11.1.5

Factory Life

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Factory Life

The invention of new and efficient machines led to factories springing up across Britain, in which thousands of workers would produce cotton to be exported. The hours were long and the work was gruelling.

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Urban migration

  • As factories sprang up across Britain, many people flocked from the countryside to the growing cities in search of a stable job.
  • However, the factories were not pleasant places to work.
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Conditions

  • Hours were long, with labourers sometimes working up to fourteen hours a day, six days a week.
  • Pay was minimal, and families depended on their children to work as well, since they needed the extra money.
  • In the cotton mills especially, the cotton fibres and dust from the machines irritated the lungs of factory workers, and even caused lung diseases.
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Rules

  • There were strict rules in the factories, and these were enforced by the factory owner or the foreman.
  • Workers who broke these rules would have their wages cut, or risked being beaten or sacked.
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Children in the factories

  • Children in the factories faced dismal conditions.
  • They were often beaten for not working hard enough, carried out harsh physical labour that their undeveloped bodies were not able to cope with, and risked losing limbs from the moving machinery.
  • From around the 1830s, efforts were made to improve conditions in factories, particularly in regards to children.

Jump to other topics

1Empires East & West: 1000 AD

1.1The Rise & Fall of Ancient China’s Empire

1.2The Medieval Greatness of the Byzantine Empire

1.3The Golden Age of the Islamic Empire

1.4The Politics & Power of the Holy Roman Empire

1.5Medieval Religion

1.6The Influence of the Church in Medieval Times

1.7How Religion Tested the Power of Kings

1.8Dynastic Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.9Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.10Revolts, Rebellions & Rights

1.11Medieval England & Her Neighbours

1.12European Renaissance

1.13Norman Conquest & Control

1.14Historical Skills

2The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

2.1Anglo-Saxon England

2.2The Contest for the English Throne

2.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

2.4King John

2.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

2.6The Black Death

3Worldviews

4The Empire of Mali: 1076-1670 AD

5The Renaissance & Reformations: 1500-1598 AD

6The British Empire: 1583-1960 AD

7The Peasants' Revolt: 1381 AD

8Religion in the Middle Ages

9Slavery: 1619-1833 AD

10The English Civil War: 1642-1660 AD

11The Industrial Revolution: 1750-1840 AD

12US Independence: 1775-1783 AD

13The French Revolution: 1789-1815 AD

14The British Empire: 1857–1930 AD

15Suffrage: 1840-1928 AD

16World War 1: 1914-1918 AD

17The Inter-War Years: 1919-1939 AD

18World War 2: 1939-1945 AD

19The Cold War: 1947-1962 AD

20Civil Rights in the USA: 1954-1975 AD

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