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The Industrial Era

Industrialization: The First Phase: 1700-1850 While Europe's "great men" plotted grand schemes to pursue their political and intellectual ambitions during the crisis of the Old Regime, French Revolution, and Napoleonic wars, obscure British inventors designed machines whose impact would dwarf their efforts.

They industrialized textile making by using machines and new power sources to accomplish a task formerly done by human and animal power. They began what has been called by some the Industrial Revolution.

The huge increase in productivity made possible by using machines can be shown in the amount of raw cotton Britain imported in 1760 and 1850. In 1760 the British imported a bit over 1000 tons; in 1850 the number had risen to over 222,000 tons.

The story behind the growth of the textile industry is one of a continual "catch-up" game between the spinners and weavers to respond to a growing market.

After the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland, Britain possessed an expanding population with a larger per capita income than that of any other European state. The population growth stemmed from a gradual decline in death rates and an increase in the birth rate. ^14 It provided more customers and workers.

Industrialization: The Second Phase: 1850-1900

Industrialization: The Early Twentieth Century