The industrial revolution in Britain

"Industrial revolution, a rapid development in industry; specially the development

which took place in England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,
chiefly owing to the introduction of new or improved machinery and large-scale
production methods.
The First Phase of the Industrial Revolution: Textiles
The Second Phase: Railways and Steel
The Third Phase: Electricity and Chemicals
The Fourth Phase: Digital Information Technologies, Miniaturization
Background
The Industrial Revolution is a major turning point in world history. Among the
Western European countries, Britain was the ideal incubator for the Industrial
Revolution because an "Agricultural Revolution" preceded it. After the 1688
"Glorious Revolution", the British kings lost power and the aristocratic
landholders gained power. The landholders tried to rationalize their landholdings
and started the Enclosure Movement to bring more and more of their own land
under tighter control, a process that went on throughout the 1700s. This policy had
two main effects: it increased the productivity of the land, and transformed the
people who used to work land into an unemployed, labor class of poor in need of
work. Thus, the first factories had a ready labor- supply in Britain that was not
available in other nations.
Causes of Industrial Revolution
Why was Britain the first country to industrialize? This change, which occurred
between 1750 and 1830, happened because conditions were perfect in Britain for
the Industrial Revolution. Reasons behind industrial revolution are as follows-
a) Population Increases
Clearly associated with rises in agricultural output, and a crucial factor in the
growth of industrial capitalism, was the increase in population over the eighteenth
century. At the time, the methods of increasing consumption in a stable, population
were comparatively limited; and technological innovation had not yet created the
concentration of labour and population which might maintain "self-sustained
growth". The increase in demand and labour that a growing population supplied
were crucial to the development of industrial capitalism; and substantial growth in
population undoubtedly did take place over the century, from c 5.83 million in
England and Wales in 1701 to 9.16 millions in 1801.
A stable Government-The steady economic systems present under the new
national monarchies created a reliable atmosphere for the new Revolution. The most
notable of these governments were in Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and England
.
b) A new banking system--In Britain, expansion had led to new "private banking,"
a new money economy, and trading organizations such as the Hanseatic League.
Modern credit facilities also appeared, such as the state bank, the bourse, the
promissory note, and other new media of exchange. This created economic stimulus
which in turn gave the people more money to spend .
c) A large amount of capital for investment--From the New World had come gold
and silver, which in less than a century more than doubled European prices and
stimulated economic activity, which in turn gave the wealthy more money to spend
on new .
.
d)Agrarian Revolution: was a change in farming methods that allowed for a
greater production of food. This revolution was fueled by the use of new farming
technology such as the seed drill and improved fertilizers. The results of this
revolution if farming was a population explosion due to the higher availability of
food. Also, the Enclosure Movement, which was the consolidation of many small
farms into one large farm, left many people jobless and homeless. these people
would provide the workforce of the Industrial Revolution.
e) Geography: Great Britain has an abundance of the natural resources needed
for industrialization, such as iron ore and coal. Britain also had access to
many navigable rivers and natural harbors which provided for the easy movement of
goods both within the country, and overseas.
f) Capital: The British had a vast overseas empire that provided them with a strong
economy. They had the capital (money) needed to build railroads,factories,
and mines. The capitalism of Adam Smith, or the "invisible hand," was another
important new economic system and gave the people a desire to further the
industrialization and gain money. The competition created a boom in economic
expansion
g)Technology & Energy: Britain experienced a revolution in energy use as they
switched from animal power, to water power, to steam power in a few short
years. The steam engine was the power source of the Industrial Revolution.
Effects of Industrial Revolution
1)Mass Production: The use of the Factory System allowed for mass production
of textiles and other goods. This shifted people from production at home with
the Put Out System, to production in large factories in cities. Mass production also
allowed for lower prices on the good produced.
2)Big Business: As the Industrial Revolution grew, so did business. To meet the
needs of this growth, business owners sold shares of their companies to
stockholders who would share the profits and losses. The influx of capital allowed
business to grow into corporations that had dealing in many different areas.
3)Urbanization: People moved to towns and cities to be closer to the
factories. Conditions were very poor during the early part of the Industrial
Revolution, as factoryworkers lived in over crowded buildings, with no sewage or
sanitation services. This resulted in widespread disease.
4)Working Conditions: Factory workers worked very long hours, for little pay,
under harsh conditions. Workers included children as young as 8, both male and
female. Many people were injured or killed due to unsafe working conditions.
5)Societal Changes: New roles were defined for Middle Class men and
women. MC men went to work in business, while MC women worked from home
and cared for the family. The higher standard of living for the middle class meant
that their children received some form of formal education. Working Classfamilies
faced many hardships due to poor living and working conditions, and most WC
children never received an education.
New Social Class Structure
Very rich industrial & business
Upper Class:
families. Old Noble class.
Upper Middle Business people & professionals
Class: such as, lawyers & doctors.
Other professionals such as,
Lower Middle
teachers, shop owners, and office
Class:
workers.
Working Factory workers and small
Class: farmers.

