History of Technology: Modern Times

The period separating the Middle Ages from the dawn of industrialism in the eighteenth century has spanned several lines of research. Some of them are concerned with the revolution issued from the invention and dissemination of the printing press. Others focus on numerous innovations, in such areas as navigation and hydraulics, and on a sharp increase in the use of previously scarce materials, such as glass and paper.

These times witnessed an unparalleled interest in technology, best exemplified by such works as the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alembert, with hundreds of illustrations of machines, arts and occupations.