By the end of the Middle Ages the technological systems called cities had long since become a central feature of Western life．In 1600 London and Amsterdam each had populations of more than 100,000, and twice that number【l】in Paris．Also, the Dutch, English, Spanish, and French were beginning to【2】global empires.【3】and trade produced a【4】merchant class that helped to【5】an increasing desire for such【6】as wine, coffee, tea, cocoa, and tobacco．These merchants set a【7】of life aspired to by the wider populace.【8】the beginning of the 18th century, capital resources and banking systems were well enough established in Great Britain to【9】investment in mass-product ion【10】that would satisfy some of these middle-class aspirations.
The Industrial Revolution【11】in England, because that nation had the technological means, government encouragement, and a large and varied trade【12】．The first factories【13】in 1740, concentrating on【14】production; In 1740 the majority of English people wore woolen garments, but【15】the next 100 years the rough, often waterlogged and unhealthy woolens were【16】by cotton—especially after the【17】of the cotton gin (轧棉机) by Eli Whitney, an American, in 1793.
One of the most important innovations in the weaving process was【18】in France in 1801 by Joseph Jacquard: his loom used cards with holes punched in them to determine the placement of threads in the warp (弯曲)．This use of punched cards inspired the British mathematician Charles Babbage to attempt to【19】a calculating machine based on the same principle．Although this machine never became fully practical, it【20】the great computer revolution of the 20th century.
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