Life in Great Britain during the Industrial Revolution shifted from an
agrarian based society to an urban,
industrialised
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econom ...
society. New social and technological ideas were developed, such as the
factory system
The factory system is a method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labor. Because of the high capital cost of machinery and factory buildings, factories are typically privately owned by wealthy individuals or corporations who empl ...
and the
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
. Work became more regimented, disciplined, and moved outside the home with large segments of the rural population migrating to the cities.
The industrial belts of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
included the
Scottish Lowlands
The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...
,
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
,
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, and the
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
. The establishment of major factory centers assisted in the development of
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s,
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
s, and
railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
, particularly in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
,
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
, and
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. These regions saw the formation of a new workforce, described in
Marxist theory
Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew fro ...
as the ''
proletariat
The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
''.
Living standards
The nature of the
Industrial Revolution's impact on living standards in Britain is debated among historians, with
Charles Feinstein
Charles Hilliard Feinstein, FBA (18 March 1932 – 27 November 2004) was a noted South African and British economic historian. He was born in Johannesburg, received his early education at Parktown Boys' High School and studied at Witwatersrand Un ...
identifying detrimental impacts on British workers, whilst other historians, including Peter Lindert and
Jeffrey Williamson
Jeffrey Gale Williamson (born 1935) is the ''Laird Bell'' Professor of Economics (Emeritus), Harvard University; an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Economics at the University of Wisconsin (Madison); Research Associate at the National Bureau ...
claim the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
improved the living standards of British people. Increasing employment of workers in factories led to a marked decrease in the working conditions of the average worker, as in the absence of
labour law
Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
s, factories had few safety measures, and accidents resulting in injuries were commonplace. Poor ventilation in workplaces such as
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
s,
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
s,
iron-works
An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''.
Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...
and brick factories is thought to have led to development of
respiratory disease
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the t ...
s among workers.
Housing conditions of
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
people who migrated to the cities was often overcrowded and unsanitary, creating a favourable environment for the spread of diseases such as
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
,
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
and
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, further exacerbated by a lack of
sick leave
Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...
. According to one observer, "I am convinced that at no period of English history for which authentic records exist, was the condition of manual labor worse than it was in the forty years from 1782 to 1821, the period in which manufacturers and merchants accumulated fortune rapidly, and in which the rent of agricultural land was doubled."
There was however a rise in
real income
Real income is the income of individuals or nations after adjusting for inflation. It is calculated by dividing nominal income by the price level. Real variables such as real income and real GDP are variables that are measured in physical units, ...
and increase in availability of various consumer goods to the lower classes during this period. Prior to the industrial revolution, increases in
real wages
Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, or, equivalently, wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages.
Because it has been adjusted to account f ...
would be offset by subsequent decreases, a phenomenon which ceased to occur following the revolution. The real wage of the average worker doubled in just 32 years from 1819 to 1851. which brought many people out of poverty.
Child labour
In the industrial districts, children tended to enter the workforce at younger ages than rural ones. Children were employed favourably over adults as they were deemed more compliant and therefore easier to deal with. Although most families channeled their children's earnings into providing a better diet for them, working in the factories tended to have an overall negative effect on the health of the children. Child labourers tended to be
orphan
An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died.
In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...
s, children of widows, or from the poorest families.
Children were preferred workers in
textile mills
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods s ...
they worked for lower wages and had nimble fingers. Children's work mainly consisted of working under machines as well as cleaning and oiling tight areas. Children were physically punished by their superiors if they did not abide by their superiors expectations of work ethic. The punishments occurred as a result of the drive of master-manufacturers to maintain high output in the factories. The punishments and poor work conditions had a negative effect on the physical health of the children, causing physical deformities and illnesses. Furthermore, childhood diseases from this era have been linked to larger deformities in the future.
Gender was not a discriminator for how children were treated when working during the industrial revolution. Both boys and girls would start working at the age of four or five. A sizeable proportion of children working in the mines were under 13 and a larger proportion were aged 13–18. Mines of the era were not built for stability; rather, they were small and low. Children, therefore, were needed to crawl through them. The conditions in the mines were unsafe, children would often have limbs crippled, their bodies distorted, or be killed.
