Monday 3 December 2018

The Introduction of the Spinning Jenny



The Spinning Jenny: A Woolen Revolution

The Industrial Revolution (1760-1850) began in England and spread throughout Europe and the Americas over the course of the next several decades. The Industrial Revolution did not reach America until the 1820s and began with the textile industries in the northeast. Expanding technology and the invention of new machines forever changed the way manufacturing and industry took place. The textile industry was greatly impacted by a number of new inventions such as the flying shuttle, the spinning frame and the cotton gin. But it was the invention of the Spinning Jenny by James Hargreaves that is credited with moving the textile industry from homes to factories. The move from a domestic cottage based industry to factories allowed the expansion of the Industrial Revolution from England throughout much of the world.
James Hargreaves was a weaver in Blackburn, Lancaster. Although this area was known as a major textile center, prior to the Industrial Revolution the production of cloth from raw goods took place within cottage industries. All work was done by individuals within the home and entire families were involved. Men were often the weavers while children assisted in cleaning raw materials and women spun the materials into threads or yarns. The process was time consuming and merchants wanting to meet the demand for textile goods were often frustrated by the huge gap between supply and demand. The expense involved in transporting raw materials to numerous locations, waiting for finished textiles to be made by hand and then the finished goods to be picked up and transported back to the merchant was also an incentive to search for alternatives. While the invention of the flying shuttle and later the power loom made it possible to weave materials faster, spinning of raw materials into threads and yarns was still done by hand one thread at a time. Spinners were unable to keep up with the increased demand for threads.
James Hargreaves may have designed the spinning jenny as an improvement over an earlier machine invented by Thomas High in 1763 or 1764. While never patented, High's machine used six spinning wheels that were bolted together and powered by a single large wheel. James Hargreaves' spinning jenny was said to have been designed after he saw his wife's spinning wheel knocked over and saw the spindle continue to spin. The spinning jenny used eight different spindles that were powered by a single wheel. This allowed one spinster to produce eight threads in the same amount of time it previously took to produce one.
Later versions of the spinning jenny added even more lines which made the machine too large for home use. This led the way to factories where these larger machines could be run by fewer workers. With machines and workers concentrated in one place, the transportation costs of raw materials and finished goods were greatly reduced. Factory owners also had greater control over workers and began a division of labor that had individuals responsible for different stages of the manufacturing process. This led to increased production and often a demand for workers to keep up with quotas set by the factory owners. The invention of the spinning jenny and other inventions that improved the efficiency and production of textiles was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution that shifted England, Europe, and the United States from an agrarian society to an Industrial economy.
As with all change, there were advantages and disadvantages to the use of the spinning jenny and other inventions at the time. The spinning jenny allowed more threads and yarns to be produced by fewer spinners. The early spinning jenny also produced a weaker thread than could be produced by hand so there was a decrease in quality until improvements were made to the machines and a dependable power source became available. With the use of water to power later versions of spinning and weaving machinery, quality and strength of the cloth produced was greatly improved. While many factors in England including the availability of workers along with the increased demand for textiles produced ideal conditions for the economic growth of the textile industry, without the invention of the spinning jenny, progress would have continued at a much slower pace.
A traditional story maintains that the Spinning Jenny was named after one of Hargreaves' daughters or his wife. Yet he had no daughter named Jenny and his wife was named Elizabeth. The word jenny is an old world word used as a reference to an engine. There is some indication that James Hargreaves worked with Thomas High to improve on an earlier invention of a mechanical spinning wheel and improved the design which was then named a spinning Jenny after Thomas High's daughter. Regardless of how the invention came to be named, it changed forever the way textile manufacturing was accomplished and led the way to the Industrial Revolution.
Check out the following resources for more information concerning the Spinning Jenny and the impact it had on the Industrial Revolution.

