Within decades, Europe’s commercial and military power had undermined ancient states and lifeways. Textile production using spinning and weaving machines powered by steam engines ruined artisan textile producers in India, which had been the agrarian era’s leading producer of cotton cloth. As Britain gained political and military control of the Indian subcontinent, it locked in these imbalances by keeping Indian textiles out of British markets. Even the building of India’s major railroads benefited Britain more than India.
