Lancashire Cotton Industry

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This title was first published in 2003. The cotton industry was one of the major motors that powered Britain's industrial development from the mid-eighteenth century, contributing in no small way to the revolution that was to transform Europe over the next hundred years. The combination of technological developments, colonial exploits and social transformation that all came together in the Lancashire cotton industry provided a perfect example of how the new world would function, its priorities and its ambitions. Into this fast moving and fluid situation, were thrust the men, women and children who formed the vast pool of labour necessary to keep the spindles and looms running. It is their experiences above all, that illuminates the history of the cotton industry, and how it came to change the face of Britain through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this study, Alan Fowler takes an in-depth look at the Lancashire cotton industry through the prism of its workers, their families and organisations. He argues that by 1850 the triumph of the factory system was complete, and the factory operative a mainstay of a transformed society based on a new economic order. With this increasingly important role in the new economy came opportunities, which cotton workers were not slow to grasp. Crucial to the history of the Lancashire cotton operatives were the collective organisations they established which forced employers and government to treat with them. By the beginning of the twentieth century these organisations had managed to raise wages, improve working conditions, reduce working hours, establish the right to holidays, and force the introduction of factory legislation. This book explores how these victories were won and the impact they had on the industry and wider society.

Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Lancaster, 1986.

Lancashire was once the Cotton Capital of the world. Raw cotton came in to Liverpool docks and was sold on the Exchange. In the beginning, it was then transported to cottages all over the county where whole families, including the children, would clean, card, spin and weave it. The finished cloth was then sold on the Manchester Exchange. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution new machines saw the work transferred from home to factory. It was said that Lancashire could produce enough cotton before breakfast to supply the UK market, with the remainder of the day's supply going overseas. Read the first hand accounts from local people, and look at the remarkable collection of contemporary photographs.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.