<P> The Industrial Revolution was the first period in history during which there was a simultaneous increase in both population and per capita income . </P> <P> According to Robert Hughes in The Fatal Shore, the population of England and Wales, which had remained steady at six million from 1700 to 1740, rose dramatically after 1740 . The population of England had more than doubled from 8.3 million in 1801 to 16.8 million in 1850 and, by 1901, had nearly doubled again to 30.5 million . Improved conditions led to the population of Britain increasing from 10 million to 40 million in the 1800s . Europe's population increased from about 100 million in 1700 to 400 million by 1900 . </P> <P> The growth of modern industry since the late 18th century led to massive urbanisation and the rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas . In 1800, only 3% of the world's population lived in cities, compared to nearly 50% today (the beginning of the 21st century). Manchester had a population of 10,000 in 1717, but by 1911 it had burgeoned to 2.3 million . </P> <P> Women's historians have debated the effect of the Industrial Revolution and capitalism generally on the status of women . Taking a pessimistic side, Alice Clark argued that when capitalism arrived in 17th century England, it lowered the status of women as they lost much of their economic importance . Clark argues that in 16th - century England, women were engaged in many aspects of industry and agriculture . The home was a central unit of production and women played a vital role in running farms, and in some trades and landed estates . Their useful economic roles gave them a sort of equality with their husbands . However, Clark argues, as capitalism expanded in the 17th century, there was more and more division of labour with the husband taking paid labour jobs outside the home, and the wife reduced to unpaid household work . Middle - and upper - class women were confined to an idle domestic existence, supervising servants; lower - class women were forced to take poorly paid jobs . Capitalism, therefore, had a negative effect on powerful women . </P>

Two advantages great britain had which were necessary for industrialization were