Feudalism ended when the factors that had supported it disappeared: small and isolated populations, limited markets, the dominance of the knight in warfare.
Category: history of technology
The Discovery of the Sea I
The discovery of the world’s sea routes was ultimately driven by the desire of Europeans to directly access Asia’s trade network.
The Discovery of the Sea II
Sea routes connect every pair of coastal locations. The discovery of these routes was largely the result of a century of European exploration.
Why Were the Americas so Underdeveloped when Europeans Reached Them?
Eurasia was able to produce food surpluses more than a thousand years before the Americas. Food surpluses led to specialization, which led to rapid development.
The Steam Engine
The steam engine powered a new generation of industrial machinery, and gave rise to modes of transportation that would stitch the world together.
The Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was one aspect of a dramatic change in the way that people thought of themselves and the world in which they lived.
Why Did the Industrial Revolution Happen in Britain in the Eighteenth Century?
The Industrial Revolution occurred because labour was expensive relative to capital and coal, making technologies that replaced labour with machines profitable.
The Second Industrial Revolution
The Second Industrial Revolution produced a range of new technologies, including industrial chemistry, electric power, and the internal combustion engine.
How Modern Science Came to China
China became aware of Western science in the sixteenth century, but did not embrace it until the Opium Wars demonstrated the West’s technological superiority.
The Transformation of Japan after the Meiji Restoration
Japan was a feudal economy in 1868. Over the next few decades it completely transformed itself to become one of the leading nations of the world.
Merchants and Mechanics 