Origin Story: A Big History of Everything

by David Christian

There were many powerful feedback loops. Improved steam engines allowed access to deeper mines, which lowered the cost of extracting coal, so the amount of coal that was mined increased by fifty-five times between 1800 and 1900. Cheaper coal made steam engines more economical, while steamships and locomotives slashed the cost of transporting cattle, coal, produce, and people by land and sea, which stimulated global trade. Railways increased demand for iron and steel, and innovations in steel production made it economical for the first time to use steel in mass-produced goods such as tin cans, a new way of storing and preserving foodstuffs. There were unexpected side effects. Using steam to spin and weave textiles increased the demand for raw cotton, which stimulated cotton planting in the United States, Central Asia, and Egypt. Industrial production of textiles increased demand for subsidiary products such as artificial dyes and bleaches, which kick-started the modern chemicals industry, many of whose products came from coal.