Water is the Missing Link

Water is the Missing Link delivers a bold, fresh reinterpretation of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the modern world, challenging the conventional wisdom that has shaped our understanding of modern history. Terje Tvedt argues that the most transformative phase of the Industrial Revolution, up until 1820, wasn’t driven by steam engines or coal, as nearly everyone believes. Instead, the true catalyst lay in the harnessing of waterpower in the idyllic English countryside—far from the smoky, overcrowded cities that have become the revolution’s enduring image. It was the humble waterwheel, not the steam engine, that powered all the first factories, while goods and heavy stuff like iron and could were transported not by steam locomotives or horse wagons on roads but by boats and barges pulled by human and animals along rivers and canals.

Tvedt’s groundbreaking approach shifts the focus from fossil fuels to the natural water landscapes that had shaped societies for millennia. He compares 11 countries – China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and Spain – exploring how each of them exploited their water resources to strengthen industrial growth and build national transport networks. This comparative analysis uncovers a hidden history about what happened prior to and during this radical shift in the course of history and in power relations in the world.