Until the industrial revolution, the human population everywhere was in equilibrium with agricultural technology. Improvements to technology would lead to popul

Until the industrial revolution, the human population everywhere was in equilibrium with agricultural technology. Improvements to technology would lead to population growth until wealth per capita reached the same old level and people stopped having as many kids. Check out the book "A farewell to Alms" for a solid 10 chapters of historical records on this from around the world. The first person to notice this universal truth about the human population was Malthus. He had the misfortune to make the observation right on the eve of era when it stopped being true.