The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system.

     Textiles were the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested; the textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods.

    The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and most of the important technological innovations were British. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way.

   In particular, average income and....