Industrial revolutions and global implications

Outline

• Introduction• The commercial context of industrial change• Labour and machines: who did the work and

where did they do it?• The geography of manufacturing• The rise of the factory system• Accounting for industrial change in C18 Britain

Term Industrial Revolution coined by economic historian Arnold Toynbee, in reference to period

1760-1830:‘It was in this period that modern Political Economy

took its rise’. Lectures On The Industrial Revolution In England,

London, 1884

A Revolution in Two Senses:

• Technological change meaning inventions of machines that provide power and/or produce goods

• Productive change meaning expansion of outputs thanks to the employment of new sources of energy (e.g. coal-fired steam engines)

Consequences and Significance:

• Economic: the rise of the factory system; the ‘take-off of the West’

World manufacturing output: percentages of total1800: UK 4.3, China 33.3, India 19.71850: UK 19.9, China 19.7, India 8.6

• Social: the birth of modern political economy/society

Modern Times (?)

James Watt’s steam engine (1760s)

Richard Arkwright’s spinning frame (1768)

Reassessments:

• Lowered estimates of economic growth during classical period (1760-1830) since 1990s

• Industrial Revolution Not mean Industrialization

• Reactions against technological determinism: new technology new kind of economy

The commercial context

• Mid C18 UK was already a sophisticated market-economy

• Home and foreign demand for products, including goods made or powered by new technology, strong influence on rise of industry 1760-1830

Shift in orientation of British re-export trade, 1700 versus 1800

1700: 80% of GB exports to Europe, 10% to colonies1800: 30% of GB exports to Europe, 60% to colonies

The commercial context

• How did GB gain markets? Mercantilist policies from mc17

• Paradox: commodities that underpinned the expansion of international trade were most heavily taxed

• -Trade in colonial and exotic commodities, such as printed calico (cotton textile) have significant impact on habits of consumption, investment and spending

• Commercial framework and social overhead capital were crucial for the growth of the economy during Ind Rev and industrialization

Labour and machines

• Industry in classical period means a largely female workforce

• History of work with women added-in changes view of Ind Rev and of growth of productivity in the period. It was women who counted as workers in new ‘high productivity’ industries such as cotton textiles

Women working carding machines

Labour and machines

• Why were women employed? Organizational and technological developments, plus female labour enhanced profitability

• Entrepreneurs seeking to find more and cheaper labour supply; cheaper female labour viewed as a source of profit for tradesmen with labour-intensive manufacturing

Domestic manufacturing

Labour and machines

Early spinning Jennies operated by girls, part of the domestic (putting-out system)

The scarcity of skilled calico printers and high-status of skilled printers was the main reason producers looked for low-paid women workers

Labour and machine

Labour and machines: spinning jenny operator

The geography of manufacturing• Proto-Industrialization: theory about the

correspondence between regionally-concentrated rural domestic industries and C19 specialized manufacturing regions

• Factors shaping rural manufacturing:Agricultural setting; gender-specific labour needs; local outlooks on trade

• Rural manufacturing had many different forms that suit local situations: can’t make simple links between artisan mfg practices in a region and shift to factory system

The geography of manufacturing

Four early modern proto-industrial regions (out of ten) became long-term Industrial regions in C19: West Yorks; South Lancs.; South Yorks.; and West Midlands

The rise of the factory system

• Definitions of a factory-Technological: centralised production and power-source-Organisational: hierarchical management and close supervision of labour

Historians debate which element (technology or production) made factories efficient and profitable

Manufactory

The rise of the factory system

• Why did manufactories get so big?• Landes and Chandler: technology tends

towards economies of scale• Berg: artisan production was the basis of

innovative, small-scale capitalism (skill intensive, not power intensive)

The rise of the factory system

• False dichotomy between artisan/shop versus unskilled worker/factorypart of myth of origins

• Research shows diversity of mfg organization even in single industry, e.g. putting-out system was used to supply factories

• Also, varieties exist within the Factory system, e.g. in hiring and supervision; small holders/artisans could rent space in mills in wool textile weaving

The rise of the factory system

• Large Factories were several factories under one roof

• Key advantage of factory system was control over labour force

• Bosses dictate hours and intensity of work under supervision; less and less worker control over raw materials, and less chance for ‘fringe benefits’ to workers

Accounting for industrial change in C18 Britain

Why did the Industrial Revolution happen first in the UK?Theories:

InfrastructurePolitical and economic integrationCultural/SocialNatural/Geographic