[subwayclub]

There's so much history in between that it's easy to cherry pick your favorites:

* New economic and political philosophies(merchantilism, Machiavelli's works, Magna Carta)

* Theological developments(Islam, Protestantism) and the various resulting conflicts as motivators for modernity

* Access to New World flora and fauna(new crops and livestock) increasing the ability of the nascent industrial state to support large populations at a lower cost

* Refinements to math and science that built on or revised ideas from antiquity(e.g. Newtonian physics, cell theory)

* Advanced craftsmanship in certain crucial precursor technologies like lenses, gears, etc. A lot has been made of how the industrial world started operating on a fast-paced timetable, but the Romans had no pocketwatches.