One could say that the Industrial Revolution was a watershed moment in history.

When it comes to material

progress, the Industrial Revolution is second only to the spread of agriculture. In particular, both the average
income and the population started to expand at a rate that had never been seen before. Some economists argue
that the standard of living for the general population in the Western world began to increase consistently for the
first time in history as a result of the Industrial Revolution, while others argue that this improvement did not
occur until the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prior to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the modern
capitalist economy, GDP per capita remained relatively constant. However, after the Industrial Revolution, GDP
per capita in capitalist economies began to grow. There is widespread consensus among economic historians that
the beginning of the Industrial Revolution was the single most significant event in human history after the
domestication of animals and plants.

Historians continue to argue over the beginning and end of the Industrial Revolution, as well as the rate of
economic and social transformations throughout that time. While Eric Hobsbawm claims that the Industrial
Revolution in Britain began in the 1780s and was not really felt until the 1830s or 1840s, T. S. Ashton claims
that it happened somewhere between the years 1760 and 1830.Rapid industrialization first began in Britain in
the 1780s with the introduction of mechanised textile spinning, and continued at a rapid pace after 1800 with the
development of steam power and the invention of the iron industry. In the early 19th century, mechanised textile
manufacture moved from Great Britain to continental Europe and the United States, with significant centres of
textile production forming in Belgium, the United States, and later in France.

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