Introduction


An early steam engine wagon.
The Industrial Revolution did not spring up overnight. Instead, it was a logical next step after several hundred years of developments in Europe that gradually replaced the medieval period (also known as the Middle Ages, from 500 to 1400) with the so-called modern era. These changes included dramatic new ways of thinking about the role of human beings in the world, their religion, and their relationships with one another. Without these preparatory changes, it is almost impossible to imagine the Industrial Revolution taking place. In parts of the world that did not undergo these changes, the Industrial Revolution never took root. -- Origins of the Industrial Revolution