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In [[Перу]], cotton was the backbone of the development of coastal cultures such as the [[Moche]] and [[Nazca]]. Cotton was grown upriver, made into nets and traded with fishing villages along the coast for large supplies of fish. The Spanish who came to Mexico in the early 1500s found the peoples there wearing cotton clothing and growing it.

The Indian cotton processing industry was eclipsed during the [[Britain|British]] colonial rule, as part of the British mercantile policy of deliberate and systematic de-industrialization of India, which forced the closing of Indian factories and processing facilities. The intent of this British policy was to ensure that colonized lands supplied raw materials and that Britain should retain a monopoly on manufacturing. In addition, the invention of the [[spinning jenny]] ([[1764]]) and Arkwright's [[spinning frame]] ([[1769]]) enabled cheap mass-production of cotton cloth in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. Production capacity was further improved by the invention of the [[cotton gin]] by [[Eli Whitney]] in [[1793]]. As a result of these policies and developments, British traders developed a commercial chain in which raw cotton fibres were sourced initially from their colonies, processed into cotton [[cloth]] in the mills of [[Lancashire]], and then re-exported back on British ships to their captive colonial markets in [[West Africa]], [[India]], and [[China]] (via colonized Shanghai and Hong Kong). Later, when the superiority of the American varieties of cotton was established, owing primarily to the length of the fibers, the British started purchasing cotton from slave plantations in the [[United States]] and the [[Caribbean]]. Due to the enormous quantities of raw cotton required to make cheap bulk exports, British [[industrialist]]s quickly abandoned expensive raw cotton produced in [[India]] in favour of mass-produced cotton from the southern [[United States]], which was much cheaper as it was produced by unpaid [[slavery in the United States|slaves]]. By the mid nineteenth century, "[[King Cotton]]" had become the backbone of the southern American economy, and today, roughly 90% of the world's cotton crop is of the long-staple American variety.

<!-- This image is awkwardly placed here. [[Image:Cotton_pollination_5892.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Gossypium hirsutum: Cotton blossom with bumblebee pollinator, Hemingway, South Carolina]] -—->

Today cotton is produced in many parts of the world, including every continent except Antarctica. Cotton plants have been selectively bred so that each plant grows more fiber. In 2002, cotton was grown on 330,000&nbsp;km² of farmland. 47 billion pounds (21 million t) of raw cotton worth 20 billion USD was grown that year.

Most cotton in the United States, Europe and Australia is harvested mechanically, either by a [[cotton picker]], a machine that removes the cotton from the boll without damaging the cotton plant, or by a [[cotton stripper]] which strips the entire boll off the plant. Cotton strippers are generally used in regions where it is too windy to grow picker varieties of cotton and generally used after application of a [[defoliant]] or natural defoliation occurring after a freeze. Cotton is a perennial crop in the tropics and without defoliation or freezing, the plant will continue to grow.

Cotton is used to make a number of textile products. These include [[terrycloth]], used to make highly absorbent bath towels and robes, [[denim]], used to make blue jeans, [[chambray]], popularly used in the manufacture of blue work shirts (from which we get the term "[[blue-collar]]"), along with [[corduroy]], [[seersucker]], and cotton [[twill]]. Socks, underwear, and most [[T-shirt]]s are made from cotton. Bed sheets are also often made from cotton. Cotton is also used to make yarn used in [[crochet]] and [[knitting]]. While many fabrics are made completely of cotton, some materials blend cotton with [[synthetic fiber]]s such as [[polyester]] or [[rayon]].

The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce [[cottonseed oil]], which after refining can be consumed by humans like any other [[vegetable oil]]. The [[cottonseed meal]] that is left is generally fed to livestock. In the past, cotton seeds were used by women as an [[abortifacient]].