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The Luddite Revolution




Ever been called a “Luddite?” It’s an insult nowadays, but in the 19th Century they were considered heroes by most of the population. The Luddite Rebellion began in 1811, in Nottingham and gradually spread to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. They opposed the new machinery which had led to the growth of factory production methods. The cause attracted thousands of followers under the banner of “Luddites” though Ned Ludd, was in fact a mythical invention based on the character of Robin Hood.
The growth of factories  using the new textile and power generation technology took away the need for skilled artisans who worked largely at home. They were rapidly replaced by unskilled workers employed in factories. These textile workers, faced with increasing unemployment, falling wages and hunger, attacked the factories and smashed machines in the vain hope that they could change what was happening, or as history has interpreted it, halt “progress.”
In questioning why the Luddites opposed progress it’s important to consider how that “progress” was affecting people’s lives. The new machines did not require skilled operators. They were easy enough for a child to operate. In fact children from the age of five upwards made up between two thirds and three quarters of the workers in the average textile factory. This naturally increased adult unemployment and depressed wages. The children worked the same 13 hour day (from 6am to 7pm) as the adults, but they were considerably cheaper to employ. While adults might be paid 7 shillings per week, a child under 11 was more likely to be paid 1 shilling, if they were paid at all.
With levels of unemployment as they were, many families were dependent on the money their children earned. But factory work was hard, the hours long, the machinery dangerous and the air thick with tiny fibres and pollutants that got into the lungs. Many parents would not allow their children to work in factories even if it meant “going without.”
Faced with the difficulties of recruiting sufficient cheap child labour the factory owners commonly resorted to buying children from orphanages and workhouses. In some cases they were even paid to take the children who were known as pauper apprentices. The children were made to sign contracts that made them virtually the property of the factory owner. Pauper apprentices were also cheaper to house than adult workers. While it might cost, a £100 to build a cottage for a family, an apprentice house for 100 children could be built for £300.
As the Luddite Rebellion grew, the attacks on factories and the destruction of machinery increased and grew in ferocity. Thousands of machines were destroyed. The Government responded with the “Frame Breaking Act” in February 1812, making the breaking of machines a capital offence which carryied the death penalty. They also deployed twelve thousand troops to the areas where the Luddites were active, to protect the factories and to apprehend offenders.
To add to the problems of the textile workers, in 1811 the wheat harvests failed, driving up the price of bread, the staple diet of the poor. Unable to feed their families, there were food riots in Manchester, Oldham, Ashton, Rochdale, Stockport and Macclesfield in 1812. These people did not have the vote, but they nevertheless petitioned the Government for help. This was the response of the Parliamentary Committee which considered their petition:-
“While the Committee fully acknowledge and most deeply lament the great distress of numbers of persons engaged in the cotton manufacture, they are of opinion that no interference of the legislature with the freedom of trade, or with the perfect liberty of every individual to dispose of his time and of his labour in the way and on the terms which he may judge most conducive to his own interest, can take place without violating general principles of the first importance to the prosperity and happiness of the community, without establishing the most pernicious precedent, or without aggravating, after a very short time, the pressure of the general distress, and imposing obstacles against that distress ever being removed.”
In other words the Government refused to intervene, preferring to do nothing, adopting a “laissez-faire” approach, or in modern parlance opting to – “Let the Market decide.”
The Luddite Rebellion as an organised movement was largely over by 1813, but in 1816 (again following a bad harvest and increase in bread prices) the Luddites attacked Heathcote and Boden’s mill in Loughborough. They smashed 53 weaving frames which had cost £6,000. Troops eventually quelled the riot and arrested some of the rioters. For their crimes, six men were executed and another three were transported.
Some historians believe that the Luddite Rebellion was the closest Britain had come to a full scale revolution since the Civil War in 1642, yet it achieved very little, if anything,  in terms of change. It was not until 1833 that the government passed the “Factory Act” prohibiting children under 9 from working. The use of child labour became commonplace in the factories of the Industrial Revolution.  It took until 1888 for Parliament to pass the “Factory and Workshops Act” preventing children under 10 from working.
The Luddites  are now predominantly remembered as “technophobes” and opponents of progress. The word “Luddite” is commonly used as a term of abuse. But before judging the Luddites it’s worthremembering that thousands of men and women were willing to risk their lives for the Luddite cause and that the “progress” they opposed, adversely affected their lives and the lives of their children, and their children’s children. Surely it is the way that technological advancement is implemented that determines whether or not it represents progress?
Perhaps what being a Luddite was really about is best summed up by the journalist, William Cobbett, who wrote at the time:-  
“Society ought not to exist, if not for the benefit of the whole. It is and must be against the law of nature, if it exists for the benefit of the few and for the misery of the many. I say, then, distinctly, that a society, in which the common labourer . . . cannot secure a sufficiency of food and raiment, is a society which ought not to exist; a society contrary to the law of nature; a society whose compact is dissolved.”
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Wednesday 28 November 2018

