Industrial Revolution and Factory Acts

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all factory owners kept their workers in bad conditions. Robert Owen, who owned a cotton mill in Lanark, Scotland, built the village of New Lanark for his workers. Here they had access to schools, doctors and there was a house for each family who worked in his mills. By 1833, the Government passed what was to be the first of many acts dealing with working conditions and hours. At first, there was limited power to enforce these acts but as the century progressed the rules were enforced more strictly. Nonetheless, the hours and working conditions were still very tough by today's standards, and no rules were in place to protect adult male workers. Listed below are details of the legislation (laws) that was introduced to improve working conditions in factories Date 1833 1844 1847 FACTORY ACTS 1867 1901 Industry Textiles Textiles Textiles All Industries All Industries Details of law No child workers under nine years. Reduced hours for children 9-13 years Two hours schooling each day for children Four factory inspectors appointed Children 8-13 years could work six half-hours a day. Reduced hours for women (12) and no night work Women and children under 18 years of age could not work more than ten hours a day Previous rules applied to workhouses if more than five workers employed Minimum age raised to 12 years Factory Inspectors Report (1836). Extract from a Factory Inspectors report - British Parliamentary Papers (1836) No 353 "My Lord, in the case of Taylor, Ibbotson & Co. I took the evidence from the mouths of the boys themselves. They stated to me that they commenced working on Friday morning, the 27th of May last, at six A.M., and that, with the exception of meal hours and one hour at midnight extra, they did not cease working till four o'clock on Saturday evening, having been two days and a night thus engaged. Believing the case scarcely possible, I asked every boy the same questions, and from each received the same answers. I then went into the house to look at the time book, and in the presence of one of the masters, referred to the cruelty of the case, and stated that I should certainly punish it with all the severity in my power. Mr Rayner, the certificating surgeon of Bastile, was with me at the time." INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Economic change At the end of 18th century, economic changes took place in England that would transform the country from an agricultural to an industrialised nation. The origins of the economic transformation can be traced back to the Black Death and the rise in living standards that followed it. The population increased in the 1500s and 1600s, and agriculture was intensified. First, open fields were enclosed into smaller portions of land to make more efficient arable farms. Moreover, the soil was drained and made more fertile, so that cereal production was greatly increased. Finally, animals were bred selectively, therefore producing more meat. Mass consumption of machine-made goods started, which marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Cotton was the leading sector of industrialisation. Technological innovation During the 18th century there was a succession of technological innovations that transformed and improved the productivity of workers. Thomas Newcomen invented an effective and practical steam engine in 1712, which made pumping water out of coal mines possible; James Hargreaves's Spinning Jenny (ca 1764) increased spinning efficiency; in 1769 James Watt patented a steam engine that was more powerful and wasted less fuel than itspredecessors. Edmund Cartwright's loom (1787) linked cloth manufacture to water and steam power. As a result, cheaper products met the growing demand for goods. Heavy investment in technological development increased and innovation became linked to energy generated from coal. This changed the geography of the country, concentrating the new industrial activity near the coalfields of the Midlands and the North. People shifted from the rural South to the Northand the Midlands, and small towns, the so-called 'mushroom towns', were constructed to house the workers near the factories. The workers' life Industrial cities lacked elementary public services - water-supply, sanitation, street-cleaning, open spaces; the air and the water were polluted by smoke and filth; the houses, built in endless rows, were overcrowded. Women and children were highly prized by employers because they could be paid less and were easier to control. Besides, the fact that the children were so small meant they could move more easily in mines, or crawl between the machines in the cotton industry to carry out repairs. 1 47314 An age of revolutions Ex 1 Answer these questions. 1.Who gave the evidence to the factory inspector? 2. Work out how many hours (not including breaks), the boys are reported to have worked without stopping. 3. Which parts of the new Factory Act have been broken? 