>In all honestly, as far as I can tell the only thing   
   >stopping the Industrial Revolution from happen in ancient   
   >Roman times, instead of the 18th century, was the Roman   
   >elite.   
      
   Simple, all of the prerequisite technology elements of the industrial   
   revolution were not in place.   
      
   China was the leader in technology until about the 17th century.  If it   
   were to have happened anywhere else it would b china.   
      
   A 1st century roman in egypt described a rudimentary steam engine, which we   
   associate with the industrial revolution as a primary energy conversion   
   prerequisite.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)