Primary Sources

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Complete texts

The Greville Memoirs

Volume I

Queen Charlotte -- Duchesses of Cumberland and Cambridge -- Westminster Election -- Contest between Sir Francis Burdett and Sir Murray Maxwell -- London Election -- Oatlands -- The Duke of York -- Duchess of York -- Ampthill -- Tixall -- Mr. Luttrell -- Lady Granville -- Teddesley -- Macao -- Burleigh -- Middleton -- Lady Jersey -- The New Parliament -- Tierney and Pitt -- Princess Lieven -- Madame de Stael on the French Revolution -- Westminster Election --Hobhouse Defeated -- Scarlett's Maiden Speech -- Influence of Party -- Play -- The Persian Ambassador at Court -- Prince Leopold -- Woburn -- Anecdote of the Allies -- Death of George III. -- Illness of George IV. -- Queen Caroline -- Fleury de Chabaulon -- The Cato Street Conspiracy -- George IV. at Ascot -- Marchioness of Conyngham -- Queen Caroline in London -- Message to Parliament -- Debates -- Insubordination in the Guards -- Wilberforce's Motion -- Proceedings against the Queen -- 'Les Liaisons dangereuses' -- The Queen's Trial -- The Duke of Wellington on the Battle of Waterloo and the Occupation of Paris.
CHAPTER II.
Popularity of George IV. -- The Duke of York's Racing Establishment -- Clerk of the Council -- Lord Liverpool and Mr. Sumner -- Lady Conyngham -- Death of Lady Worcester -- Her Character -- Ball at Devonshire House -- The Duke of York's Aversion to the Duke of Wellington -- The Pavilion at Brighton -- Lord Francis Conyngham -- The King and the Duke of Wellington -- Death of the Marquis of Londonderry -- His Policy -- Sir B. Bloomfield sent to Stockholm -- Mr. Canning's Foreign Secretary -- Queen Caroline and Brougham -- Canning and George IV. -- Lord William Bentinck aspires to go to India -- His Disappointment -- The Duke of York's Duel with Colonel Lennox -- George III.'s Will -- George IV. appropriates the late King's Personal Property -- The Duke of Wellington on the Congress of Verona and on the Politics of Europe -- Intervention in Spain -- Ferdinand VII. -- M. de Villele -- The Duke's Opinion of Napoleon -- Sir William Knighton -- The Duke of York's Anecdotes of George IV. -- Death of the Marquis of Titchfield -- His Character
CHAPTER III.
The Panic of 1825 -- Death of the Emperor Alexander -- The Duke of Wellington's Embassy to St. Petersburg -- Robinson Chancellor of the Exchequer -- Small Notes Bill -- Death of Arthur de Ros -- George III. and Lord Bute -- Illness and Death of the Duke of York -- His Funeral -- Lord Liverpool struck with Paralysis -- Rundell's Fortune and Will -- Copley and Phillpotts -- The Cottage -- Formation of Mr. Canning's Administration -- Secession of the Tories -- The Whigs join him -- Dinner at the Royal Lodge -- Difficulties of Canning's Government -- Duke of Wellington visits the King -- Canning's Death -- Anecdotes of Mr. Canning -- Recognition of South American States -- His Industry -- The Duke of Wellington on Canning -- Lord Goderich's Administration formed -- The Difficulty about Herries -- Position of the Whigs -- The King's Letter to Herries -- Peel and George IV. -- Interview of Lord Lansdowne with the King -- Weakness of the Government -- First Resignation of Lord Goderich -- Lord Harrowby declines the Premiership -- Lord Goderich returns -- Brougham and Rogers -- Conversation and Character of Brougham -- Lord Goderich's Ministry dissolved -- Cause of its Dissolution -- Hostility of Herries -- Position of Huskisson and his Friends -- Herries and Huskisson both join the New Cabinet
CHAPTER IV.
