In Victorian era Germany, steam is an engineer's dream. Wood burning steam machines and logging for quick construction almost destroy the Black Forest. Increased demand focuses on coal.
READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventure
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Steam boats, steam trains, mills, factories and mines use coal to generate steam to run motors and machines. Coal is in popular use for heating, and in many places is still used today.
Before I forget, here's the link to the Reiker For Hire murder mystery detective novellas set in 1896 Victorian era Germany. Very happy this trio of terror has hit the virtual shelves. An exciting private investigator series of short novels, the trilogy is set in Mittelstadt, a mid-sized town south of Frankfurt, Germany.
Now, back to steam.
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Mines and mining are the originators of steam power and the first trains. An early incidence of steam-powered contraptions comes from Rome in the 1st century, when a steam machine is used to displace water and open temple doors.
In 1606, Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont of Spain patents a steam-powered water pump. The pump is used successfully to drain flooded mines of Guadalcanal.
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From the seventeenth century on, experiments and developments with steam power lay the basis for major industrial advances. The first commercially successful steam engine is patented by Thomas Savery in 1698. Industry brings it all together in the 19th century.
Steam runs machines which are previously powered by water flow. Mills and manufacturers no longer depend on a nearby water source. Urban centers see a steady rise in industrialization and population.
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Germany, as the German Confederation. gets its first steam locomotive, the Adler (Eng. Eagle) from England in 1832. Because of political and administrative structure the land of Germany goes through phases of industrial progress.
READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries
Supplies, workers and information move at record speeds. Books, scholarly and scientific writings are readily available and the curious Victorian mind explores new concepts and inventions.
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As a nation Germany is united as the German Empire in 1870. Before that, railways are operated provincially. Working from the English model the early steam locomotive develops into a network of interconnected routes throughout the land.
Communication technology like the telegram comes into regular use from 1847. In the latter half of the century electricity and telephones make an appearance but are not in widespread use until the 20th century. Across Europe, coal is king.
Coal is compressed peat. It comes in several grades of quality with hard, shiny black anthracite valued the highest. Bituminous coal is the next grade down. This is the most popular type of coal for steam engines.
Following are brown sub-bituminous coal, also used extensively to power steam machines, and lignite, the most dangerous to health and the environment. These coals and peat were standard fuel for low income people. Men, women and children work in coal mines.
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Lignite is notable for the stone jet, polished and used as a gemstone since Neolithic times. Jet plays a huge role in the Victorian mourning culture. Another type of coal, graphite, doesn't burn well and is used in pencils.
READ: Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction - German Mythology Adventure
The oldest known coal mine in the world is in Ngwenya, southeast Africa, dating back to 43,000 BCE. It's also a site of rare mineral finds such as specularite, a variety of hematite. An iron oxide with a red streak, hematite among the earliest known natural red pigments.
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By the nineteenth century, China has already been mining coal for centuries. Ancient China begins using coal around 3800 BCE. Historians suggest the Chinese pioneer the surface mining of coal c. 3490 BCE.
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The first coal mine of the ancient world, Fushun mine, opens c.1000 BCE in Liaoning Province, a region on the north shore of the Yellow Sea. The fertile Yellow Sea deltas promote one of the most oldest human civilizations.
Fast forward to 1575 CE, when enterprising Scotsman Sir George Bruce of Carnock opens the first coal mine to extract coal from an undersea "moat pit" on the Firth of Forth. He builds a loading island with 40 ft shaft connected to other shafts for drainage and better ventilation.
Steam trains evolve from mine carts, which follow tracks and might be pulled by mules, horses or people. The first passenger trains have boxes but no roofs, so travelers are plagued with black coal smoke blowing back in their faces. This soon changes.
As trains come into use as popular transportation, new designs improve the comfort of riders. The widespread use of coal in Europe arouses the ire of woodcutters and foresters, whose living has now gone up in smoke.
READ - Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries
Those who purvey wood, or who prefer the smell of wood to coal smoke, vocally oppose the transition from wood to coal. In England coal is called "the devil's excrement." Still timber is in demand. Urban centers burst upwards and outwards, and ship building increases.
As steel comes to the fore, ships evolve with iron hulls and sheeting. In the early 19th century wood is still the preferred building medium in Europe, not just for ships but to house the urban population explosion.
Throughout centuries the timber trade razes woodlands like the Cedar Forests of Lebanon, the Black Forest of Germany, the oak forests of England. Millions of acres of forest in North America are denuded. As the world runs out of wood, coal becomes the primary option.
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The first major coal mines in the Western world appear during the 1750s in northwest Germany, in the valleys of the rivers Ruhr, Inde and Wurm. Here coal seams come to the surface in abundant quantities.
In 1782 the Krupp family begins operations near Essen. By the end of the nineteenth century Krupp is one of the biggest names in steel.
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In the early part of the century wood is the primary fuel for heating and cooking in homes and businesses. It's used to power steam machines in industries, trains and boats.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
Coal comes into demand because coal burns longer than wood, saving money and labor of restocking. In the home, people begin using coal in the 1800s for heat, although by 1860 wood is still the dominant fuel. By 1890, almost everyone uses coal.
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By the end of the nineteenth century steam trains and steamships are the ultimate in fast, efficient luxury and practical travel in Europe.
The Great Divergence or European miracle occurs in the 19th century. It's due to a socio-economic shift. Parts of the Western world overcome growth barriers, emerging as the most significant and prosperous world civilizations.
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In order of GPD (Gross Domestic Product) per capita the most prolific spikes occur in several nations in the second half of the 19th century. Countries include Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan.
It comes at a price. In some areas, coal smoke is so thick, birds fall dead from the sky. Coal-powered companies pump waste into waterways such as the Thames, the Rhine and other major water sources. Environmental activism against coal mining first appears in 1890.
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Steam also becomes a health trend in the 19th century, as Europeans seek comfort and relaxation from stressful lives with a rest at the spa. European resort spas are built around mineral springs and hot springs. Hydrotherapy is a popular natural health treatment
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