6)Communism: Karl Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto (1848) that all of
human history is based on the conflict between the bourgeoisie (those who own the
means of production) and the proletariat (working class). He predicted that the
proletariat would rise up in a violent revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie and
create a society with an equal distribution of goods and services.
This socialist theory would form the basis for the Bolshevik, Chinese,
and Cuban Revolutions in the 20th Century.
7)Imperialism: Africa, China, India, South East Asia, and others were controlled
by Europe to provide raw materials and new markets for industrialized
goods. Imperialism had a negative effect on most of these cultures, and did not
completely end until after World War II. Imperialism usually only benefited the
European nations.
The Industrial Revolution was a major turning point in world history as it resulted in
a complete change in society on all levels. Effects of the Industrial Revolutions
were long reaching, and influenced many other cultures both positively and
negatively.
Innovation and its Impact
A) Coal and Iron
1) A major change in the metal industries during the era of the Industrial Revolution
was the replacement of wood and other bio-fuels with coal. For a given amount of
heat, coal required much less labor to mine than cutting wood,and coal was more
abundant than wood. In the coal and iron industry, the development of coke by
Abraham Darby (1709) and the use of "puddling" and hammering by Cort, allowed
the use of the country's large reserves of coal for iron smelting. Hitherto, the
consequences had been production of brittle iron, full of impurities, which broke
easily. This required use of charcoal (which was in short supply) for smelting. The
innovations, on the other hand, in the case of coke, altered the quality of coal, while
other innovations permitted the quick removal of impurities. the application of
steam power to production through the Newcomen Engine (1 705-06) and, more
significantly, lames Watt's engines, allowed the running of large wooden and metal
machines which permitted the entrepreneur to undertake major economies of
resources.

