The Age of Liberty saw the development of Sweden’s first industries. A leading figure amongst Swedish industrialists was Jonas Alströmer. Born into poverty, Alströmer found work as an assistant to a Swedish merchant in London. During this time, he noted how Swedes would export raw materials only to import back the produced goods at a markup. Alströmer wanted to bring these industries to Sweden so they could produce their own finished goods. His first goal was establishing a textile industry, which he did by encouraging selective breeding of sheep and by creating Sweden's first textile mill in 1721, in his hometown of Alingsås. The factory failed to turn a profit, but it paved the paths for others to innovate and also introduced new techniques. Alströmer's industrial endeavours were also encouraged by the Hats once they came into power. He was provided various loans and grants to continue the expansions of his industrial works. The industrial developments of this time cannot be compared to large scale industrialization of later eras. Even in 1759 industries employed only 18,000 workers, fewer than a percent of the population. Furthermore, economic specialization, a sign of industrialization, did not occur in Sweden during this time. A major indicator of specialization is rural populations moving closer to urban centres. While Swedish population grew by over 50% between 1738 and 1805, the ratio of urban population to overall population remained roughly the same.