Watt did not invent his steam machine

The idea of using steam to obtain a mechanical effect dates back to ancient times. In the first century B.C.E., Heron d-Alexandria was building a small steam engine, operating on the principle of jet engines. A first steamboat was presented to Charles Quint by a Spanish inventor navigator in 1543, but the adventure did not proceed and there was no record of the mechanical principles used.

It was only in 1781 that James Watt designed a system to obtain a circular movement and rotate an axis, a sine qua non condition for industrial use. Then, in 1803, the first condensing cylinders and high-pressure boilers appeared allowing the application to mobile vehicles.

Given that the development of rail transport was the key to trade that led to industrial progress and consumption, it was immediately apparent that nothing significant had changed at the beginning of the 18th century. The notorious acceleration of population growth around 1700 cannot therefore be attributed to a change in lifestyle, or even to the prospect of a far-reaching beneficial effect of the acquisitions of the time.

For more details on the history of the steam engine: >>>>