The previous chapter describes the dramatic political changes that followed the American and French Revolutions. Equally profound were the social and economic changes that accompanied what has sometimes been called the Industrial Revolution. Beginning in Great Britain about 1750, the processes of manufacturing were transformed. Industrialization began in Britain, but eventually the following changes affected western Europe, the United States, Russia, and Japan:

• New sources of energy and labor-saving technologies. The coal-fired steam engine replaced traditional sources of power such as wood, wind, and water. Railroads and steamships, fired by the steam engine, created important links between raw materials, industry, and market. At the same time, factories replaced cottage industry and became more efficient through the use of interchangeable parts and the assembly line.
• Increased standard of living. The factory system was tremendously productive. Efficiencies of scale and improved transportation links meant cheaper consumer goods for everyone. The accumulation of great wealth provided the capital for further industrialization.
• New patterns of work and life. The factory system transformed rural laborers into industrial workers with rigid timetables and strict discipline, while industrialization separated work from home life and created separate spheres for men and women.
• Urbanization. Industrial centers grew rapidly through the nineteenth century. Large cities struggled to provide such services as water delivery, sewage disposal, police and fire protection, and public education.
• The International Division of Labor. Industrialization created an unequal, international division of labor in which poorer colonial regions produced low-profit primary goods, while powerful industrialized states such as Britain and France produced high-profit manufactured goods.
• The Spread of Industrialization. The advantages of industrialization encouraged some societies to reform their economies in the late nineteenth century. In both Russia and Japan, political elites initiated top-down economic, social, and political reforms in order to resist growing pressure from Europe and the United States.