Which method paved the way for the mass production of steel, leading to a boom in the shipbuilding industry and railways?

The 19th century saw incredible leaps in industrial technology, and steel production was right at the heart of it. Before the Bessemer process, steel was expensive and difficult to produce in large quantities. This limited its use in major projects. Then, in 1856, Henry Bessemer patented his revolutionary process. It involved blowing air through molten pig iron to burn off impurities like carbon, making steel stronger and cheaper to produce on a massive scale. This breakthrough had a huge impact, especially on shipbuilding and railways. Suddenly, you could build much larger, more durable ships and lay down vast networks of railway lines, connecting the country like never before. The other options you might see, like decarburization, Flodin, and Durrer processes, are related to steelmaking but are either more general terms or later, less impactful developments. The Bessemer process was the key innovation that truly unlocked the age of steel.