A steam mill is a type of grinding mill using a stationary steam engine to power its mechanism.
For Karl Marx, what defined feudalism was that the power of the ruling class (the ) 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. Some interpret Marx as advocating technological determinism, with such statements as "The windmill gives you society with the feudal lord: the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist", but others argue that he was not.