What was the Industrial Revolution?
THE Industrial Revolution it was considered by historians as a period of great technological advance, which took place in the second half of the 18th century and which allowed the development of modern industry. This development caused severe changes in the production process (machinofacture replaced manufacturing) and in work relationships, changed with the proletarianization of the worker.
The Industrial Revolution process took place in a pioneering way in England. From its first phase, the use of the steam engine, initially built by Thomas Newcomen in 1698 and improved by James Watt in 1765. Watt was able to reduce the machine's energy waste, and this improved the performance of the machinery.
In addition, during this period, there was the development of machines aimed at the textile industries. The big highlight was the water frame, created by Richard Arkwright, a machine that wove cotton threads using the motive force of water. This creation by Arkwright allowed fabrics to be produced at a much faster speed compared to manufacturing.
Finally, the development of the steam engine made possible the growth of railways, which were built at enormous speed by England, from the 1830s and 1840s onwards. In addition to shortening distances, railroads also allowed goods to be transported in greater quantity and at greater speed.
The Industrial Revolution also generated profound changes in the production of goods with the replacement of the manufacturing mode of production by the machinery. Before industrialization, garment production, for example, was carried out in artisan workshops known as manufactories. These workshops grouped specialized workers who knew the entire production process and who performed it manually.
This process, however, was slow as it was subject to the limitations of human labor and also demanded better remuneration, since the worker should be specialized in this activity. With the development of the machines, the bulk of the production started to be carried out by them, that is, it was not made the more necessary the skilled worker, as the machine could be operated by a lesser workforce. qualified.
This generated an increase in production, as the machines produced much more, and the great availability of labor - since anyone could do this work – it resulted in the devaluation of the worker (the practical result of this was the decrease salary). Historian Hobsbawm exemplifies this by stating that the average wage of a weaver in the city of Bolton in 1795 was 33 shillings and between 1829 and 1834 this salary was reduced to approximately 5 and 6 shillings|1|.
In addition, this worker was forced to accept a strenuous workday that, in many cases, extended to 16 hours a day, with a 30-minute lunch break. There was no type of safety at work and therefore accidents were common. Workers who had accidents did not receive payment from their employers during the time they were away.
This precariousness - or proletarianization - contributed to the strengthening of workers' organizations, known in English as tradeunion. The precariousness of work made workers, throughout the nineteenth century, demand better working conditions, such as reduced hours and better wages.
The two great labor movements that existed in England during the 19th century were the luddist it's the chartist. You luddists they acted in the period 1811-1816, and their action consisted of invading factories to destroy industrial machinery. The workers of this movement claimed that the machines were stealing men's jobs and, therefore, should be destroyed. As its members were intensely persecuted by the British authorities, the Luddites' movement ended up weakening.
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In addition to better conditions for workers, the chart movement, which emerged in the 1830s, demanded political rights, hitherto denied to the proletarian. Chartists claimed, for example, the right to universal male suffrage, that is, that all men over a certain age had the right to vote. They also demanded representation for their class in the English parliament.
Pressure from labor movements, especially after the strike, allowed workers to have access to improvements, such as limiting the workload to 10 hours a day. Eric Hobsbawm points out, however, that the strengthening of labor movements was not just a natural reaction of workers against exploration, as these movements had existed in England since before the Industrial Revolution and gained momentum with the inspiration given by the mobilization popular of French Revolution|2|.
Why was England a pioneer in industrial development?
The Industrial Revolution, that is, the boom of technological development and the rise of modern industry, was pioneered in England, and then spread to other parts of the country. world, partly because of chance (wealth in coal) and the political events that created their ideal conditions (establishment of the bourgeoisie English).
The first factor raised by historians to explain England's pioneering industrialization was the establishment of the bourgeoisie, which took place in that country at the end of the 17th century. In 1688, the glorious revolution which marked the definitive end of monarchical absolutism in England. With this, the king's powers were limited, and the parliament – composed largely of bourgeois – was strengthened, which made it possible for measures in favor of this bourgeoisie to be taken.
The second factor was the enclosures which became very common in England from the 16th century onwards. They resulted in the expulsion of peasants from the commons – places where they lived from subsistence production – to turn them into pasture for raising sheep. This expulsion of workers created a large availability of cheap labor for the industries of the bourgeois.
Furthermore, technological development was only possible thanks to the existence of an intense exchange of ideas that existed in England. This strong intellectualism created the climate for innovations – the great consequence of which was the invention of machines. Historians also point out that the existence of accumulated capital allowed the bourgeois to invest in the development of these machines and in the construction of industries.
Finally, industrial development was also due to the existence of coal in large quantities in England. Coal reserves were extremely important, since the great invention of the time – the steam engine – operated using this raw material as fuel.
|1| HOBSBAWM, Eric J. The Age of Revolutions 1789-1848. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 2014, p. 79.
|2| Idem, p. 326-327.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History