Industrialization began in the 17th century in England with inventions like the steam engine. It accelerated during World War 2 as major participants built up factories for steel, metals, textiles and other war materials. This large-scale factory production system is called industrialization. While industrialization provided benefits like new appliances, it also caused issues like land, water and air pollution from coal and oil usage that harmed human health and ecosystems. It resulted in urbanization as people migrated to cities and less land for agriculture.