The Origins of Cottage Industry

With cottage industry came cottage capitalism. Early factories start to appear in the early 1500s but they were slow to spread, partly because of fierce opposition from the urban guilds and partially because national governments didn't know what to do with them yet. Children raised in the families of these expanding cottage industries would often go on to inherit them. Not only did this mean an accumulation of wealth for reinvestment, but also new ideas. Many a boy who watched his parent system growing up figured out how to improve it when he finally took over.