CBSE · Class 10 · Social Science · History: The Age of IndustrialisationWhat is meant by the term 'Proto-industrialization'?

Proto-industrialization refers to the phase of industrialization that existed before the factory system emerged in England and Europe. During this period, there was large-scale industrial production for an international market, but it was not based on factories. Instead, it was controlled by merchants and the production was carried out by peasant households within their own family farms in the countryside. This system was decentralized and formed a network of commercial exchanges between the town and the countryside.