2) In 1709 Abraham Darby I developed a method of producing high-grade iron in

a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal, which was a major step forward
in the production of iron as a raw material.
3) By 1779 the production of iron had become less expensive and it was used to
build the world's first cast-iron arch bridge, built to connect the industrial town of
Broseley with the smaller mining town of Madeley near Coalbrookdale in
Shropshire. The area - now known as Ironbridge Gorge - is a World Heritage
Site and contains ten award-winning museums.
4)Further developments in iron making during the 18th century - most notably new
techniques of potting and stamping and Henry Cort'spuddling process - and the
resulting decrease in cost of iron and steel made possible many of the major
changes in manufacturing, production and transportation that played such a central
role in the Industrial Revolution.
5) However, from 1785, imports decreased because of the new iron making
technology, and Britain became an exporter of bar iron as well as manufactured
wrought iron consumer goods.
6) Two decades before the Industrial Revolution an improvement was made in the
production of steel, which was an expensive commodity and used only where iron
would not do, such as for cutting edge tools and for springs.
7) The supply of cheaper iron and steel aided a number of industries such as those
making nails, hinges, wire and other hardware items. The development of machine
tools allowed better working of iron, causing it to be increasingly used in the
rapidly growing machinery and engine industries.
B) COTTON SPINNING AND WEAVING-
1) Over the eighteenth century, such manufacturing industry reacted to the factors
mentioned above (growing availability of agricultural foodstuffs, and labour etc.)
and also to considerable technological innovation. The most famous inventions are
well known: for the textile industry,'most significant were Kay's flying shuttle
(1733), which increased the pace of weaving.As the flying shuttle speed up
weaving, the demand for cotton yarn increased. Many inventors set to work to
improve the spinning wheel. James Hargreaves, a weaver who was also a
carpenter, patented his spinning jenny in 1770. It enabled one worker to run eight
spindles instead of one.
2) About the same time Richard Arkwright developed his water frame, a machine
for spinning with rollers operated by water power.
3) In 1779 Samuel Crompton, a spinner, combined Hargreaves' jenny and
Arkwright's roller frame into a spinning machine, called a mule. It produced
thread of greater fineness and strength than the jenny or the roller frame. Since the
roller frame and the mule were large and heavy, it became the practice to install
them in mills, where they could be run by water power. They were tended by
women and children.
4) In 1785 Edmund Cartwright patented a power loom. In spite of the need for it,
weaving machinery came into use very slowly. First, many improvements had to be
made before the loom was satisfactory. Second, the hand weavers violently opposed
its adoption because it threw many of them out of work.
5) Those who got jobs in the factories were obliged to take the same pay as
unskilled workers. Thus they rioted, smashed the machines, and tried to prevent
their use. The power loom was only coming into wide operation in the cotton
industry by 1813. It did not completely replace the hand loom in weaving cotton
until 1850. It was not well adapted to the making of some woolens. As late as 1880
many hand looms were still in use for weaving woolen cloth.
6) Many other machines contributed to the progress of the textile industry. In 1785
Thomas Bell of Glasgow invented cylinder printing of cotton goods. This was a
great improvement on block printing. It made successive impressions of a design
"join up" and did the work more rapidly and more cheaply.
7) In 1793 the available supply of cotton was increased by Eli Whitney's invention
of the cotton gin. In 1804 J.M. Jacquard, a Frenchman, perfected a loom on
which patterns might be woven in fabrics by mechanical means. This loom was
later adapted to the making of lace, which became available to everyone
C) Steam Power: Technological innovation
1) The steam engine been described as 'the driving force' behind the Industrial
Revolution; during the period steam power came to replace muscle and water power
as the principal source of power for use in industry.
2) The first steam engine had been invented as early as 1698, by the English
engineer Thomas Savory, and was developed and improved in the early 18th
century by Thomas Newcomen. However, these engines were not very efficient
and were only used in mines. The introduction of the steam pump by Savery in
1698 and the Newcomen steam engine in 1712 greatly facilitated the removal of
water and enabled shafts to be made deeper, enabling more coal to be extracted.

