Iron King
A prime example of the decline is the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. The actions, or inactions, of Robert Crawshay ("The Iron King") can be seen as the main reasons for the downfall of Cyfarthfa. The Crawshays refused to modernise by replacing iron production with steel production, using the newly discovered Bessemer process. This led to the closure of the works in 1874, which caused economic hardship and unemployment in Merthyr.