Age of Invention, by Anton Howes

Age of Invention: Tudor Trade War

The true effects of Henry VII's "industrial policy"

Jan 12 • Anton Howes

148

27

19

October 2025

Age of Invention: Joel Mokyr's Nobel

A triumph for history and the importance of ideas

Oct 13, 2025 • Anton Howes

175

15

29

August 2025

Age of Invention: The Century-Long Depression

There’s an old proverb about England, current in the sixteenth century, that it was a hell for horses, a paradise for women, and a purgatory or prison…

Aug 26, 2025 • Anton Howes

268

70

34

July 2025

Age of Invention: All Fired Up

The mystifying, centuries-long failure of the coal briquette

Jul 2, 2025 • Anton Howes

123

9

16

April 2025

Age of Invention: Just Kiln Time

The Quest for Pale Ale, Part I

Apr 22, 2025 • Anton Howes

89

17

10

February 2025

Age of Invention: How Coal Really Won

The Coal Conquest, Part II

Feb 12, 2025 • Anton Howes

185

38

31

October 2024

Age of Invention: The Coal Conquest

There was no shortage of trees

Oct 4, 2024 • Anton Howes

207

63

36

June 2024

Age of Invention: The Dutch Salten Age

Part III of the Salt Series

Jun 27, 2024 • Anton Howes

136

11

11

May 2024

Age of Invention: The Second Soul, Part II

The Lands that Salt Forgot

May 1, 2024 • Anton Howes

125

20

11

March 2024

Age of Invention: The Second Soul, Part I

Here’s a riddle. There was a product in the seventeenth century that was universally considered a necessity as important as grain and fuel. Controlling…

Mar 8, 2024 • Anton Howes

203

19

29

January 2024

Age of Invention: Unsung Materials

One of my big goals for this year, as part of finally finishing my book on the causes of the Industrial Revolution, has been to get a handle on a bunch…

Jan 19, 2024 • Anton Howes

85

21

6

December 2023

Age of Invention: More the Merrier

Today I’m making good on a promise.

Dec 22, 2023 • Anton Howes

52

16

3