Was it because of the advance of science in Britain and France, exemplified by Denis Papin? Perhaps a bit, but Newcomen apparently knew nothing of that. Was it because of improvements in metallurgy of the late seventeenth century so that large brass cylinders and pistons could now be built? Partly. Was it because of the dramatic expansion of the coal-mining industry driven by the rising price of wood as British forests shrank, and with it the demand for pumping equipment? To some extent. Was it because of the expansion of trade in north-west Europe, begun by the Dutch and leading to the
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