A sectoral analysis of steam power diffusion in the late 18th century: the British coal mining and iron smelting industries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1344/rhiihr.47789Keywords:
Britsh Industrial Revolution, steam power, coal-mining, iron smeltingAbstract
The diffusion trajectory of steam power was the underlying factor behind the growth rates of the British economy during the first Industrial Revolution. Following the first introduction of Newcomen engines working with reciprocating motion at the dawn of the 18th century, a major breakthrough took place in the 1780s with the invention of engines producing rotary motion, a monumental event since, for the first time in history, the field of application of this technology extended to industry. This paper focuses on the last quarter of the 18th century, over the duration of Watt’s patent, and discusses the particular conditions that affected the diffusion path in two of the three sectors which comprised the vanguard of the Industrial Revolution: the coal-mining and iron industries. While the main factor determining adoption decisions of steam vs water-power or of different steam engine models was the annual operating cost of each energy source, each sector presented its own particularities rendering the entire diffusion process something akin to microclimates.
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