British Civilisation Week 5 6 The Industrial Revolution

British Civilisation Week 5 -6 The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement, Dr. Granville Pillar

The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement The transport revolution: Stephenson’s “Rocket” (Robert Stephenson – 1829) n The textile revolution: wool, silk, cotton, flax. n Wool industry: the Spinning Jenny (James Hargreaves – 1764) n Silk industry: silk weaving engine (Thomas (Lombe – 1718) n

The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement The Industrial Revolution started in the northern part of England. n Northern England produced steel because of large coal and iron ore deposits. n Northeast England became the world’s leading producer of wool products. n Northwest England became the world’s leading producer of cotton products. n

The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement Cotton Industry: by 1830 more than half of British exports consisted of cotton. n Flax industry: flax spinning machine (John Marshal & Matthew Murray 1790) n Most of the mines and factories used child labour. n Some children worked from 5. 00 am to 9. 00 pm for one penny an hour. n

The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement In 1822 Michael Sadler introduced Bill in Parliament to reduce working hours of people under 18 years. n Lord Ashley (Lord Shaftsbury) fought to reduce working hours of children. n In 1840 Lord Ashley set up the Children’s Employment Commission n As a result, women and children were prohibited from working underground in n

The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement In 1811 workers revolted against wage reductions and the use of new textile machines which reduced human labour. n The Luddite movement began and members broke into factories and destroyed machines. n Bill was passed by the government which allowed for people convicted of machine breaking to be sentenced to death. n

The Industrial Revolution and the Labour Movement In 1871 Trade Unions were given legal status and the Labour Party was formed. n In 1923, Ramsey Mac. Donald became the first Labour Prime Minister. n