A steam mill is a type of grinding mill

Mill (grinding)

A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...

 using a stationary steam engine

Stationary steam engine

Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam cars , agricultural engines used for ploughing or...

 to power its mechanism.

Reference to Marx

For Karl Marx

Karl Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...

, what defined feudalism

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

 was that the power of the ruling class (the aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

) rested on their control of arable land, leading to a class society based upon the exploitation of the peasants who farm these lands, typically under serfdom

Serfdom

Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...

. Some interpret Marx as advocating technological determinism

Technological determinism

Technological determinism is a reductionist theory that presumes that a society's technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values. The term is believed to have been coined by Thorstein Veblen , an American sociologist...

, with such statements as "The windmill

Windmill

A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...

 gives you society with the feudal lord: the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist", but others argue that he was not.

See also

• Aurora Steam Grist Mill
  Aurora Steam Grist Mill
  Aurora Steam Grist Mill was a historic grist mill located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York. It was a monolithic, -story rectangular stone structure built on the shore of Lake Cayuga. It was one of the first mills built west of the Hudson River to be powered by steam. In 1974, the building's roof...
  
  , a historic grist mill located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, United States
• Cincinnati Steam Paper Mill
  Cincinnati Steam Paper Mill
  The Cincinnati Steam Paper Mill was the first steam powered mill in Cincinnati, Ohio, established in 1825 and owned by the Messrs. Phillips & Spear company. It provided paper for the surrounding area as well as surplus shipped to New Orleans, Louisiana....
  
  , the first steam powered mill in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
• Sutherland Steam Mill Museum
  Sutherland Steam Mill Museum
  The Sutherland Steam Mill Museum is a restored steam woodworking mill from the 1890s located in Denmark, Nova Scotia. The mill operated until 1958...
  
  , a restored steam woodworking mill from the 1890s located in Denmark, Nova Scotia, Canada