Economic change At the end of the 18th century, Britain became the protagonist of many economic changes that eventually transformed the country from an agricultural to an industrialized nation. These changes started to develop after the Black Death, thats when living standards improved , the population increased and agriculture was intensified. Basically in the 18th century, an agricultural revolution transformed traditional farming. Smaller portions of land were enclosed to create more compact and well organized farms. The new agricultural innovations permitted treating differently the soil which made the land more fertile. That surely increased the cereal production. At the same time, scientific methods for breeding animals were used to produce more meat. As food production started to increase, so did the population. This permitted an increased industrial demand, which led to the beginning of mass consumption. The demand for daily goods such as wardrobes, clocks, kitchen utensils, tobacco, tea, coffee, sugar or alcohol started growing more and more. The textile and clothmaking industry also flourished. Especially the manufacturing of woolen and cotton cloth, which wa