3) It was not until James Watt and his partner Matthew Boulton developed a
vastly improved version by 1778 that the steam engine could be put to a wider
variety of uses. James Watt's more efficient steam engines from the 1770s reduced
the fuel costs of engines, making mines more profitable.
4) Steam engines did not become practicable for use in transport until the early
1800s, when Richard Trevithick and Oliver Evans developed ones that used
high-pressure steam and were therefore much more powerful than previous designs.
5) Though the first steam locomotive was invented by Richard Trevithick in 1804,
it was the civil and mechanical engineer George Stephenson (known as the
'Father of Railways') who played the greatest part in the development of steam
locomotives and the first railways. He constructed his first locomotive in 1814
and was instrumental in the building of the world's first public steam locomotive
hauled railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, that was authorized by Act of
Parliament in 1821 and opened to the public in 1825.
6) Coal mining was very dangerous owing to the presence of firedamp in many coal
seams. Some degree of safety was provided by the safety lamp which was
invented in 1816 by Sir Humphry Davy and independently by George
Stephenson.
D) Railways—
1) Although migration itself was not new, it had been difficult and correspondingly
rare. The birth of the steam locomotive and the railway networks made it easier and
more commonplace. In 1825 the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened,
followed by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway five years later.
2) The age of the railway had begun, reducing transport times, lowering transport
costs, consuming raw materials and stimulating investment. The 1840s saw
'railway mania': by 1851 6,800 miles of track had been laid. Soon it was possible
to travel from London to Bristol in hours rather than days at speeds of around 60
mph.
3)The spread of railways stimulated communication, and Rowland Hill's
standardization of postal charges in 1839 saw a boom in mail services. But this was
nothing compared to the revolution of the telegraph.
E) The Development of Canals in Britain -
1) Canals were needed for the Industrial Revolution which was creating huge
amounts of heavy produce which had to be moved. Roads simply could not handle
such weights and the vehicles needed to move this produce did not exist. Canals
were the answer to moving heavy objects large distances
2) By the 1790's Britain was going through a period known as "Canal Mania".
During this time Acts of Parliament were passed for the construction of over 50
canals.
3) The man most associated with early canals was the Duke of Bridgewater. He
owned coal mines in Lancashire but he needed to get the coal to the big market of
Manchester which was nearly six miles away. The duke gave the task of designing
and building the canal to James Brindley - an engineer who at this time had never
built a canal before.
4) Brindley designed and built nearly 400 miles of canals. His biggest project was
the Trent and Mersey canal which linked two major industrial areas of Britain. He
also found ways to get around certain natural problems which would make canals
redundant.
5) Canals could make those who invested in them vast sums of money. In the
1790's so-called "canal mania" took place when people invested their money into
practically every canal project. Canals were good at moving fragile goods such as
pottery and also heavy goods such as coal. They were actually faster than carriages
and pack mules as once a horse got a barge moving, its own momentum would keep
it going at a decent pace. By 1840, there were nearly 4,500 miles of canals in
Britain.

