The Industrial Revolution

References The 19th century: p. 3 (« The first industrial nation ») p.7 (« Commodities and ownership ») P. 56 (« Consumption and recreation »)

General outline I/ Factors of the industrial revolution II/ Social impact III/ Conflicting interests

Introduction Mid-18th to mid-19th century 1815 = mid-way mark Before: machines increased productivity After: machines to make other machines 1850: Britain = urban industrial country + for a few decades, no other country could compete

« No precedent in any country existed for the economic dominance of industries such as iron, steel and manufacturing, or for the extent of urbanization which accompanied them. » (The Nineteenth Century, p. 3).

Factors of the industrial revolution

Outline Natural factors Political factors Economic factor Technical improvements Transports

Natural factors Geography Population Vast stores of coal and iron Reliable streams (communication + machinery) Population Increase in population = more available workforce. Rural exodus (enclosures)  labour force for the industry.

Political factors (1) Glorious Revolution (1688) rise of a middle class with capital to invest. End of guild regulations

Political factors (2) Acts of Union (1707 with Scotland, 1801 with Ireland) creation of a large tariff-free internal zone.

Economic factors (1) Empire mass market for British goods. Expansion of retail trading wider choice stimulated demand

Economic factors (2) Enclosures/rural exodus labour for industry  Consumer market

Technical improvements Coal replaced wood as the main fuel. 1764: cotton-spinning machine. 1781: Watt  engine capable of a turning motion (= no need for natural power). 1785: mechanical frame (weaving).

Transports Improved road system. Waterways and canals. Stage coaches. 1825: first railway line (Stockton-Darlington) 1840: steamers plied the Atlantic both ways.

Social impact

Outline New ‘feudal’ order Unemployment and violence Rapid shift of population to towns & cities New attitude to labour

New ‘feudal’ order Social tensions caused by the Industrial Revolution  fear of a revolution on the French model  Hard stance against workers (ex: Peterloo massacre, 1819)

Unemployment and violence Labour-saving machines made workers redundant  outbreaks of machine breaking (18th century) Early 19th century: Luddite riots in the textile industry Hanging & transportation

Rapid shift of population to towns and cities 1800-1830: Birmingham & Sheffield doubled in size 1815 to 1820: London added ¼ million to its population  1 274 000 inhabitants 1840s: most people were urban dwellers  housing problem / slums

New attitude to labour Irregularity of work in the countryside VS continuous labour in factories. Employer: labour as a factor of production. Child labour Depersonalisation of work. Factories: concentration and division of labour.

Conflicting interests

Outline Within the ruling class Between the ruling classes and the workers Labour conflicts Philantropy VS self-help

Within the ruling class (1) Ex: Corn Laws First rift between manufacturing and landed interests Tories split over the issue of the repeal

Within the ruling class (2) Transports Dvt of train fiercely opposed by stagecoach and canal companies

Ruling class vs workers Mine & mill owners keen on fast and cheap production Threat of unemployment Return to the land impossible

Labour conflicts (1) Early tactics = petitioning Parliament BUT Parliament = representatives of industry and landed classes

Labour conflicts (2) Workers’ ‘combinations’ were repressed by Parliament Employers could take legal action against members of combinations / trade unions.

Philantropy vs self-help Paternalistic approach to social distress Robert Owen (1771-1858) Lord Shaftesbury (1801-1885) John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) Self-help = individual

Conclusion: A culture of consumption « A mass market in commodities of remarkable complexity developed, with advertisements stressing in detail the variety of choice available to the individual in a cheap form, whether of clothes, furniture, books, pictures, or any other of a myriad of products. Houses became showplaces of numerous objects, the walls cluttered with pictures and decorations, the furniture elaborately carved, the atmosphere made claustrophobic with the abundance of detail. » (The Nineteenth Century, p. 7)