 Daniel Defoe visited the city in the early 18th century and famously opined in his book "A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain", that Glasgow was "the cleanest and beautifullest, and best built city in Britain, London excepted".At that time the city's population was about 12,000, and the city was yet to undergo the massive expansionary changes to its economy and urban fabric, brought about by the Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.After the Acts of Union in 1707, Scotland gained further access to the vast markets of the new British Empire, and Glasgow became prominent as a hub of international trade to and from the Americas, especially in sugar, tobacco, cotton, and manufactured goods.