The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transportation had a profound effect on socioeconomic and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom and then spreading throughout Europe and North America. New steam technologies like steam engines and steamboats allowed manufacturing to occur on a larger scale using machines instead of manual labor, which greatly increased productivity. This transition from hand production methods to machines changed the manufacturing process in both textile production and iron production and the location of economic power shifted from rural areas to cities.