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The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century was a period of social and technological change in which manufacturing began to rely on steam power, fueled primarily by coal, rather than on water or wind an outgrowth from the social changes of the Enlightenment and the colonial expansion of the 17th century.

The Industrial Revolution began in England and spread throughout England and into continental and the northern United States in the 19th century. The improvements made to the pre-existing steam engine by James Watt a factory could be built away from streams and rivers, and many tasks that had been done by hand in the past could be mechanized.

why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Europe and not in other parts of the world, particularly China. Europe and China were remarkably similar in 1700 and the crucial differences which created the Industrial Revolution in Europe were sources of coal near manufacturing centers and raw materials such as food and wood from the New World which allowed Europe to economically expand in a way that China could not.

Industrialisation also led to the creation of the factory, and was largely responsible for the rise of the modern city, as workers migrated into the cities in search of employment in the factories.

See also History, History of Science and Technology, 18th century and 19th century, as well as Rail Transport.