Hero of Alexandria

[barca]

I recently watched a show about Hellenistic Egypt. They pointed out that Hero of Alexandria invented a steam powered device which could have been a precursor to the steam engine. They brought up the question: why didn't the Hellenistic Greeks ever develop steam power for practical use? The answer they gave was that all the work was done by slaves so they didn't have the need for steam power. I'm not totally convinced by that answer.

 

Fast forward to the Modern Industrial Revolution of the late 18th but mostly 19th century in the Western World. It is interesting that it coincides somewhat with the abolition of slavery in the Western World. The free states in the US were in the industrialized north and the slave states were in the rural south.

 

So what came first. Was it technology that made slavery superfluous, or was it the abolition of slavery that prompted innovation in technology to find efficient ways to get the work done?

 

With or without slaves, a steam engine would have taken transportation to a new level. They would have still used slaves to lay down the tracks, but there's no way you could have slave powered train that could move at the speed of a steam engine.

Edited April 14, 2010 by barca

[Kosmo]

I don't believe in a link between slavery and the development of technology. We had a long debate about it some (long) time ago.

Hellenistic states and Romans were far below the cultural, scientific and technological level of pre-industrial West. The economy of late XVIII century was already global.

[barca]

Hellenistic states and Romans were far below the cultural, scientific and technological level of pre-industrial West.

 

 

They had a 2000 year advantage, but culturally and scientifically, the Hellenistic Greeks were ahead of their time. Why were they not able to apply their knowledge to the real world and develop technology that could have raised their standard of living.