• Origins of the Industrial Revolution: Words to Know
• Setting the stage
• England in 1750
• David Hume
• New economic philosophy
• Peace at home, war abroad
• For More Information

Some revolutions have famous starting dates. On April 19, 1775, a band of North American colonists fired on British soldiers on Lexington Green in Massachusetts—the "shot heard 'round the world" that launched the American Revolution. The next year, on July 4, 1776, these colonists declared their independence. On July 14, 1789, a mob stormed the Bastille prison in Paris, France, sparking the French Revolution. In November 1917, Russian Communists seized power...