One of the great inventions of the Industrial Revolution was the steam engine because it gave an advantage to building many other machinery. In the book we read about fire-powered ships. Before fired-powered ships they relied on wooden ships that would take forever to get from places to places. The Ottomans were very surprised and impressed to see the invention the Indians had came up with. The fire-powered ships also known as machine ships were ran by the heat of fires. They were set up with, “heat of fires burning in furnaces that boiled water, the steam then forced by pipes to push paddlewheels, encased by big wooden housings on each side of the hull. Valves controlled the amount of steam going to each wheel, and the ship could turn on a single spot” (Robinson 493). They burned coal in the furnaces because they had a great deposit of coals. Sometimes the ship would have to be pushed away in the usual way due to the winds coming in the wrong side. They just made an upgrade to the regular ships. The ships were sent to be made by Kerala of Travancore. The furnaces, boilers and paddlewheels were created by ironmongers who were taught how to make them in Anatolia.

These fire-powered ships have a similarity to steam engine ships which were the key to the industrial revolution because it helped them get more done. As like the fire, the steam engine gave the ships an extra push to make it work faster. Both of these inventions helped imporve trade, traveling and many other nescessities. This steam engine didn't only come to work for ships but also for many other invetions to make the work get done faster in factories.


References:

• The Years of Rice and Salt Book seven page 493.