Changed lives
1) Mass production -The Industrial Revolution is the period encompassing the vast
social and economic changes that resulted from the development of steam-powered
machinery and mass-production methods, beginning in about 1760 in Great Britain
and extending through the first half of the nineteenth century.
2) Work became easier-The lives of large sections of the population of Great
Britain underwent massive changes during the industrial revolution. Work became
more regimented and disciplined, and began to take place outside the home. Many
of the jobs, especially in the textile industry, could now be done by common
laborers, or even children, rather than skilled tradesmen, and was closely
supervised.
3) Unemployment and dissatisfaction among the people-A movement of the
population to the cities from the countryside produced dramatic changes in lifestyle.
Resistance to the changes in the form of machine-breaking riots and other Luddite
actions was widespread, but ultimately futile.
4) Destroyed old social pattern- Industrial Revolution also upset old social
patterns of life and family. Under the old domestic system of cottage industries,
peasants worked in their own homes, produced at their own rates, and were paid
accordingly. Under the new factory system, laborers worked in the factories owned
by bosses whom they rarely, if ever, saw. They had to be at work precisely on time
and work at the much faster pace of the machines. Nevertheless, they were paid by
the hour, not according to their productivity, since that was cheaper for the owner.
5)Broken families-Previously, the farm, home and the workplace were one and the
same, with men and women sharing in many of the same tasks. In the industrial
city, there was a separation of home and workplace and a correspondingly greater
separation of the roles men and women played
6) Average life expectancy - Another figure telling a similar story of progress is
the average life expectancy of Europeans during this time. In l800, most people
could expect to live around 30 years or less, depending on their social class. By
l900, the average life expectancy had risen about fifty per cent to 45 years. Better
living conditions and nutrition, public sanitation, and great advances in medical
science were all responsible for this jump. However, the price those early
generations of factory workers paid for this progress and our own comfortable life
styles was a terrible one indeed.
WORKERS
As the number of factories grew people from the countryside began to move into
the towns looking for better paid work. Also thousands of new workers were
needed to work machines in mills and foundries and the factory owners built houses
for them. Cities filled to overflowing and London was particularly bad. At the start
of the 19th Century about 1/5 of Britain’s population lived there, but by 1851 half
the population of the country had set up home in London.
A) Pollution --Chimneys, bridges and factory smoke blocked out most of the light
in the towns. A layer of dirty smoke often covered the streets like a blanket. This
came from the factories that used steam to power their machines. The steam was
made by burning coal to heat water. Burning coal produces a lot of dirty, black
smoke.
C) Improvements --Gradually, improvements for the poor were made. In 1848,
Parliament passed laws that allowed city councils to clean up the streets. One of the
first cities to become a healthier place was Birmingham. Proper sewers and drains
were built. Land owners had to build houses to a set standard. Streets were paved
and lighting was put up.
Over time slums were knocked down and new houses built. However, these
changes did not take place overnight. When slums were knocked down in 1875 the
poor people had little choice but to move to another slum, making that one worse.
Few could afford new housing.
Women ,children and industrialization- Industrial Revolution in part was fueled
by the economic necessity of many women, single and married, to find waged work
outside their home. Women mostly found jobs in domestic service, textile factories,
and piece workshops. They also worked in the coal mines. For some, the Industrial
Revolution provided independent wages, mobility and a better standard of living.
For the majority, however, factory work in the early years of the 19th century
resulted in a life of hardship.
Working conditions were often unsanitary and the work dangerous.
Education suffered because of the demands of work.
Home life suffered as women were faced with the double burden of factory work
followed by domestic chores and child care.
Men assumed supervisory roles over women and received higher wages.
Unsupervised young women away from home generated societal fears over their
fate.
As a result of the need for wages in the growing cash economy, families became
dependent on the wages of women and children
There was some worker opposition to proposals that child and female labor should
be abolished from certain jobs.
Child Labour and Conditions in Workplaces -Many factory workers were
children. They worked long hours and were often treated badly by the supervisors
or overseers. Sometimes the children started work as young as four or five years
old. A young child could not earn much, but even a few pence would be enough to
buy food.
A. Age--As the spinning machinery in textile factories and narrow passageways of
coalmines required small physique, young children were inevitably found in those
industrial workplaces. Also, it was profitable for the owners to employ children, for
they cost little compared to adult, male workers. Therefore, childhood laborers
constituted a considerable proportion of the entire population. For example,
according to Booth, workers under the fifteen years of age have composed fifteen
percent of the workforce in textiles and dying in 1851. Many started working as
early as at the age of five and generally died before they were eighteen.
B. Working Hours--Until the Factory Act of 1833, the factories were free to decide
on the working hours. The laborers usually worked for more than twelve hours
without breaks. Consequently, child laborers suffered lack of sleep and were more
vulnerable to mistakes and injuries. Matthew Crabtree was one of the forty-eight
people whom the Sadler Committee interviewed in the year of 1832. According to
the Sadler Report that catalyzed the Factory Act of 1833, Crabtree had worked in a
factory from the age of eight. He had worked sixteen hours a day, from five a.m. to
nine a.m. He usually went to sleep immediately after supper, and was woken up by
his parents every morning. According to Crabtree, he was ''very severely'' and
''most commonly'' beaten whenever he was late to work. The fear of being beaten,
said Crabtree, was ''sufficient impulse'' to keep up with his work despite his
drowsiness.
C. Lack of Nutrition-The child laborers were from poor working families who
could not afford to feed themselves without the children contributing
financially. Even with the children's wages, most families were barely able to
sustain themselves. Also, the child laborers frequently complained about the
quality of food provided in the workplaces. Some testified before the Parliament
that they could not eat the meager meal they were given because of exhaustion and
pollution. The photographs of childhood workers testify malnutrition and
abuse. Child laborers have smaller build than their wealthier peers, yet the wrinkled
faces covered with soot block the viewer from accurately surmising the children's
age.
D. Verbal and Physical Abuse-The child workers were under the supervision of
strangers -- factory managers who were employed by the factory owners. Also, the
work did not require much finesse, and there were many unemployed children
willing to substitute the worker's place. Consequently, the factory managers did not
carry the responsibility of the welfare of the workers; they were simply paid to
ensure that the factory is operated smoothly. The treatment of children in factories
was often cruel and extreme. The children's safety was generally neglected. The
youngest children, around the age of eight, were not old enough to activate the
machines and were commonly sent to be assistants to adult main workers. The
people in charge of the factory's whereabouts would beat and verbally abuse the
children, and take little consideration for the worker's safety. Girls could not be the
exception to beatings and other harsh forms of pain infliction. In some factories
children were dipped head first into the water cistern if they became drowsy. The
girls were also vulnerable to sexual harassment.
E. Accidents-Trivial mistakes due to lack of sleep resulted in serious injuries or
mutilation. The Sadler Report commissioned by the House of Commons in 1832
said that: ''there are factories, no means few in number, nor confined to the smaller
mills, in which serious accidents are continually occurring, and in which,
notwithstanding, dangerous parts of the machinery are allowed to remain
unfenced.'' The workers were in most cases abandoned from the moment of the
accident with no wages, no medical attendance, and no monetary compensation.
F. Regulation and Penalties-The regulation was harsh and the punishment
inhumane and sporadic. The rules regarding tardiness and attendance were
especially more stringent.One common punishment for being late or not working up
to the work assigned would be to be ''weighted.'' An overseer would tie a heavy
weight to worker's neck, and have him walk up and down the factory aisles so the
other children could see him. This punishment could last up to an hour. Weighting
led to serious injuries in the back and the neck.The violators sometimes had to pay
the consequence monetarily. Elizabeth Bentley, before the Sadler Committee in
1832, mentioned that she was usually quartered; ''If we were a quarter of an hour
too late, they would take off half an hour; we only got a penny an hour, and they
would take a halfpenny more.'' Some witnesses compared themselves as slaves, and
the overseer as slave drivers.
The Protest Movements
Protest movements developed during the nineteenth century as the middle classes,
and the working classes, became more educated. With this education came a desire
to have more say in the way that their lives were run. This, inevitably, would lead to
a conflict with the ruling, wealthy, classes. As the century wore on a number of
different groups emerged, each had their own distinct complaint to make. Some
complained peacefully, others used violence, sabotage and threats to try and force
change. The level of success of each of these movements, either individually or
collectively, is debatable. This unit examines the protests of a number of groups and
allows you to develop an understanding of the reasons for, and the consequences of,
each protest.

