In Britain in the middle of the eighteenth century, requisite conditions were in evidence for making that nation the first great industrial country, 'the workshop of the world'. Already enjoying a vigorous commercial economy, Britain experienced a tremendous population growth and increasing trade at home and abroad. The population boom is attributed to several circumstances in Britain at that time. Good harvests had produced abundant and therefore cheaper food. The plague years were over, probably as a result of improved water supplies and the availability of soap. With opportunities for work in industry, people were marrying younger and producing larger families for whom they could earn the means to provide. The death rate dropped, and the population in- creased. Labor was thus accessible for the development of an industrial society. Industry's need for fuel sparked expansion in coal mining. Production of iron depended upon coal smelting, which produced cheap iron for machines and buildings. The iron industry moved to the central and northern sections of Britain for coal. Following the invention and improvement of the steam engine, water power was supplanted by steam power with its ensuing requirement of access to coal fields. Britain's foremost industries were wool and cotton weaving. Between 1733 and 1789, a series of ingenious labor-saving machines were invented. They would dispense with water power and rely on steam for increased production. Kay's flying shuttle made it possible to widen cloth and doubled production as well. Hargreaves' spinning jenny, a cotton-spinning machine that replaced the spinning wheel, and Cartwright's power loom rejuvenated both the cotton and wool industries. Once the countryside was dotted with mills beside rivers and streams, but the need for coal drove the textile industry into the North where it continues to operate to this day. Industrialization was complemented by a dynamic approach to cheap transportation. A network of canals was constructed and covered 2,000 miles by 1815. The canal system reduced coal prices and provided easier access to raw materials and markets. Furthermore, a man named Macadam had the idea of solidifying roads with small stones, so road traffic was made easier. This period of British industrial expansion is called the Industrial Revolution. The rapid change in the nation's economy was effected by the steam engine and various power-driven machines. Never again would England be an agricultural nation. The main topic of the passage on Britain in the eighteenth century is______.