Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was the shift from hand production and farming economies to machine manufacturing, which began in Britain in the second half of the eighteenth century. It started in textiles, where mechanised spinning and weaving moved work into factories, and was driven by coal, iron and the steam engine, which James Watt greatly improved. The new methods spread to Belgium, the United States and Germany in the nineteenth century, helped by railways and steamships. Cities grew rapidly, bringing crowded housing and harsh working conditions, which later prompted labour movements and reform laws. Historians disagree about its exact dates and causes, but it permanently raised productivity and transformed how most people lived and worked.

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