From: SolomonW@citi.com   
      
   On Fri, 23 Nov 2018 11:00:16 -0800 (PST), Oh so rich & successful JTEM   
   wrote:   
      
   >  SolomonW wrote:   
   >   
   >> They had major shortages in wood so little coke. No gunpower makes coal   
   >> mines much more expensive. Limited chimmeys so little domestic demand for   
   >> coal.   
   >   
   > I've said it before and I'll say it again:  The industrial   
   > revolution began with WATER POWER, not steam, not coal.   
   >   
      
   True, the Romans had waterpower.   
      
   > Gunpowder was never that important. Look at China. They had   
   > the gunpowder long before Europe but still no industrial   
   > revolution. No, what was missing in China was not technology   
   > it was the social environment.   
      
   It is a valid point a   
      
   > Where gunpowder may have come   
   > into play in Europe was the gun.   
      
   >   
   > Think of it:  Instead of a handful of artillery pieces they   
   > needed thousands of guns to arm the troops. And immediately   
   > they would have experienced issues with reliability /   
   > interchangeability because, without industrialization, they   
   > depended entirely on the skills of the individual craftsman   
   > with standardization a pipe dream.  And the technology kept   
   > changing, kept improving so they had to replace all those   
   > guns way too often, starting the whole painful ordeal all   
   > over again...   
   >   
   > So, gunpowder may have assisted greatly in the industrial   
   > revolution but indirectly, assuming it did at all.   
      
   I do feel for civil engineering, clearing farmland and mining gunpowder was   
   a big help.   
      
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   > http://jtem.tumblr.com/post/180404329073   
      
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