Editing Industrial Revolution (section)

====Trade and textiles====
[[File:Colonisation 1754.png|thumb|European colonial empires at the start of the Industrial Revolution, superimposed upon modern political boundaries]]
The [[Age of Discovery]] was followed by [[colonialism]] beginning around the 16th century. Following the discovery of a [[trade route]] to India around southern Africa by the Portuguese, the British founded the [[East India Company]], and other countries founded companies, which established trading posts throughout the Indian Ocean region.<ref name="Beckert_2014" />

A largest segment of this trade was in cotton textiles, which were purchased in India and sold in [[Southeast Asia]], including the [[List of islands of Indonesia|Indonesian archipelago]] where spices were purchased for sale to Southeast Asia and Europe. By the 1760s, cloth was over three-quarters of the East India Company's exports. Indian textiles were in demand in Europe where previously only wool and linen were available; however, cotton goods consumed in Europe was minor until the early 19th century.<ref name="Beckert_2014" />