By the end of the Middle Ages the technological systems called cities had long since become a central feature of Western life. In 1600 London and Amsterdam each had populations of more than 100,000, and twice that number【C1】______in Paris. Also, the Dutch, English, Spanish, and French were beginning to【C2】______global empires.【C3】______and trade produced a【C4】______merchant class that helped to【C5】______an increasing desire for such【C6】______as wine, coffee, tea, cocoa, and tobacco. These merchants set a【C7】______of life aspired to by the wider populace.【C8】______the beginning of the 18th century, capital resources and banking systems were well enough established in Great Britain to【C9】______investment in mass-production【C10】______that would satisfy some of these middle-class aspirations. The Industrial Revolution【C11】______in England, because that nation had the technological means, government encouragement, and a large and varied trade【C12】______. The first factories【C13】______in 1740, concentrating on【C14】______production. In 1740 the majority of English people wore woolen garments, but【C15】______the next 100 years the rough, often waterlogged and unhealthy woolens were【C16】______by cotton—especially after the【C17】______of the cotton gin(轧棉机)by Eli Whitney, an American, in 1793. One of the most important innovations in the weaving process was【C18】______in France in 1801 by Joseph Jacquard; his loom used cards with holes punched in them to determine the placement of threads in the warp(弯曲). This use of punched cards inspired the British mathematician Charles Babbage to attempt to【C19】______a calculating machine based on the same principle. Although this machine never became fully practical, it【C20】______the great computer revolution of the 20th century."