorable political and cultural climates, and later spread to Germany following its unification. Both nations experienced significant technological, agricultural, and population developments conducive to industrial growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain due to several converging factors. Among them was an abundance of coal to power factories, which was crucial for industries like textiles, iron, and steel. This enabled mass production and the development of new machines such as spinning jennies and flying shuttles.
Germany, following later, was politically fragmented in the early 19th century but post-unification in 1871, it experienced rapid industrial growth. Adopting the British model, Germany imported technologies and built railroads to link manufacturing centers to coal and iron deposits, focusing on heavy industry, and eventually surpassed Great Britain in steel production in the 1890s.