Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

"When Philip IV succeeded his father in 1621, Spain was clearly in economic and political decline, a source of consternation."

"The Spain that the sickly young Charles II (1661-1700) inherited was clearly in decline and there were more losses immediately." [1]

These are both from before the steam engine was invented. I don't think its reasonable blame steam power for the downfall of Spain. The dates just don't really line up, especially not when you look when steam became a major driving force.

Now I agree with your point that the availability of coal was a huge factor in the industrial revolution.

Ps looking up copper ore concentrations, I got the same 12% figure, I thought it questionable as its so far higher than other concentrations. Apparently modern ore has 0.6% copper.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Empire



There are, of course, multiple factors. And Spain was in decine, for multiple reasons, as the Industrial Revolution was starting to cook off in the 18th century -- whether you put the start date at the beginning, middle, or end of that period doen't much matter: Spain missed the starting gun, and never really got back in the game until the 20th century.

As to what country took title -- I'd have to check an authoritative source, possibly Maddison's data if it has sufficient granularity, but my money would be on France or the Netherlands, rather than England, at least through about 1755 (Seven Years War).

And by the 19th century, it was previously unorganised states such as Germany who'd utterly surpassed Spain, whilst the (now United) Britain benefitted hugely by avoiding the revolutions and wars that wracked Europe through 1848 (and somewhat beyond), as well as control of India (providing saltpetre for gunpowder) and China (general trade, once the Brits discovered the balance-of-trade leveling properties of opium), Canada, and Australia.

Even modest shifting of fuels away from wood gave compelling advantages. Smil credits Dutch use of peat for prt of that nation's success. Transport systems, ag productivity, attitudes toward invention and discovery (Catholic Spain vs Anglican England & Protestant Holland), canal building, political divisions, domestic resource access, colonial access, etc., etc., all played roles.

But after 1800, ability to access an utilise fossil fuels came to dominate, frequently a self-reinforcing process.

Smil, Weissenbacher, et al, make for fascinating reading (see previous).




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: