In the 1700's, England was the world's leading colonial power. England's colonies also provided a market for manufactured products. The manufacture and export of various cloths were vital to the English economy in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Before the Industrial Revolution, textiles were produced under the putting-out system, in which merchant clothiers had their work done in the homes of artisans or farming families. This was called the "cottage industry." Production was limited …showed first 75 words of 1005 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1005 total…had a significant effect on the course of history. These innovations made cotton incredibly cheap and infinitely expandable; since cotton clothing was tougher than wool, the manufacture of cotton clothing shot through the roof. By the end of the eighteenth century, the manufacture of thread and cloth was slowly moving out of the family economy and into large factory mills, though this transition would not be fully realized until the middle of the nineteenth century.