'The Industrial Revolution' refers to a period of massive economic, technological, social and cultural change which affected humans to such an extent that it's often compared to the change from hunter-gathering to farming. At its simplest, a mainly agrarian world economy based on manual labor was transformed into one of industry and manufacturing by machines. The precise dates are a subject for debate and vary by historian, but the 1760/80s to the 1830/40s are most common, with the developments beginning in Britain and then spreading to the rest of the world, including the United States.

The Industrial Revolutions:
The term 'industrial revolution' was used to describe the period by the 1830s, but modern historians increasingly call this period the 'first industrial revolution', characterized by developments in textiles, iron and steam led by Britain, to differentiate it from a 'second' revolution of the 1850s onwards, characterized by steel, electrics and automobiles led by the US and Germany.

Causes of the Industrial Revolution:
The end of feudalism changes economic relationships.
Higher population because of less disease and lower infant mortality allowed for a larger industrial workforce.
The agricultural revolution frees people from the soil, allowing – or driving – them into cities and manufacturing.
Proportionally large amounts of spare capital for investment
Inventions and the scientific revolution allowing for new technology
Colonial trade networks
The presence of all the required resources close together
Culture of hard work, taking risks and developing ideas

What Changed –