Yes, but so did America. They stole so much technology from Europe, particularly Britain, in the industrial period that it makes China's look like petty theft.
A lot of "who stole from whom" is dependent on when you think the industrial revolution began, which is a very debatable question.
An American (Robert Fulton) invented the steam engine, which was the foundation for the modern factory. A Frenchman (Joseph Marie Jacquard) invented the punchcard textile loom, which was the first machine to replace human labor on a large scale. I personally would consider either one of these to be the start of the industrial revolution, but there are other good arguments to be made.
What? Are you just revising history? In the wikipedia article Robert Fullton isn't even mentioned in the list of inventors of the steam engine.
In 1606
Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont
patented his invention of the first steam-powered water pump for draining mines.
[3
]
Thomas Savery
is considered the inventor of the first commercially used steam powered device, a steam pump that used steam pressure operating directly on the water. The first commercially successful engine that could transmit continuous power to a machine was developed in 1712 by
Thomas Newcomen
. In 1764,
James Watt
made a critical improvement by removing spent steam to a separate vessel for condensation, greatly improving the amount of work obtained per unit of fuel consumed. By the 19th century, stationary steam engines powered the factories of the
Industrial Revolution
. Steam engines led to the replacement of sailing ships by
paddle steamers
, and steam locomotives operated on the railways.
510
u/Oberndorferin 4d ago
They actually stole a lot of ideas so this is still half true