Editing Industrial Revolution (section)

====Cotton and the expansion of slavery====
Cheap cotton textiles increased demand for raw cotton; previously, it had primarily been consumed in subtropical regions where it was grown, with little raw cotton available for export. Consequently, prices of raw cotton rose. British production grew from 2 million pounds in 1700 to 5 million in 1781 to 56 million in 1800.<ref>Beckert, p. 86.</ref> The invention of the cotton gin by American Eli Whitney in 1792 was the decisive event. It allowed green-seeded cotton to become profitable, leading to the widespread growth of slave [[plantation]]s in the US, Brazil, and the West Indies. In 1791, American cotton production was 2 million pounds, soaring to 35 million by 1800, half of which was exported. America's [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|cotton plantations]] were highly efficient, profitable and able to keep up with demand.<ref>{{cite book|title= Empire of Cotton: A Global History|last=Beckert
|first= Sven|year= 2014|publisher =Vintage Books Division Penguin Random House |page=103}}</ref> The U.S. Civil War created a "cotton famine" that led to increased production in other areas of the world, including [[Colonisation of Africa|European colonies in Africa]].<ref>Ronald Bailey, "The other side of slavery: Black labor, cotton, and textile industrialization in Great Britain and the United States." ''Agricultural History'' 68.2 (1994): 35–50.</ref>