The Industrial Revolution was a major change of
life for people living at that time, especially in Britain where the Industrial Revolution
started around the 1750's. The traditional "home" economy where many people had
small businesses doing jobs at home, was replaced by a new economy dominated by machinery
and mass-manufacturing. This was made possible through numerous great technical advances
such as the steam engine. Many of the inventions we now use every day were invented or
refined during the Industrial Revolution. The rapid changes in the economy also transfered
the political power from the landowner to the factory owner. This also created a new and
huge class of people, the urban working class. From 1850 onwards the Industrial Revolution
spread throughout the rest of Europe, the United States, and Japan. The great initial
invention was the steam engine
which was used in factories and on railways. Many other inventions rapidly followed,
including noteable advances in textiles and manufacturing.