Asiatic cottons first grew wild in East Africa. About 5000 years ago, the people in what is now southern cultivated cotton. The army of Alexander the Great first brought cotton goods into Europe in the 300s B.C. but the cloth was too expensive and only the rich could afford it.
The English began to weave cotton in the 1600s. They imported raw cotton from other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Later, they imported cotton from southern colonies in America.
In the 1700s, English textile manufacturers developed machines that made it possible to spin thread and weave cloth into large quantities. Today, the United States, Russia, China and India are major producers of cotton.

Asiatic cottons first grew wild in East Africa. About 5000 years ago, the people in what is now southern cultivated cotton. The army of Alexander the Great first brought cotton goods into Europe in the 300s B.C. but the cloth was too expensive and only the rich could afford it.
The English began to weave cotton in the 1600s. They imported raw cotton from other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Later, they imported cotton from southern colonies in America.
In the 1700s, English textile manufacturers developed machines that made it possible to spin thread and weave cloth into large quantities. Today, the United States, Russia, China and India are major producers of cotton.