The rise of industry, beginning in Britain in the late eighteenth century, was a complex phenomenon. Reasons for the origin of the Industrial Revolution in Britain include British wealth, much of it derived from its colonies and dominant position in world trade, coal reserves, and skill in engineering and technology. The Industrial Revolution began with the textile industry, which saw a series of remarkable technical innovations beginning in the late eighteenth century. British industry was able to produce unprecedented amounts of cloth, particularly cotton cloth, at a very cheap price, and soon became the world’s dominant producer. The need for cotton, which could not be raised in Britain itself owing to climate, led to the creation of satellite economies devoted to cotton production. The most notable of them was the American South, where “King Cotton” led to the entrenchment of slavery and the plantation system.