The invention of the steam engine in the eighteenth century didn’t scare off any monarchs, but it did ring in a new era: the Industrial Revolution. The engine generated steam, using it to drive a piston and thus generate kinetic energy. While humans had previously been dependent on the forces of nature to power machines, for instance by using the water in rivers to turn waterwheels, machines could suddenly perform heavy labor anywhere and at any time.
The arrival of such engines in weaving and spinning mills and their use in coal, iron and steel production completely changed everyday life. Many people moved into the cities to work in the factories there. Goods were produced in far greater quantities than could be made in small manufactories. This made factory owners rich and forced many artisanal craftspeople onto assembly lines; those who didn’t have the money to purchase new-fangled machines and remain competitive were forced to shutter their businesses and search for jobs in the new industrial areas in growing metropolises.
