In eighteenth century Germany goods were produced in manufactories as well as by independent craftsmen and artisans employed by capitalists. The manufactories using tools and manually operated machines foreshadowed in many respects the factories of the nineteenth century. State and local support for the manufactories was aimed at reducing unemployment, maintaining military strength and securing foreign currency. Although not all manufactories were successful they provided a valuable heritage of industrial and commercial skills which were profitable to later entrepreneurs. However, those who - like Karl Marx - considered the manufactories to be a stage in the process of industrialisation have been proved wrong.
