The first ~40 years of textile manufacturing improvements (from the spinning jenny in the 1760s to the first major steam powered mills in the 1810s and 1820s) w

The first ~40 years of textile manufacturing improvements (from the spinning jenny in the 1760s to the first major steam powered mills in the 1810s and 1820s) was parallel to and largely independent of the steam engine. Concretely, Crompton's spinning mule used hundreds of spindles simultaneously and was driven by water power. This parallel development to the steam engine arc suggests that coal alone can't fully explain the magic of the British industrial revolution. There was an incentive to innovate and automate, and a political structure that supported it - or at least did not shut it down - that existed independently of Britain's coal deposits and heating needs. In my view, the deforestation --> coal --> steam engine arc is important, but just one of several factors (other notable factors being global trade dominance founded on the world's strongest navy and most efficient capital markets, as well a parliamentary system consistently advocating for commercial over monarchical interests). Coal deposits and local deforestation near large cities were not unique to Britain (see China, Belgium and Germany). > After reading Coal - A Human History I’m of the opinion that the industrial revolution was a complete accident of circumstance on a tiny island that didn’t have enough trees to support its population’s energy needs... This is the part of your initial comment I am responding to. I don't mean to make it a straw man, but I do disagree with the primacy of the deforestation --> coal arc. I think Britain with more trees would still industrialize; on the other hand I think Britain without its trade empire or navy, or Britain run by an all-powerful emperor would not have industrialized first. Another take on why the trade empire/navy was more primary than deforestation is that the former had a strong causal relationship on the latter. The Royal Navy's shipbuilding was a major cause of deforestation [1], and the growth of international trade was itself a significant driver of London's population growth which in turn caused the forests to be stripped for fuel. [1] https://legionmagazine.com/the-royal-navys-war-on-trees/ https://legionmagazine.com/the-royal-navys-war-on-trees/