Conditions before the Industrial Revolution were terrible. Child mortality was high and the children who survived, barely had enough to eat. You see, because of The Little Ice Age, agriculture was terrible. And before the revolution, most of Europe was agriculture based. The lack of food made people stunted and killed many. The food that could be harvested, were taxed and there was almost no profit.
The answer is mercantilism.
The Catholic Church was angered at any sort of disobedience or anyone that refused to listen to what they believed was right, and they did everything in their power to make sure that they and their beliefs were destroyed to only leave theirs, which they believed was the ultimate truth.
