‘Industrial Revolution’ refers to the far reaching transformation of British society that occurred between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries. The Industrial Revolution saw great progress, but it also brought poverty. ‘Then and now’ considers the two sides of the Industrial Revolution and how it was the culmination of two centuries of economic evolution. This was due to a set of revolutions that reinforced each other: in technology, agriculture, commerce, transportation, and finance combined with population and urban growth, resulting in a long run increase in GDP. But why did the Industrial Revolution happen in Britain: the rise of capitalism or England’s political and legal systems?