[Essay for HST104 at ASU, Word Count 876)

Traditionally when someone speaks of evolution, they are talking about a slow process of change that plants and animals experience due to slight genetic variations and natural selection.  This term, however, can also refer to other aspects of human society.  Upon examination of our species’ history, it becomes apparent that we have also witnessed an economical evolution.  Occasionally a surge can occur, in which development accelerates.  In economic evolution, this has occurred a few times, such as with the rise of capitalism out of feudalism.  By examining Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, one of these surges becomes quite apparent.  From the eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, the economy changed in three key areas; that of the labor pool, the source of production, and the role of women.

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