Children could get lost within the mines for days at a time. The air in the mines was harmful to breathe and could cause painful and fatal diseases.
Reforms for change
The ''
Health and Morals of Apprentices Act 1802
The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act 1802 (42 Geo III c.73), sometimes known as the Factory Act 1802, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom designed to improve conditions for apprentices working in cotton mills. The Act was intr ...
'' tried to improve conditions for workers by making factory owners more responsible for the housing and clothing of the workers, but with little success. This act was never put into practice because magistrates failed to enforce it.
The ''
Cotton Mills and Factories Act 1819
The Cotton Mills and Factories Act 1819 ( 59 Geo. III c. 66) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was its first attempt to regulate the hours and conditions of work of children in the cotton industry. It was introduced by ...
'' forbade the employment of children under the age of nine in
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
s, and limited the hours of work for children aged 9–16 to twelve hours a day. This act was a major step towards a better life for children since they were less likely to fall asleep during work, resulting in fewer injuries and beatings in the workplace.
Michael Sadler was one of the pioneers in addressing the living and working conditions of industrial workers. In 1832, he led a parliamentary investigation of the conditions of textile workers. The Ashley Commission was another investigation committee, this time studying the situation of mine workers. One finding of the investigation was the observation alongside increased productivity, the number of working hours of the wage workers had also doubled in many cases.
The efforts of Michael Sadler and the Ashley Commission resulted in the passage of the
1833 act which limited the number of working hours for women and children. This bill limited children aged 9–18 to working no more than 48 hours a week, and stipulated that they spend two hours at school during work hours. The Act also created the
factory inspector
A factory inspector is someone who checks that factories comply with regulations affecting them.
UK Factory Inspectorate
The enforcement of UK Factory Acts before that of 1833 had been left to local magistrates, which had meant that any compliance ...
and provided for routine inspections of factories to ensure factories implemented the reforms.
According to one cotton manufacturer:
The first report for women and children in mines lead to the ''
Mines and Collieries Act 1842
The Mines and Collieries Act 1842 (c. 99), commonly known as the Mines Act 1842, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act forbade women and girls of any age to work underground and introduced a minimum age of ten for boys e ...
'', which stated that children under the age of ten could not work in mines and that no women or girls could work in the mines. The second report in 1843 reinforced this act.
The ''
Factories Act 1844'' limited women and young adults to working 12-hour days, and children from the ages 9 to 13 could only work nine-hour days. The Act also made mill masters and owners more accountable for injuries to workers. The ''
Factories Act 1847
The Factories Act 1847, also known as the Ten Hours Act was a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which restricted the working hours of women and young persons (13-18) in textile mills to 10 hours per day. The practicalities of running a textile mi ...
'', also known as the ten-hour bill, made it law that women and young people worked not more than ten hours a day and a maximum of 63 hours a week. The last two major factory acts of the Industrial Revolution were introduced in 1850 and 1856. After these acts, factories could no longer dictate working hours for women and children. They were to work from 6 am to 6 pm in the summer, and 7 am to 7 pm in the winter. These acts took a lot of power and authority away from the manufacturers and allowed women and children to have more personal time for the family and for themselves.
The ''
'' aimed to stop the abuse of children in both the work and family sphere of life.
The ''
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...
'' allowed all children within the United Kingdom to have access to education. Education was not made compulsory until 1880 since many factory owners feared the removal of children as a source of cheap labour. With the basic mathematics and English skills that children were acquiring, however, factory owners had a growing pool of workers who could read.
Notes
References
* Clark, Gregory (2007) ''A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World'' Princeton University Press .
*
Mokyr, Joel. (1990). The Lever of Riches - Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. Oxford University Press. .
*Stearns, Peter N. (1993). The Industrial Revolution in World History. Westview Press. .
External links
{{Wikivoyage, Industrial Britain
The Industrial Revolution: An Introduction
History of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...