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A study of the impact of nation-states on economic development in Western Europe, comparing Britain with France, Germany and Italy, since the 18th century is presented. Britain and France were superpowers by the 1700s, with the British economy reflecting the emergence of capitalism under which the state protected business and the Continental economies reflecting a variety of upheavals ranging from the French Revolution to the odd combination of nationalism and liberalism nascent in Italy. Germany quickly developed economic integration beginning with a customs union or Zollverein, but otherwise lagged far behind Britain. The French state during the early 19th century Restoration found a role in the planning and financing of canals; industrialization soon proceeded, and the 18th century German empire sought to copy the French. Italy was slower to industrialize than England, France or Germany. The dichotomy between Britain and the Continent became more pronounced with the growth of railroads, which developed haphazardly through private enterprise in Britain while the State took a stronger hand on the Continent.