Bronson and Pigott were a nice read, but it's unclear where Föll is getting most of his conjecture from because they certainly don't talk about it. Frankly, the whole piece smacks of the same Diamond-esque "they made fireworks, we made guns" trope that has been thoroughly torn apart since. Now to his credit, he does claim ignorance at the top of the page, but that seems to be quickly forgotten given how much hyperbole is spewed later on.[1] is a better lay overview of medieval-era steel-making. And for a great breakdown of forces behind European success in the modern era, see Brett Devereaux's series on EU4 [2]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5djVkOgu8vs
[2] https://acoup.blog/2021/05/28/collections-teaching-paradox-e...
gradschoolfail|4 years ago