The invention of the steam engine may be considered as the turning point that triggered the industrial revolution. It enabled massive productivity gains as well as the ability to scale industry from small workshops to large enterprises producing goods at scale. Other key technologies make up the industrial landscape today, such as electricity, transport, etc, but the steam engine was the first key technology that determined a particular path for the development of the industrial society.
England in the 1700s
What was special about England in the 1700s – a cold, damp island with nothing very remarkable?
What were steam engines
The first steam-driven mechanical devices widely used were Newcomen Atmospheric Engines, or Fire Engines invented in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen. They were widely deployed but not very efficient. The improvement patented by James Watt is generally considered the first general purpose steam engine, and the trigger of the industrial revolution. The Watt engine was more efficient (double the work per energy input) but also more general-purpose as it rotated a shaft rather than driving a pump.
The technology and the innovative process are interesting, but what concerns us here is – what was the problem that Newcomen and Watt were trying to solve?
The Newcomen engine was designed specifically to pump water from coal mines. England was, as we have noted, a cold and damp place. England needed coal but the coal mines would flood easily and pumping water from the mines would mean that you could dig deeper and get more coal.
In other words, the engine was not designed as a general purpose power source for the coming industrial revolution. It was a technical solution to an immediate problem of digging up coal.
In fact, Watt’s use of the patent system significantly slowed down the improvements to the steam engine that would enable its use in other applications, such as transport (steam trains and ships). Widespread use of steam engines did not really take off until the 1800s, after Watt’s patent expired.
Why did England need so much coal?
To get back to what concerns us here, why was the steam engine needed in the 1700s in England and not in some other place or some other time?
In the 1700s, there were no steam engines except those used for pumping water from coal mines. So what was all the coal for?
England needed coal principally for two things: heating and iron. Iron smelting, in particular, uses large quantities of heat to reduce ore to metal. And iron was in demand for many uses, including military uses.
But…humans had been burning stuff for heat for a long time and smelting iron for at least 3000 years. The primary fuel sources for these activities were wood and charcoal (produced from wood). Coal is relatively difficult to acquire since one need to dig it up, a time-consuming and labour-intensive process compare to gathering wood.
The problem was that in the 1700s, England had a shortage of wood for use as an energy source.
Deforestation in England
In pre-historic times, England was probably covered with thick forests. However,