The beginning of the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII and the first Act of Union binding Wales to England occurred in 1536 and mark the beginning of the post-medieval period. Many medieval castles were reused defensively for the last time during the Civil War between 1642 and 1648. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century (1700s) massive change came to Wales as its economy, formerly dominated by agriculture, developed industrially and commercially and its towns expanded greatly in size.