<P> The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840 . This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system . </P> <P> Textiles were the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested . The textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods . </P>

When do historians date the start of the industrial revolution