Before industrialization, the population of Europe grew dramatically, from 110,000,000 to 190,000,000 people. What sparked this growth? Probably the end of feudalism. The end of feudal contracts gave people a little more say in their daily work activities, which translated into more time spent at home, which ultimately resulted in procreation. This would require citizens to scramble to both meet the needs of the population as a whole and to improve the overall quality of life of individuals. This led economists, such as Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations (1776), to examine the most cost-effective method of producing the goods and services demanded by citizens (such as clothing and food). It also led others, such as Thomas Malthus in his Essay on Population (1798), to seek a way to curb population growth so that Europe could sustain its growth. Ultimately, the ideas of both theorists were put into practice. Although the ideas of both theorists were initially resisted by the everyday worker and his family, these ideas were necessary for the economic development and sustainability of the country. The Industrial Revolution was beneficial to society at the time because it provided the population with the means to supply necessary materials through the development of mechanization, manual labor and agriculture – but it conformed to the subsistence model of Malthus by placing citizens living together in slums. in urban areas near their workplace, the health and safety concerns associated with this move would lead to a natural population decline. Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations as a guide to why economics should be considered to benefit both the business and the consumer. . While Smith emphasizes the importance of the d...... middle of paper...... sleeve' (1794). In Documents on the History of Modern Europe. Ed. Ken MacMillan. Calgary: University of Calgary, 2011. Pp. 48-49. Appleby & Sawyer, Bernard Bischoff & Sons. “Excerpt from Appleby & Sawyer, Bernard Bischoff & Sons, “Letter from the Cloth Merchants of Leeds” (1791) in Documents on the History of Modern Europe. Ed. Ken MacMillan. Calgary: University of Calgary, 2011. Pp. 46-47. Hepworth, Joseph, Lobley, Thomas and Blackburn, Robert. “Excerpted from Joseph Hepworth, Thomas Lobley, Robert Blackburn, “Leeds Woolen Workers Petition” (1786) in Documents on the History of Modern Europe. Ed. Ken MacMillan. Calgary: University of Calgary, 2011. P. 46Smith, Adam. 'Extract from Adam Smith, 'The Wealth of Nations' (1776). InDocuments on the history of modern Europe. Ed. Ken MacMillan. Calgary: University of Calgary, 2011 Pp. 42-45