LUDDISM
Who Were The Luddites?
The Luddites were textile workers in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lancashire,
skilled artisans whose trade and communities were threatened by a combination of
machines and other practices that had been unilaterally imposed by the aggressive
new class of manufacturers that drove the Industrial Revolution.

1) The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans

who protested – often by destroying mechanisedlooms – against the changes
produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without
work and changing their way of life.

2) The movement was named after General Ned Ludd or King Ludd, a mythical
figure who, like Robin Hood, was reputed to live in Sherwood Forest.

3) The movement emerged in the harsh economic climate of the Napoleonic Wars
and difficult working conditions in the new textile factories. The principal objection
of the Luddites was to the introduction of new wide-framed automated looms that
could be operated by cheap, relatively unskilled labour, resulting in the loss of jobs
for many skilled textile workers.

4) The movement began in Nottingham in 1811 and spread rapidly throughout

England in 1811 and 1812. Mills and pieces of factory machinery were burned by
handloom weavers, and for a short time Luddites were so strong that they clashed in
battles with the British Army. Many wool and cottonmills were destroyed until the
British government suppressed the movement.

5) Measures taken by the British government to suppress the movement included a

mass trial at York in 1812 that resulted in many executions and penal
transportations. The Luddite movement can also be seen as part of a rising tide of
English working-class discontent in the early 19th century .

