Britain led the world during the industrial revolution in terms of industry, technology and scientific understanding, with many of the major breakthroughs and inventions occurring here. Britain was the first country to become fully 'industrialised', with industrial revolutions then spreading across Europe and then N.America.
 
I guess the main advantages were that it provided a better standard of living for people and lead to a greater understanding of our world, and allowed man kind to exploit new environments and spread our influence.
 
The obvious main negative effect is that it led the way for mankind to start polluting our environment which ultimately leads to global warming. This also results in other animals and wildlife losing habitats and becoming extinct.