Acceleration of technical and economic development that took place in Britain in the second half of the 18th century. The traditional agricultural economy was replaced by one dominated by machinery and manufacturing, made possible through technical advances such as the steam engine. This transferred the balance of political power from the landowner to the industrial capitalist (for example, a factory owner) and created an urban working class.
Image of The BASF-chemical factories in Ludwigshafen, Germany, 1881 from Wikimedia Commons