Feudalism declined for several reasons, but one of the most significant was industrialization. The Industrial Revolution (which began in the late 18th century) led to the growth of factories and urbanisation, reducing the dependence on agriculture-based economies that supported feudalism. Peasants and serfs left manorial estates in search of work in cities, weakening the feudal lord’s economic and military power. New economic systems, such as capitalism, emerged, replacing the rigid land-based economy of feudalism with wage labour and trade.