By: Mike-SMO

Mike-SMO — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 01:52:57 +0000

The Roman and other “Classical” societies were based on the collection and control of masses of people and especially the ones with “special” skills. England/Great Britian broke with that tradition since there were jobs (pumping water out of mines and hoisting materials) that humans didn’t do very well. Once steam power was invented, it got loose in society in mills and transportation. The Atlantic Ocean was not the Mediterranean. The open spaces of Europe, Russia and North America were not the walled cities of Italy and North Africa. Once mass and distance were included, the humans fall out of the system. New human skills become valuable. Hence, the “engineer”. “Scotty” was barely human, but he was useful and trainable. And if “Scotty” needed a pressure seal, he made one. “Scotty” made the new world.

Rome, did not have the vision, or the need, for the things that led to the industrial revolution. Perhaps if Rome had survived a bit longer….

By: Bob Sykes

Bob Sykes — Sun, 15 Jan 2023 15:06:24 +0000

While Rome was basically an agricultural empire, it did have very large scale plantations growing wheat, olives, and cotton, and there was an empire-spanning distribution of those products. They also had very large-scale ceramics manufacturing, again with empire-wide distribution of its products. The disappearance of North African red ware from Europe is supposed to be one indicator of the “Dark Ages.”

Comments on: None of the precursors were in place

By: Mike-SMO

By: Bob Sykes