World history concepts · AP World History: Modern
Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution: The shift from hand production to machine manufacturing, beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century and spreading worldwide.
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What it means
New sources of energy such as coal and steam, new machines and the factory system transformed production. Britain led because of factors such as coal deposits, access to capital and colonial markets.
Industrialization reshaped society: urbanization, new social classes, labor movements, and demand for raw materials that fed imperial expansion.
Example
Steam-powered textile mills in Manchester produced cotton cloth on a new scale, using raw cotton grown in the Americas and South Asia.
On the exam
The Industrial Revolution is a Unit 5 topic and a major cause in essays about imperialism and social change.