ABSTRACT
In tandem with the intellectual and cultural changes of the Enlightenment, the late eighteenth century saw the beginning of the incredible transformation in technology that is commonly called the Industrial Revolution. Its roots lay in the new scientific discoveries and attitudes of the previous century. The first signs of change appeared in Britain, the center of wealth and power, from which it spread rapidly to Canada, the United States, and Western Europe and thence to the rest of the world. Although industrialization was – and is – a global transformation, its spread has also been uneven. Industrialization developed along routes accessible to transport or energy sources. England, the first country to industrialize, was an ideal zone not only because of its economic and political dominance, but also because it contains significant coal deposits which are also located near navigable waterways. In every region, industrial growth was regionally located; in the United States, for example, the Northern states industrialized, while the South remained largely rural and dependent on the export of raw agricultural products.
