1001 Space Earth Nature History First Civilisations Ancient Egypt Biblical Times Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Chinese, Japanese Civilisations Indian Civilisation African Civilisation The Early Americas The Rise of Islam The Middle Ages The Renaissance Civil War and Revolution The Industrial Revolution Two World Wars 20th-century Achievements Human World Science and Technology

What was the Industrial Revolution? In the early 1700s in Britain, most people lived and worked on farms in the countryside. But over the next hundred years, Britain was transformed from a farming to an industrial nation using new machinery. From Britain the Industrial Revolution spread to the rest of Europe and across the world. It was called the Industrial Revolution because people's working lives were completely changed or 'revolutionised'. Steam provided the power for many of the new machines. The Rocket was the first commercial steam train.   Previous: Back Book: 1001 Section: History Chapter: The Industrial Revolution