The Industrial Revolution

Before The Industrial Revoution:

Before the invention of machinery and the use of factories all cloth production took place in homes across the country this was called cottage or domestic industry
This made production slow and very expensive
However the population of britain was growing and the demand for goods and services was increasing.
There was also a large amount of unspoiled raw materials in Britain and these could be used to power large machinery e.g coal
As well as this there were a large number of wealthy people to invest in new machinery and construct factories. For the above reasons an industrial revolutin took place in Britain

Agricultural Revolution:

Farmers since the middle ages had been using the three field or open field system, which had many faults and was an inefficient way of producing food
These problems included: The fact that farmers had to spend an unecessary amount of time travelling from field to field
As well as lazy farmers hindering their neighbours with weeds and allowing animals to room free through land and crops
The government decided to introduce an Enclosure Act, which meant all tenant farmers had to fence off their land into sperate farms
New intruments were introduced to improve farming effeciency: Charles "Turnip" Townshend developed the Norfolk Crop Rotation system which allowed nutrients in the soil to be remplemished
Crops such as wheat, turnips, cloves and oats were rotated over a 4 year period and turnips as well as being good for the soil, also could be used to feed cattle during the winter months. As a result food production increased
Robert Bakewell experimented with cattle breeding in order to develop a stronger and healthier cow
Jethro Tull invented the seed-drill, which allowed seeds to be planted faster. Cyprus McCormack then invented the reaper, to cut corn faster during harvesting
As a result of all these changes, more and more food could be produced faster and at less expense. Therefore, the population increased significantly due to the availability of food.

The open field system or the three field system was extremely ineffecient. As you can see above farms existed as strips. One farmer might own a number of strips in different areas which made travelling a major waste of time.

Charles "Turnip" Townshend or second viscount Townshend was secetary of the British state for a period of a decade

Transportation Revolution:

At the beginning of the 18th century roads were of very poor quality and transporting by road was slow
Thomas Telford and John McAdam designed a new method of road building which was much more effective
This road design was built using a large base of stones and on top of this smaller stones and smaller stones on top of this and so on. On top of these layers of stones, tar would be placed. The road also had a slope or comber to allow rainwater to drain away
Now with this new road system both people and their goods could be transported quickly and with ease
Canals were also built to transport large quantities of coal and other goods to the newly built factories
Railways were in fact more important than canal at this time. Richard Trevithick designed the first steam engine which was improved upon by George Stephenson. This new steam engine capable of transporting large amounts of resources and later people
The railways brought about a revolution in public as it was available to the poor as well as the rich. It also contributed greatly to the industrial revolution

Richard Trevithick

Above: George Stephenson

Left: Thomas Telford

Telford and McAdams road design.

Inventions: Textile Manafacturing

Before the Industrial Revolution all clothing was produced in the home. This was known as Domestic or Cottage Industry
However new Inventions now meant that that textiles could be produced faster in factories:
Flying Shuttle (sped up weaving)-John Kay
Spinning Jenny-James Hargreeves
Water Frame (steam powered)-Richard Arkwright
Spinning Mule-Samuel Crompton
Power Loom-Edmund Cartwright

Life of a Coal Miner (People in History):

Coal, iron and steel were now all needed in vast quantities for steam engines, machinery, factories, railway, bridges etc
As a result, coal mines became important centers of employment
Working conditions in coal mines were extremely dangerous in the mines. Workers had to face flooding, explosions, rock falls etc
Children were also employed in the mines in amny different roles. These roles included Trappers (opening and closing trap doors) and hurriers (dragged carts to the bottom of the mine to be filled and brought up again)
As a result of these difficult jobs, these children suffered from spinal deformities from working such long hours in cramped conditions. Miners alos got "Minors Lung" from inhaling coal dust, which could be fatal
The highest paid miner was the Hewer who mined the coal out of the rock
Methane gas built up often in the mines and often caused explosions. Miners carried a canary down with them to indicate whether methane was present or not
Sir Humphrey Davy inveented a new type of Latern called the Davy Lamp, this lamp had a covered flame which prevented explosions
Those who were injured in the mines got no compensation and had to rely on family and friends for support.

Sir Humphrey Davy was a famous Cornish Scientist amd Inventor and discovered a number of Elements

The above picture shows a hurrier. Children as young as five could have crippling jobs such as these.

The Humphrey Davy lamp saved many from death as it prevented explosions

Life of a Factory Worker:

Women and Children were used by factory workers as a cheap source of labour. They worked long and gruelling days-At least 14 for very little pay
As well as being very unfair work, it was also very dangerous for factory workers. The sound of machines were deafening and cotton particles swirled in the air causing breathing problems
Workers did not recieve equal pay. men were paid the equivalent of £1 a week, women 44c and children 23c
Workers (especially children) were often beaten by workers and all wrokers were fined for small things such as spying, latenes etc
Children were often used by factory owners to climb under machines and untangle thread-As the machines restarted they often lost limbs
Factory owners often cared little about the welfare of their workers, they instead cared about only profit-Workers recieved no compensation

Living Conditions for Workers

Workers lived in terrible conditions in slums near to the factory or mine. All families were grouped together in overcrowded rooms - Up to 20 families could live in a single room in run-down tenement buildings without running water or electricity
Due to the large amount of overcrowding and dirty water, diseases such as typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis spread quickly and killed many
The rich however lived far away froms the slums. They instead lived in the countryside, in large houses and rarely went near the factories
However, health soon improved thanks to people like Joseph Lister 1st who was the first to realise there was a connection between dirt and disease and he created an anticeptic to kill bacteria and slow down or stop the spreading of disease
Edward Jenner, created the first vaccine against smallpox. He did this by injecting his workers with a mild form of the disease called cowpox and he noticed these workers bacme immune to smallpox. This cut down the rate at which deaths occured
Overtime proper sewers were built to dispose of waste properly (It was open sewers that began the cholera epidemic in Britain). This combined with the introduction of vaccinations improved public health and life expectancy

Left: Joseph Lister 1st and Edward Jenner (respectively)

Right: Overcrowded and unclean tenement buildings were but one of the hardships faced by factory workers

Improvements in Working Conditions:

Some fair minded factory owners wanted to improve working conditions. One of these factory owners was Robert Owen who provided schools for anyone under 10 as well as providing safer and larger houses
Workers now began to form trade unions to ask for better working conditions, wages, compensation etc
Eventually the government brought in Factory Acts which prohibited women and boys under 10 from working in the mines
Women and children were also no longer allowed to work more than 10 hrs and certain jobs like chimmney sweeping were banned for children
As well as conditions for women and children being improved, lunch breaks were introduced for all workers
Eventually public health laws were introduced to improve quality of life for workers e.g Sewerage facilities/vaccinations etc

Left: Robert Owen was a British Social Reformer responsible for improved working conditions

Right: Owens factory-New Lanark Cotton Mills

Test Yourself