The Industrial Revolution began in Britain for a number of reasons. First, the country had raw materials, like iron ore and coal. Other materials, like cotton, came from overseas colonies. By the end of the 18th century, the country became the world’s largest colonial power. The colonies then became big markets for the industrial goods that Britain produced.

In the early 1800s, the Industrial Revolution spread to the European mainland and across the Atlantic to the United States. By 1850 Belgium, France and Germany became leading industrial nations on the continent.

Japan was one of the first Asian countries to start producing goods in factories and Russian industrialisation started in the early 1900s. China and India didn’t become industrial powers until after World War II, largely because both countries were occupied by foreign powers.