6) An agricultural variant of Luddism, centring on the breaking of threshing

machines, was crucial to the widespread Swing Riots of 1830 in southern and
eastern England.Research by historian Kevin Binfieldis particularly useful in
placing the Luddite movement in historical context – as organised action by
stockingers had occurred at various times since 1675, and the present action had to
be seen in the context of the hardships suffered by the working class during the
Napoleonic Wars.
7) "Machine breaking" (industrial sabotage) was subsequently made a capital crime
by the Frame Breaking Act, – legislation which was opposed by Lord Byron, one of
the few prominent defenders of the Luddites – and 17 men were executed after an
1813 trial in York. Many others were transported as prisoners to Australia.

8) At one time, there were more British troops fighting the Luddites than Napoleon
I on the Iberian Peninsula.Three Luddites, led by George Mellor, ambushed and
assassinated a mill owner (William Horsfall from Ottiwells Mill in Marsden) at
Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, Mellor firing the shot to the groin which would, soon
enough, prove fatal. Horsfall had remarked that he would "Ride up to his saddle in
Luddite blood". The Luddites responsible were hanged in York, and shortly
thereafter "Luddism" began to wane.
9) Although organised Luddism ended in 1813, there were sporadic attacks of
machine breaking over the following few years, and in the 1830s the South of
England saw similar protests against threshing machines, know as the ‘Captain
Swing Riots’. Other countries also saw less well organised attacks of machine
breaking, but for the rest of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century,
the Luddites were largely forgotten. It was only in the 1950s, on the brink of a new
technological revolution that its publicists began using the term ‘luddite’ as a term
of abuse for those who raise concerns about, or do not immediately embrace new
technology.

10) After the crushing of their revolt, the factory system, with all its horrors could
no longer be resisted and generations of working class men and women and
children were forced to work 12 hours or more per day for a pittance, their lives
running according to the rhythm of the machines, their deaths often caused by them.

Above all, the destruction of the Luddites by the State established the principle that
industrialists have the right to continually impose new technology, without any
process of negotiation, either with the people who have to operate it or with society
at large. It is this principle and the resistance to it that have led in our time to
backlashes against the corporate imposition of technologies like genetic
engineering, nuclear power and now ‘geoengineering’.

Reforms through laws –

1833 factory Act--- In 1833 the Government passed a Factory Act to improve
conditions for children working in factories. Young children were working very
long hours in workplaces where conditions were often terrible. The basic act was as
follows: No child workers under 9 years of age. Employers must have a medical or
age certificate for child workers. Children between the ages of 9-13 to work no
more than 9 hours a day. Children between 13-18 to work no more than 12 hours a
day. Children are not to work at night. Two hours schooling each day for children.
Four factory inspectors appointed to enforce the law throughout the whole of the
country. However, the passing of this Act did not mean that overnight the
mistreatment of children stopped. This Public Record Office website allows
students to investigate how the far the Act solved the problems of child labour.
Conditions in the mines
In 1840 Lord Shaftesbury persuaded Parliament to set up a Royal Commission to
investigate conditions in the mines. Its report, published in 1842, found brutality,
accidents, long hours, associated lung diseases, and horrific conditions of work for
both hewers (the men who cut the coal) and hurriers (the girls and boys who pushed
the tubs to the shaft). It was the first government report to use pictures, and it
deeply shocked the public, who were particularly alarmed by the plight of the
young ‘trappers’ (who shut and opened the doors down the mine), the nakedness of
males and females working together, and what was seen as the lack of religion or
morality among the young workers.
Legislation
The Mines Act of 1842 prohibited the employment of females and boys below the
age of 10. It also appointed inspectors to see that the provisions of the act were
enforced. Inspection of mines was strengthened in 1850 when inspectors were given
permission to go underground to investigate conditions, and a Royal School of
Mines was established the following year to train inspectors. In 1860 the lower limit
for the age of boys working in the mines was raised to 12. Various safety measures
were introduced in 1872, including a requirement that managers of mines be
correctly trained and certified. The working day was limited to eight hours in 1908,
and reduced further to seven and a half hours in 1930.
Was there an Industrial Revolution? (Debate on Industrial Revolution)
1- The term Industrial Revolution was used to describe the changes that occurred in
Britain between 1780s to the 1820s.
2-The term ‘industrial revolution’ has been challenged by modern historians.
3- Industrialization was a gradual change in industrial sectors rather than a sudden
revolution.
4- The concentration of workers in factories, wide use of money etc.were already
existed prior to the 19th century.Industrialisation carried out these processes
towards new levels.
5- Large areas of England left unaffected by factories or mines. Therefore the term
industrial revolution was considered as incorrect. Industrialisation had centred on a
few regions or cities
such as London, Manchester, Birmingham or Newcastle.
6- The remarkable growth of cotton textile industry was based on non-British raw
material and sales abroad and no-metallic money. Metallic money and steam power
was rare till the 19th century.
7-The rapid growth in British imports and exports from the 1780s occurred due to
the resumption of trade with the North America. The American war of
independence had disrupted this trade.
8- Sustained industrial growth was to be seen after 1815-20.
9-The French Revolution and Napoleonic wars affected industries and factories
decades after 1793.
10- Industrialization is closely related with investment of capital, building of
infrastructure, installing new machines and rising productivity. However productive
investment grew steadily only after 1820.
11-The cotton, iron and engineering industries had accounted for less than half of
the industrial production until the 1840s.
12-Why the British economic growth was faster after 1815?
13- Historians pointed out that from 1760s to 1815, Britain tried to do two things
simultaneously-to industrialize, and to fight wars in Europe.
14- Borrowed capital was used to fight the wars rather than invested.

