The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain for several reasons. By the mid-1700's, the country had become the world's leading colonial power. Great Britain's colonies not only provided raw materials, but also provided markets for manufactured products. These colonial markets helped stimulate the textile and iron industries, which were probably the two most important industries during the Industrial Revolution.
The demand for British goods grew rapidly during the late 1700's both in Britain and in other countries. This demand forced businesses to compete with each other for the limited supply of labor and raw materials, which raised production costs. The rising costs began to cut into profits. Further demand could not be satisfied until Britain enlarged its capacity to produce goods inexpensively. British merchants did not want to raise the prices of their goods and discourage demand. So, they sought more economical and efficient ways of using money and labor so the amount each worker produced would increase faster than the cost of production. The merchants achieved their goal through the development of factories, machines, and technical skills, thus, industrialization.
The French Revolution began in 1789, after the start of industrialization. At first, many British approved the revolution as a triumph of liberty for the French people. But they