The Coming of the Factory

The earliest factories in England came up by the 1730s, but their number multiplied only in the late eighteenth century. The first symbol of the new era was cotton: in 1760 Britain imported 2.5 million pounds of raw cotton, and by 1787 this soared to 22 million pounds.

A series of inventions improved each step of production (carding, twisting, spinning), enhancing output per worker. Then Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill. Earlier, cloth production had been spread across the countryside in village households; now the costly new machines were set up in the mill, where all the processes were brought together under one roof and management. This allowed careful supervision, a watch over quality, and the regulation of labour.

The Pace of Industrial Change

Industrial change was slower and more uneven than we often imagine:

  • The most dynamic industries were cotton and metals. Cotton led the first phase up to the 1840s; after that, iron and steel led, as railways expanded (in England from the 1840s, in the colonies from the 1860s). By 1873, Britain exported iron and steel worth about £77 million — double the value of its cotton exports.
  • New industries could not easily displace traditional ones. Even at the end of the century, less than 20 per cent of the workforce was in technologically advanced sectors, and much textile output came from domestic units, not factories.
  • Ordinary, small innovations drove growth in many non-mechanised sectors (food processing, pottery, glass, furniture).

The Slow Spread of New Technology

Technological change occurred slowly. New technology was expensive; machines often broke down and repairs were costly, and they were not as effective as their makers claimed, so industrialists were cautious.

Consider the steam engine: James Watt improved the engine made by Newcomen and patented it in 1781, and his friend Mathew Boulton manufactured it — but for years there were no buyers. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were no more than 321 steam engines in all of England. So even the most powerful new technology spread slowly, and historians now recognise that the typical worker of the mid-nineteenth century was not a machine operator but a traditional craftsperson and labourer.

Questions and Answers

Q1. What was the role of Richard Arkwright in the coming of the factory? Ans. Richard Arkwright created the cotton mill. Earlier, cloth production was scattered across village households; Arkwright's mill brought all the processes together under one roof and management, allowing careful supervision, quality control and the regulation of labour.

Q2. Which were the most dynamic industries of the first phase of industrialisation? Ans. Cotton and metals. Cotton was the leading sector up to the 1840s; after that, with the expansion of railways, the iron and steel industry led the way.

Questions and Answers (continued)

Q3. Give evidence that the pace of industrial change was slow. Ans. New industries could not displace traditional ones — even at the end of the century less than 20 per cent of the workforce was in advanced industrial sectors; technology spread slowly (only 321 steam engines in England by the early 1800s); and the typical worker was still a craftsperson, not a machine operator.

Q4. Why were industrialists cautious about using new technology? Ans. Because new technology was expensive, the machines often broke down and were costly to repair, and they were not as effective as their inventors claimed — as shown by the slow sale of James Watt's steam engine.