4. What does the tone of the letter tell us about what the factory inspectors thought about the firm Taylor, Ibbotson & Co? 5. Having studied this source, would you be right to conclude that the 1833 Factory Act did nothing to solve the problems of child workers? Explain your answer Industrial labour imposed new work patterns, which no longer depended on the weather or change of season, but were determined by the mechanised regularity of the machine and a rational division of labour. Long working hours, about 65-70 a week, discipline, routine and monotony marked the work of industrial labourers. Food prices rose, diet and health deteriorated with an increase in the mortality rate. Why did the Industrial Revolution start in Britain? A ● explains that increased production meant more food and a growth in population describes the Industrial Revolution as happening when it did because several important factors came together at the same time ● By the end of the 19th century, Britain controlled the largest empire in the history of the world. How did a small island acquire such military and economic power? The answer is because the Industrial Revolutions tarted in Britain and gave it an enormous commercial and technological advantage. The factors that enabled this to happen came together inthe late 18th century in the first Industrial Revolution. B The reasons are many and varied. The changes in agricultural production and farming methods had resulted in in creased food production and an increased population. More and more people were moving from the countryside into towns as machines replaced manual labour in farming while factories created new employment. A wage-earning population created demand for more products, which led to increased production. Important changes in finance meant central banks, stock markets and joint stock companies which encouraged people to take risks with investments, trade and new technologies. explains that efficient transportation of goods was an important advantage explains that scholars and craftspeople were influenced and inspired by new ideas New scientific thinking born of the Enlightenment was increasingly applied to the mechanical and technical fields. The openness to new ideas in English culture, especially regarding science and reason, made England particularly receptive to innovation. Another fundamental element in the birth of the new industrialisation was the availability of navigable rivers and canals. This provided cheap and rapid transportation of both raw materials and finished products.Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations, saw this as a key reason for Britain's early success. ● ● 2 1.George III (1760-1820) Allan Ramsay, King George III in coronation robes, ca. 1765. George III wanted to reduce the public debt due to the Seven Years' War He introduced new duties on corn, paper and tea TASSE Fierce opposition in the American colonies Some taxes were repealed, but not that on imported tea Several American colonists had become resentful of British rule They wanted to pay taxes approved by their local governing assemblies 2. The American War of Independence Causes The new taxes on the American colonies. Consequences •The 'Boston Tea Party' (1773) the rebels threw tea imported from Britain into the harbour. •Their motto 'No taxation without representation'. C ● A further essential ingredient was the easy availability of coal and iron deposits. Much of the new technology was made of iron and powered by coal. This included the steam-powered machinery in textile factories and the train engines. D expresses how new laws encouraged the spread of trade talks about financial incentives given to companies wanting to expand The government too encouraged new trade and technological advances through patent laws that allowed inventors to benefit financially from the 'intellectual property' of their inventions. It also supported global trade by increasing the navy's role in protecting trade and giving financial incentives to explore the world for new resources. talks about the lack of proper provision for the working classes talks about the dirty, crowded and insanitary living conditions of many workers at this time Moreover, urbanisation stimulated the booming new industries by concentrating workers and factories together. The new industrial cities became sources of wealth for the nation, but there was a price to pay. On the whole, working-class neighbourhoods were bleak, crowded, dirty and polluted. Factory employers demanded a complete change of paceand discipline from the slow pace of village life the new workers had left behind.At first there was also a lack of regulation that led to abuses like child labour and long working hours in difficult conditions. Another generation would pass before government imposed sanitation and decent working measures. ● 1 THE ENCLOSURE SYSTEM An important agricultural change that had a dramatic impact on the Industrial Revolution was the 'enclosure movement'. This movement allowed landowners and farmers to enclose areas that had previously been common land or part of the centuries-old 'open field system'. The traditional system had prevented any advance in farming methods and the new system made farming more intensive and more efficient. Initially the enclosures were met with resistance from farm workers but eventually the increase in the supply of food lowered the opposition and aided the significant changes that began to occur within pre-industrial society. 