Around the 18th century, certain important changes began to take place that were to eventually and cumulatively shake up the stability of the agrarian world and contribute to the making of the new industrial world. The changes that occurred were of relatively trivial nature but they produced the biggest transformation known to humankind. These changes were primarily in the productive sector and were related to one another.

The Industrial Revolution is generally associated with the factory system, mechanization of the textile industries, invention of James Watt’s steam engine and the beginning of railway and steam shipping.