MAH: Cotton and the Global Revolution

Cotton is one of the most commonly used fabrics today, but its widespread use and importance in history took several centuries to unfold.

Cotton: From Ancient India to the Modern World

Cotton was cultivated in ancient India and was known to the Egyptians, but it wasn’t until the 15th century that cotton truly began to spread globally. By this time, cotton had already been used for centuries in India, where it was woven into soft fabrics, and was also found in regions of Africa and China.

With the rise of the transatlantic slave trade and the increasing demand for cotton, European colonial powers sought to establish cotton plantations in the Americas, leading to the widespread cultivation of the crop. By the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the spinning jenny and power loom made cotton fabric more affordable, leading to its explosion in popularity across Europe and the United States.