The renaissance contributed to new views of the universe because of the many people who influenced art, literature, science, etc. at the time. For example, Galileo came up with his view that the earth revolves around the sun. This upset the church and changed the view of the world. This is just one example.
During the industrial revolution, most of the capital was invested so that people were able to gain a lot of short term gain for short term expenses. This was the essence of the industrial revolution for bankers - they wanted to spend money for short term gains instead of longer prospects.
Civilian property was destroyed as a tactic to accelerate the war.