The long nineteenth century transformed how people understood childhood, work, gender, and the very concept of human liberty. Driven by new ideas and new machines, this 164-year period created the world we live in today.

Driven by Enlightenment ideas of liberty and sovereignty, people took to the streets, demanding a role in government and an end to the rule of kings and emperors. In the Atlantic world and then beyond, revolutionaries forged a new world of nation-states.

The Industrial Revolution created the world we live in, transforming human life on this planet in profound ways. These lessons reveal the moving parts of industrialization, so we can see what’s working and what might need repairs in the future.

The extraction of raw materials from colonies helped fuel the expansion of industrialization. New technologies made industrial empires incredibly powerful, but colonial subjects everywhere found ways to respond to and resist colonialism.

The Industrial Revolution shook the foundations of society. But people shook back, resisting industrial capitalism. Reformers seeking to abolish slavery, improve working conditions, and assert women’s rights linked with each other across the world.