zlacker

> Did the printing press started a revolution in knowledge, or wars of religions?

That's a great question.

The answer is very well known. It started both.

>>marcos+(OP)
The Ottoman sultans saw those wars and banned the press. The missed the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, and eventually disappeared.

>>esafak+fY
They were also a bit far from the Americas, which might have contributed to the economic boom of Europe more than the faster spreading of new ideas via books, no?

>>rixed+xR1
The kind of colonization that happened in America also happened in several other places, again and again, through history. In no other case is was followed by an industrial revolution.

In fact, China was just fading away from a very similar boom when Europe started expanding. And the Otomans have had their own boom some centuries before.

And China did develop a mechanical press, and decided to control an censor it too. But I don't think the GP is correct on using that as a strong cause.

>>rixed+xR1
I'm not talking about wealth per se, but industrialization. Without it, they failed to develop adequate military technology, transportation infrastructure, and agricultural efficiency to free up labor for industrial work. They also lacked coal reserves, and oil was not be a factor until too late in the game.