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Prior to the invention of the steamboat, intercontinental travel and product movement was primitive, done mainly by horse and carriage, which avoided the faster waterways or barges, slow moving rafts that could carry large loads of products. The steamships made it possible to move large loads of products and large amounts of people quickly and at a reasonable cost to various locations along a river's routes.

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True but the biggest difference was in ocean-going navigation, not inland waterways. The development of reliable engine-powered ships meant quicker, safer and more reliable international trade; cutting long voyages from the fraught endurance-events lasting months they were under sail, to weeks.

Inland, the development of canals in the 18C speeded up goods transport enormously, even though the boats were horse-drawn. Although plodding along at only about 3mph at best, the relative ease and directness of canals brought journey times down from weeks to days. In the UK the canals were replaced by the railways, even faster!

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Q: How was life before the steamboat was invented?
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