<P> The applicability of proto - industrialization in Europe has since been challenged . M.J. Daunton, for example, argues that proto - industrialisation "excludes too much" to fully explain the expansion of industry: not only do proponents of proto - industrialisation ignore the vital town - based industries in pre-industrial economies, but also ignores "rural and urban industry based upon non-domestic organisation", referring to how mines, mills, forges and furnaces fit into the agrarian economy . </P> <P> Initially using surplus labor available during slow periods of the agricultural seasons, proto - industrialization led to specialization - not only in industrial production but also in commercial agricultural production . This allowed reciprocal trade favored by regional economies of scale . It resulted in accumulation of capital and in the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills by merchant capitalists, which facilitated the development of large - scale, and capital - intensive production methods in the full industrialization phase that followed . </P> <P> Proto - industrialization sparked social changes in traditional agrarian societies that would become more marked during full industrialization, such as greater independence of women and children, who gained a means of income separate from the family subsistence farm . During this phase of industrialisation, machines were not used . They were not even invented at that time . People could only use their hands or any hand - made material to produce required goods . </P> <P> The term proto - industrialization has also been used in reference to Mughal India during the 17th--18th centuries, when the Indian subcontinent experienced a growth in manufacturing industries and its economy had similar conditions to 18th - century Western Europe prior to the Industrial Revolution . </P>

What was the difference between proto industrialisation and factory production