Debates( extra)
1)Though industrialization was most prominent in Europe, its transformative
powers must be seen as a theme through the period of 1815-1848. It would be some
time before workers developed a counter-ideology of their own. Yet as
manufacturing brought hundreds of thousands of workers into the cities, they
started thinking about organizing to protect their own political interests. By 1825,
the workers in the industrializing nations would become a social and political force
of their own.
2)Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution went hand-in-hand with the Western
European countries' liberal traditions. Many of the same principles underlying
the French Revolution were being developed via the Industrial Revolution in
Britain. Industrializing nations developed middle classes who began to wield
political clout. Further, the Industrial Revolution would give Western Europe the
economic system and technology to dominate much of the world in the colonial
period towards the end of the 19th century. The countries that did not transition to
 industrial systems very quickly got left behind, and often ended up as satellites to
the major powers.

• Evolution, not Revolution? Historians such as J. Clapham and N. Craft have argued
that there was a gradual evolution in industrial sectors rather than a sudden
revolution.
• How the Revolution Worked. Historians are still trying to pry apart the heavily
interwoven developments, with some arguing that there were parallel developments
in many industries and other arguing that some industries, usually cotton, surged
and stimulated the others.
• Why Britain in the Eighteenth century: Debate still rages over both why the
industrial revolution began when it did and why it began in Britain.

2 marks questions-
1) How was revolution brought in metallurgical industries?
2)Why coal mines were dangerous place to work in?
3)How did Charles Dickens describe pollution in new industrial towns?
4) what were the causes of industrialization .write any two.
5 marks questions
1) How was child labour prevented in the new cities and industries?
2)The factory workers were living in death? Do you agree?Give reasons for your
answer.
3) What is Luddism? How it started?
4)How did French revolution and nepolianic wars affect French industries and
factories?
5) Explain the relative significance of railways and canals.
6) How would you explain the various consequences of Industrial revolution. Give
a critical analysis?
7) What were the protest movements? What were their effects?
8) What are the reform laws? Explain with example.
9) How the term Industrial revolution has been challenged ?Explain with example.
10) What were the interesting features of the Inventions of Industrial Age?
11) How did Industrial Revolution affect the social, political and Economic life of
the people in USA, Germany, Russia & Japan?