2 THE SPINNING JENNY Boy: I've heard a lot about a machine called the Spinning Jenny. Can you tell me why it's so famous? Father: Well, you have to understand that the textile industry was the first to be industrialised in England and this was mainly through this invention called the Spinning Jenny. It was the first spinning frame to have multiple spindles: this meant that for the first time lots of threads could be used together. Boy: When was this? And who invented it? Father: It was invented around 1764 by James Hargreaves, a craftsman who lived in a small village in Lancashire. 3 STEAM ENGINES. 3 The first working steam engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen and patented in 1698. It was later perfected and improved by the Scotsman James Watt. Watt's steam engine incorporated a series of radical improvements and a fundamental change in working principles. Watt's original partner was the inventor John Roebuck, but he was replaced by Matthew Boulton, who owned an engineering company in Birmingham. Together he and Watt began to manufacture steam engines and they became the most important engineering firm in the country. ditte 4 A HISTORY PROJECT Gillian: Sally, what invention have you chosen for the history project? Sally: Well, I was going to do the Spinning Jenny but that's too obvious, so I've chosen Arkwright's water frame. Gillian: I've never heard of that, tell me about it. Sally: OK. So Richard Arkwright, with the help of a clockmaker called John Kay, produced a spinning frame also called the water frame which was able to produce a stronger thread with less physical labour. Gillian: So why was that important? Sally: It was important because it finally allowed 100 per cent cotton cloth to be made in Britain. 5 THE FIRST RAILWAY. In 1801 Richard Trevithick developed a steam powered carriage that carried passengers on roads. Then in 1804 he created the first locomotive to run on rails. Trevithick's ideas were taken further by George Stephenson, an engineer in the mining industry who had responsibility for the steam engines that pulled wagons up from the coal mines. He rapidly developed these engines and built a locomotive in 1814. He then was appointed chief engineer of the first railway between Stockton and Darlington. 6 LIFE BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Before the Industrial Revolution, in England most people resided in small, rural communities where their daily lives were based on farming. Life for most people was difficult, wages were very small and malnourishment and disease were common. Most people produced their own food, and made their own clothing, furniture and tools. Any manufacturing was done inside the small homes, which is why it was called a 'cottage industry'. Merchants would provide the materials and basic equipment, and would then collect the finished product. The system was basically inefficient. 7 RAILWAY COMPETITION In 1829 there was a contest to find out who could make the fastest and most reliable engine to run on the newly built Liverpool-to-Manchester railway. A participant named George Stephenson entered the competition with his son Robert. Their engine, called the Rocket, incorporated the steam engines of Newcomen and Watt with Trevithick's original locomotive. They won the contest reaching average speeds of around 29 miles per hour. Just two years after the race, the Liverpool-to-Manchester railway carried 450,000 passengers, 43,000 tons of cotton and 11,000 tons of coal. 8 You hear a lady talking about working conditions in the Industrial Revolution. It is certainly true that the Industrial Revolution gave rise to an increased number of factoryproduced goods. The variety and availability of more products meant a rise in living standards for many, particularly in the middle and upper classes. Life for the working classes, however, continued to be difficult. Factory wages were very low, often for long working hours in dangerous conditions. There was little or no job security and children were commonly used for jobs with a high risk factor, like cleaning machinery or cleaning chimneys. 4 2. The American War of Independence The Americans were divided into 'Patriots' wanted independence; •had no army, knew the land; •supported by the French fleet which prevented the British navy from aiding the Loyalists. 'Loyalists'→ CONSERVATIVE GROUP wanted to remain part of Britain; their army was too small both to attack and defend what it had won; their army was distant from supplies and orders. 2. The American War of Independence 1776 American Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson the colonies = a new nation stated that all men have a natural right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' governments can claim the right to rule only if they have 'the consent of the governed' 2. The American War of Independence Treaty of Versailles 1783 Britain recognised the independence of its former colonies. The republic of the United States of America adopted a federal constitution in 1787. George Washington became the first President in 1789. 