Some relatively common ideas on this board are early industrial revolutions occurring in the early Roman Empire, in the Song Dynasty before the Mongols, in Bengal in the 1700s, or in the Ptolemaic Kingdom/Hellenistic city-states.
Other than those pretty common scenarios, what are some unorthodox and uncommon places and times that could have led to an industrial revolution? You can add a few PODs before the actual industrial revolution, if needed, to set up the technological development.
This thread is mainly for ideas and speculative discussion, so exact plausibility is not required. Steampunk Aztec Empire? Why not? As long as you've got an explanation, go for it.