Not true. In the early American colonies, the colonists used charcoal and bog iron to supply local blacksmiths. The Iron Age in particular enabled widespread me

Not true. In the early American colonies, the colonists used charcoal and bog iron to supply local blacksmiths. The Iron Age in particular enabled widespread metal use precisely because sources of iron ore and charcoal are very broadly distributed geographically. Ironically (heh), it was the Bronze Age which relied more heavily on trade as you needed both copper and tin (which was especially rare geographically) to make bronze, which meant you had to have fairly vast trading networks. The development of iron smelting was a pretty important invention that vastly simplified and diversified availability of weapons-quality metal. (Although to make hardenable steel—probably essential for industrialization—is harder than mere iron and requires better process control… but charcoal can still be the fuel source. And it was, for ancient steelmaking.) EDIT: in fact, even in the first Industrial Revolution, water power was more important economically for motive power in Britain than coal driven steam power. Globally, coal didn’t start to exceed traditional biomass for prime energy until around 1900.