Between the mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries Great Britain changed from a mainly agricultural country into a mainly industrial one. Because the change came about so quickly we can indeed describe it as a revolution. This period of a hundred years might well be called 'the age of steam power'. Between them steam, coal and iron transform ed Britain's industry, brought about a revolution in road, rail and sea transport, and led to the rapid growth of new industrial cities. Both industry and Parliament were unprepared for such great changes in so short a time, and they often had to solve serious problems with little past experience to guide them. In the pages that follow you can read more about the pioneers, their spectacular inventions, and the opposition they often faced.