The Industrial Revolution

Essay #2

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe underwent a dramatic and important revision of industry, economy and government. Europe, specifically Britain, surpassed all others as far as production and economic power were concerned, and along with that success came many consequences and costs. The consequences, both good and bad, of the modern industrial revolution included a slow but eventual population shift to major cities, poor working conditions in factories, harsh employment of many children and young people, uprisings of the unhappy working class and the creation of political, economic, and social reform. Although the revolution of the industries did have a profound I mpact on the world as we know it today, the lives of those it touched directly were affected in tremendous proportions.

The British were among the first to breathe the fresh air of the industrial revolution. Because Britain had great success agriculturally, the insurgency came first to this area. The rapid demand to produce more quickly, with more output, created the need for better tools. In the mid-18th century, Jethro Tull invented the seed drill, helping farmers to plant in a more organized and efficient manner (The World's History 563). New laws were also created pertaining to land ownership. At first, the land was made public, and farmers were free to use it for their benefit. That changed soon after with the enclosure acts, which stated that the land was to be owned privately, forcing many out of their farms and into cities that paid wages. Many more inventions, like Jethro's, infiltrated Britain's farmland, paving the way for larger and better inventions that continued into cities.

A series of inventions created to boost and improve the production of cotton came with the invention of the flying shuttle by John Kay. When that became too elementary and output of cotton wasn't enough, the spinning jenny enhanced the industry, followed by the power loom and the cotton gin (The World's History 568). These creations, along with many others, stimulated the economy and bettered European trade, especially when it came to trading cotton with India and other parts of Asia. Because India played a major, almost complete, roll in the import of raw cotton, Europe was able convert the raw material into a fabric at a faster rate and export it to Asia, revolutionizing its trade relations with other countries.

Factory life in Britain, as well as the rest of Europe, was little short of dehumanizing. At the tender and impressionable age of 4, a child would start off his or her day at five in the morning. Hungry, fatigued and many times ill, children were forced to leave their homes at such hours to start the grueling and constant work that the factories demanded. Some worked as many as 17 hour days, with little more than an hour at noon for some food and rest. The food they were given would be so unappealing and spoiled that many of them would rather go hungry than consume it. They weren't given the privilege of an education, let alone any kind of childhood at all. (The World's History 576) "Ð'...Infants of 4 and 5 years of age, many of them girls, pretty and still soft and timid; entrusted with the fulfillment of responsible duties, the very nature of which entails on them the necessity of being the earliest to enter the mine and the latest to leave it." (Sybil, Benjamin Disraeli)

The steel, textile and coal factories knew no gender or age. Boys, girls, women and men were treated the same the majority of the time. Males and females would wear the same clothing, work the same demanding jobs, be punished similarly and work the same hours each day. These conditions went so far as to allow men to work half naked, sometimes fully, which was then the dress code for many women and young girls. "I found assembled round a fire a group of men, boys and girls, some at the age of puberty, the girls as well as the boys stark naked down to the waist, their hair bound up with a tight cap, and trousers supported by their hips." (Parliamentary Papers, the year 1842) The lack of clothing, combined with many private work interactions in dark mines led to sexual misconduct in the workplace, leading to unwanted pregnancies and the unfortunate upbringing of children without fathers. The employment of women also effected family dynamics. Since women were used to the same working conditions and routines as their husbands, questions were raised about women's identities and their roles in family and society. (The World's History 576)

Because the poor working class was growing more and more visible to society, it was eventually impossible to ignore the major problem that was the mistreatment of those negatively affected by the European industrial revolution. Workers began to have "turn-outs", or strikes, out of frustration and misery. The Sadler Report,