4 ms·
Industrialism had lot of preconditions that had to be in place. The late 18th century europe was much more complex and developed place than the roman empire eve
by fsloth 8y ago
Industrialism had lot of preconditions that had to be in place. The late 18th century europe was much more complex and developed place than the roman empire ever was in several ways.
1. Science (had been picking up steam for a few centuries)
2. Capital (wealth from the colonies had been piling up for centuries as well)
3. Public demand for goods (you're not just selling to the prince, you are selling to everyone).
4. Several countries with legal systems and professional courts that upheld the law and facilitated binding legal agreements.
5. Political system that did not overrule the courts just because the king needed a bit more money
After these preconditions were in place, I think one of the triggers in the industrialized age was the expanding market demand for goods. If the demand is low, there is very little incentive to move beyond human artisanal labour (ahem, artisanal mining, ahem).
- Retric 8y agoThe largest factor was simply population size largely from gradual improvements in farming. Global population in year zero was estimated at 200-300 million. That jumpted to 700-800 million in 1700 and 900M to 1 billion in 1800. Sure the city of Rome hit 1 million people early, but that took an empire to sustain. At the start of the industrial revolution several cities where about that large. PS: The Roman Empire covered a lot of land, but it's population was somwere between modern day South Korea and Germany. And all that distance dramatically slowed down communication.
- fsloth 8y ago6. Development of more productive and less labour intensive agricultural methods which increased population and released labour to other endevours. :) Thanks for the reminder!