| Textile Manufacture During The Industrial Revolution |
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There was a marketplace to service, but the scale of Industry ; the sources of Energy ; and the lack of an inland Communication s Infrastructure were the unseen hurdles to overcome. In this context, the scene was set for Great Britain to develop the industry of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. BACKGROUND The key British industry at the beginning of the 18th century was the production of industry – centred in Lancashire – had grown ten-fold during this time, but still accounted for only a tenth of the value of the woollen trade. INDUSTRY AND INVENTION In 1733 in Bury , Lancashire, John Kay invented the Flying Shuttle — one of the first of a series of Invention s that was to propel Britain to being the dominant industrial power of the 18th and 19th centuries. The flying shuttle increased the width of cotton cloth and speed of production of a single weaver at a Loom . Resistance by workers to the perceived threat to jobs delayed the widespread introduction of this technology, even though the higher rate of production generated an increased demand for Spun cotton. In 1738 , Louis Paul – one of the community of Huguenot weavers that had been driven out of France in a wave of religious persecution – developed the drawing Roller method to Twist and spin Yarn . In , who had a daughter named Jenny for whom the invention might have been named. Industrial Unrest and a failure to patent the Invention until 1770 forced Hargreaves from Blackburn, but his lack of protection of the idea allowed the concept to be exploited by others. As a result, there were over 20,000 Spinning Jennies in use by the time of his death. In (at Cromford , Derbyshire ; preserved as part of the Derwent Valley Mills ) was a Factory in the vein of the Soho Manufactory . Arkwright protected his investment (from industrial rivals and potentially disruptive workers), and generated jobs for which workers' accommodations were constructed, leading to a sizeable industrial community. Arkwright expanded his operations to other areas of the country. In 1779 , Samuel Crompton of Bolton combined elements of the spinning jenny and water frame to create the Spinning Mule . This produced a stronger thread, and was suitable for mechanisation on a grand scale. As with Kay and Hargreaves, Crompton was not able to exploit his invention for his own profit, and died a pauper. In 1784 , Edmund Cartwright invented the Power Loom , and produced a prototype in the following year. His initial venture to exploit this technology failed, although his advances were recognised by others in the industry. Others – such as Robert Grimshaw (whose factory was destroyed in 1790 as part of the growing reaction against the mechanization of the industry) and Austin {Link without Title} – developed the ideas further. In 1803 , Thomas Johnson invented the Dressing Frame which enabled power looms to operate continuously, and this fueled the take-off of steam-powered weaving such that by 1823 there were estimated to be 10,000 power looms in operation in Great Britain. The use of water power to drive mills was quickly adopted by many entrepreneurs, and one example is Samuel Greg . He joined his uncle's firm of textile merchants, and, on taking over the company in 1782, he sought out a site to establish a mill. Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire still exists as a well preserved museum, having been in use from its construction in 1784 until 1959 . It illustrates how the mill owners exploited child labour, taking orphans from nearby Manchester , but also shows that these children were housed, clothed, fed and provided with some education. This mill also shows the transition from water power to steam power, with steam engines to drive the looms being installed in 1810 . WORKERS Working conditions in the early British textile factories were brutal. Children, men, and women regularly worked 68-hour work weeks. Factories often were not well ventilated and became very hot in the summer. Worker health and safety regulations were non-existent. Workers who suffered debilitating injuries from work were simply dismissed without any compensation. The best that can be said for these conditions is that other work for unskilled, landless persons was less consistent throughout the year and from year to year, and offered less possibility for earnings growth for those who adapted well to the work. Textile factories organized workers' lives much differently from craft production. Handloom Weaver s worked at their own pace, with their own tools, and within their own cottages. Factories set hours of work, and the machinery within them shaped the pace of work. Factories brought workers together within one building to work on machinery that they did not own. Factories also increased the division of labor. They narrowed the number and scope of tasks and included children and women within a common production process. The early textile factories employed a large share of Britain were workers who had begun work as child labourers. The growth of this experienced adult factory workforce helps to account for the shift away from child labour in textile factories. EXPORT OF TECHNOLOGY While profiting from expertise arriving from overseas (e.g. Louis Paul), Britain was very Protective of home-grown technology. In particular, Engineers with skills in constructing the textile mills and machinery were not permitted to Emigrate — particularly to the fledgeling America . Following the creation of the United States , an engineer who had worked as an apprentice to Arkwright's partner Jedediah Strutt evaded the ban. In 1789 , Samuel Slater took his skills in designing and constructing factories to New England , and he was soon engaged in reproducing the textile mills that helped America with its own industrial revolution. Local inventions spurred this on, and in 1793 Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin , a device that increased the processing of raw cotton by over 50 times. SEE ALSO
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