Several peoples had the ability to enter the industrial revolution in the past, but for one reason or another didn't make it.
Yes, it was discovered that someone in iraq(where else?)had a gold statue-plating operation with electrolysis and a crude battery, 2000+ years ago. The romans were good engineers with their water mills, viaducts, as well as Galen in the medical field, that greek fellow with his mechanical toys using pulleys, gears; the chinese with all of their inventions of 1500 years ago...and yet it seems that there has to be a cultural basis, a fruitful soil if you will, for innovation to flower in. Thus the Renaissance was the foundation of our industrial society. The stulifying effects of religion and ignorance were finally overcome by SCIENCE and enlightenment. Classic example : Pope John Paul finally apologizing to Galileo : yes, the earth is a spinning sphere; we admit we were wrong...300 years too late. Now we have ignorant bigots insisting the earth/universe is 6000 years old(ala bishop ussher of ireland, murphy must have been his middle name). Will it take THEM another 300 years to be enlightened?