3. William Pitt the Younger He became Prime Minister in 1783. He tried to reduce the national debt and simplify the financial system. •He promoted profitable trade and finance supported by Adam Smith's theory → laissez-faire. It encouraged free trade and stressed the division of labour. In 1801 the Act of Union joined Ireland to Britain. C. Dupont, William Pitt the Younger, 1787. DEMAND 4. The Industrial Revolution CAUSES Great increase in population Greater demand for pots, beer and clothes Need for more efficient production. England changed from a farming to an industrial country THE PRIZE TO DECREASE f AND SUPPLY = DOMA NEED DIF IT INCREASE, THE DEMAND WILL INCREASE ONLY WITH AN e OFFERTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 4. The Industrial Revolution New technologies and inventions The 'Revolution' implied MANODOPERA = LABOUR The development of the factory system New sources of power and transport 4. The Industrial Revolution The most important inventions were: •James Hargreaves's Spinning Jenny → a worker could work eight spools at once. •Edmund Cartwright's loom >>> linked cloth manufacture to water and steam power. A Spinning Jenny. 4. The Industrial Revolution James Watt's steam engine factories built on coal and iron fields of Lancashire, Yorkshire, South Scotland and South Wales. FIG. 26.-Watt's Engine, 1774. Performer Heritage cloth • new waterways were built; • road conditions were improved. ● manufactured more cheaply Changes in transport ● • transport was made more efficient; Performer Heritage 5. The Agrarian Revolution The widespread enclosure of 'open fields' and common land aimed at making larger, more efficient farms. ● ● Improvements in the selective breeding of cattle to produce more meat; improvements in farming techniques such as crop rotation and mechanisation. The English Leicester, a breed of sheep Coke introduced into Norfolk and cross-bred with the native Norfolk Horn. 6. Industrial society 'Mushroom towns' small towns built near the factories to house the workers. The workers' life Industrial cities ·lacked elementary public services; the air and the water were polluted; houses built in endless rows; • were overcrowded. 6. Industrial society Working conditions • women and children were increasingly paid less and were easier to control; • long working hours; discipline, routine and monotony characterised the work of industrial labourers. 6. Industrial society Life expectancy of the poor Incessant toil below twenty years due to disease heavy drinking to bear fatigue and alienation 7. The Regency The period between 1811 and 1820: the Regency. The Prince Regent, later to become George IV, acted as monarch during the illness of his father George III (1760-1820). During the reign of George IV (1820-30) trade unions were legalised and the Metropolitan Police was created. William IV (1830-37) succeeded his brother and his short reign saw a new political awareness leading to the new age of reforms. Scene of Action Pickle Cadiz Po Real Dreadnought Defence Plan shewing THE SITE OF BATTLE WIND. BRIT C.Trafalgar Thunder Medina Sidonia na S Entreprenante Siria Phabe Naiad Defiance Swiftaure PAI M Gibralt Algésimas Africa Britannia I H F ince of Wales Tarrag Strait of Gibraltar www fanger AFRICA 8. The Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) Euryalur DUBLAD Polynhena Neptune Minotmi gamer Achille ORITISH LEET ISION OF VICE ADMIRAL COLLINGWOOD A LA B Colossu Belleroph BATTLE TRAFALGAR 21st October, 1805. Neptuno de Scipion FRENCH Temoraim Mar Belleis Intrépide Formidable SPANISH Duguay Trouhlop yout San Francires de Arte blanc Heros Trmidad BUCENTAURE Redoutable Longmans, Green & Co: London & New York. San Juan Nepomuceng Royal Soverer Louiqueus Argonaute Achille Plutor 249 San Ildefonso 815 of Aigle irgus ERANO COMBINED HE f tang This fortense Neptun Sanit Leand Indomptable Huo Anna Cornélie fonarca Algésiras Bahama Swifesure Montañez Badem Argonauta Prince des Asturias 20 SPANISH Themis F.S.Weller F.R.GS In the Napoleonic era: ● ● the British navy dominated the sea; the French army dominated the European continent; the great hero of the British navy was Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the French-Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar on the Atlantic coast of southern Spain in 1805. 8. The Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) BATTLE DF WATERLOO The total defeat of Napoleon in 1815 at the battle of Waterloo in Belgium where the British troops overcame the French. The consequences 1. the acquisition of the Cape of Good Hope, Trinidad, Singapore, Ceylon and Malta was of strategic interest; 2. enormous financial costs; 3. Britain was on the verge of starvation, bankruptcy and revolution. Ver 9. The Luddites Poverty Deteriorating working conditions Mechanical looms and spinners replacing skilled craftsmen led to riots of machine-breaking culminating in the 'Luddites Riots' of 1811-1812. They caused so much alarm that the government tried to repress discontent allowing arrest without trial, forbidding trade unions and silencing the freedom of expression. 9. The Luddites UNIVERSA SUFFRAG UNIVERSAL LIBERTY In 1819, during a peaceful public meeting in Manchester, soldiers fired into a crowd and eleven people were killed ironically called 'Peterloo Massacre' after the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo.