Issues like living conditions and health, and labour, spark the growth and development of political change as people demand improvements eg an end to child labour (the Factory Acts). Industrial change: cotton The industrial revolution started in Britain with the growth of the cotton industry. Cotton imported from the southern US states (harvested by slave labour until abolition in 1807) came in to west coast ports like Liverpool and Glasgow. It was transported to cotton mills sited next to fast flowing rivers. As these rivers were located in nearby hills such as the Pennines or the hills of Lanarkshire, this is where the industry developed. Manchester became the cotton capital of the world, exporting cotton goods all over the British Empire. Why was there a growing demand for cotton? It was cheap and easily made into clothing More comfortable to wear than wool Soldiers uniforms during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) A fast-growing population meant a fast-growing market with money to spend. What machines were used in the factories? Several new inventions were hugely important in spurring the growth of the industry. Arguably, these inventors changed the world with their machines: James Hargreave’s “Spinning Jenny” mechanised spinning (1764) Richard Arkwright’s “Water Frame” (1771) converted this machine to water power. Arguably Arkwright was the “father of the industrial revolution” Samuel Crompton’s “Spinning Mule” (1775) – improved on Arkwright’s invention Edmund Cartwright’s Power Loom (1784) – mechanised weaving, spelling disaster for handloom weavers The Steam Engine (James Watt and Matthew Boulton, 1763) – provided a new source of power which, once it was fully developed in the 19th century, transformed cotton and other industries. It meant that mills next to rivers closed and opened up near coal mines. Fortuitously, the mines were not far away, in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Lanarkshire. What were working conditions like? The traditional view – that low paid child and female workers toiled for immensely long shifts in ghastly conditions has been challenged, to some extent, by recent research. Negatives Children as young as 6 toiled 10 hour shifts for very low pay. were hot and damp, which caused health problems. Unguarded machines were dangerous eg fingers could be crushed Harsh discipline – strict rules with fines for rule-breakers eg
The most famous protests were the Peterloo Massacre and the Radical War in Scotland. At Peterloo a huge crowd of 60,000 attended a meeting demanding radical change (reform of Parliament) at St Peter’s Field, Manchester. The authorities had been told by the Government to stop such protests and they ordered local cavalry units to clear the protesters. This resulted in disaster, with 11 people killed and 400 wounded. The press called it the “Peterloo Massacre”, likening it to the recent Battle of Waterloo. Following this the Government passed the “Six Acts” severely limiting further protest. The Radical War. Around 60,000 workers, again, joined the strike. On the 15th April 1820 one group of Radicals (mainly weavers and other workers) led by Andrew Hardie and John Baird decided to march from Glasgow Green to Falkirk in order to seize the Carron Iron Works. It ended when they were mown down by the 10th Hussars and the Stirlingshire Yeomanry after the authorities were tipped- off by ‘agents’ who had been involved in the plan. Why did the authorities react so harshly to these protests? They were afraid that a revolution would break out here. The French Revolution had resulted in attacks on property and the exiling of the wealthy classes. Then it had turned into the bloodbath of the guillotine and many years of Napoleon’s wars. So why did they not give the radicals the vote to defuse the protests? Probably because vested interests in the form of the landed gentry and the new industrial wealthy class were afraid to give any power away to the lower classes in case they demanded more – eg better wages and conditions. However, the upper classes were losing the argument and within ten years they had been forced to bring in a degree of reform (1832). Why did demands for reform come to a head in 1830? For all the above reasons, plus…. the new middle class of factory owners and professions (eg engineer) were demanding more say in how their taxes were spent. The voting system was outdated. This was made worse by the changes brought about by the industrial revolution eg Fast - growing industrial cities had far too few MPs Declining rural areas had too many MPs. This meant the South had too many MPs and the growing North (and Scotland) had far too few. Some declining areas had rotten boroughs ie villages where no-one lived any longer but they still had two MPs! Voting was done openly so bribery and corruption were commonplace.