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Question: If in 1689 Thomas Savery had not invented the first steam engine, Thomas Newcomen and, then later, James Watt, would have never improved on his idea. What would have become of the Industrial Revolution? Was the required knowledge so common place that someone else may have invented all the factory machines (Spinning Jenny, cotton gin, etc.)? Or would England remain an agricultural nation (and if so, for how long)? Would the U.S. industrialize before them?
Answer: Steam engines get invented when it's steam engine time. Savery was working within the broad European scientific revolution, which included investigations of atmospheric pressure, the vacuum, and what could be done with them. The demand was there, the technology was there, and the knowledge was there. Most importantly of all, the _attitude_ was there. To abort the Industrial Revoluton, you'd have to change fundamental things about European (and British) culture and politics.
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