The Duke of Wellington's Administration -- Huskisson's Speech -- Irritation of Mr. Canning's Friends -- Tom Duncombe's Maiden Speech -- Mr. Huskisson resigns and the Canningites quit the Government -- Princess Lieven hostile to the Duke -- The Catholic Question -- Jockey Club Dinner at St. James's -- Lord Lyndhurst -- Sir Robert Adair -- Fox and Burke -- Fox and Pitt -- The Lord High Admiral dismissed by the King -- Dawson's Speech on Catholic Emancipation -- The King's Health -- His Pages -- State of Ireland -- Marquis of Anglesey -- O'Connell -- His Influence in Ireland -- Lord Belmore Governor of Jamaica -- The Duke's Letter to Dr. Curtis -- Recall of Lord Anglesey from Ireland -- Causes of this Event -- Excitement of the King on the Catholic Question -- His Aversion to Sir William Knighton -- Character of George IV. -- Denman's Silk Gown -- Pension to Lady Westmeath -- Duke of Wellington on Russia -- The Reis-Effendi -- Duke of Northumberland goes to Ireland -- Privy Council Register -- State Paper Office -- The Gunpowder Plot -- Catholic Emancipation -- Navarino
CHAPTER V.
The Catholic Relief Bill -- Inconsistency of the Tories -- The Catholic Association -- Dinner at Charles Grant's -- The Terceira Expedition -- Tory Discontent -- Peel resigns his Seat for Oxford University -- A Blunder in Chancery -- The Oxford Election -- Influence of the Duke of Wellington -- Debate of Royal Dukes -- Peel beaten -- Sir Edward Codrington -- Violence of the King -- Intrigues to defeat the Catholic Bill -- The Duke of Cumberland -- Furious State of Parties -- Matuscewitz -- Peel's Speech on Catholic Emancipation -- Exclusion of O'Connell from his Seat for Clare -- Pitt's View of Catholic Emancipation -- 'Musae Cateatonenses' -- 'Thorough' -- Mr. Lowther not turned out -- Duke of Newcastle's Audience of George IV. -- The King's Personal Habits -- The Debate -- Mr. Sadler -- Hardness of the Duke of Wellington -- His Duel with Lord Winchelsea -- The Bishops and the Bill -- Sir Charles Wetherell -- The King on the Duel -- Lord Winchelsea's Pocket-handkerchief -- Debate on the Catholic Bill -- The Duke of Richmond -- Effects of Dawson's Speech on the King -- The Bill in Jeopardy -- Lady Jersey and Lord Anglesey -- Lord Falmouth and Lord Grey -- O'Connell at Dinner -- The Duke breaks with Lord Eldon -- Hibner the Murderess -- Theatrical Fund -- The Levee -- The Duke's Carriage stopped -- The King's Health -- Lady Conyngham -- O'Connell's Seat -- Child's Ball at Court -- Princess Victoria -- Legal Appointments -- Lord Palmerston on Foreign Affairs -- The King and Lord Sefton -- The King's Speech on the Prorogation -- Madame Du Cayla -- George IV.'s Inaccuracy -- Conversation of the Duke of Wellington on the King and the Duke of Cumberland
CHAPTER VI.
The Recorder's Report -- Manners of George IV -- Intrigues of the Duke of Cumberland -- Insults Lady Lyndhurst -- Deacon Hume at the Board of Trade -- Quarrel between the Duke of Cumberland and the Lord Chancellor -- A Bad Season -- Prostration of Turkey -- France under Polignac -- State of Ireland -- Mr. Windham's Diary -- George IV.'s Eyesight -- Junius -- A Man without Money -- Court-martial on Captain Dickenson -- The Duke and the 'Morning Journal' -- Physical Courage of the King -- A Charade at Chatsworth -- Huskisson and the Duke -- Irish Trials -- Tom Moore -- Scott -- Byron -- Fanny Kemble -- Sir James Mackintosh -- His Conversation -- Black Irishmen -- Moore's Irish Story -- Moore's Singing -- George IV. and Mr. Denman -- Strawberry Hill -- Moore at Trinity College -- Indian Vengeance at Niagara -- Count Woronzow -- Lord Glengall's Play -- The Recorder's Report
CHAPTER VII.
Chapter of the Bath -- The Duc de Dino arrested -- A Ball to the Divan -- English Policy in Greece -- Sir Thomas Lawrence -- Gallatin -- Court of King's Bench -- Accident to the Grand Duke Constantine -- Osterley -- Young Sidney Herbert -- Duke of Wellington in Office -- Stapleton's 'Life of Canning' -- Death of Sir Thomas Lawrence -- Leopold and the Throne of Greece -- Canning's Answers to Lord Grey -- Distressed State of the Country -- Canning's Greatness and his Failings -- Death of Tierney -- Sir Martin Shee President -- The Duke of Wellington's Views and Conduct -- The coming Session -- Moore's 'Life of Byron' -- Character of Byron -- Opening of Parliament -- The Fire King -- The Duke of Wellington's Speaking -- The English Opera House burnt down -- Lord Thurlow on Kenyon and Buller -- Old Rothschild -- Lansdowne House -- Earl Stanhope -- John Murray -- Departure for Italy
CHAPTER VIII.
Calais -- Beau Brummell -- Paris -- The Polignac Ministry -- Polignac and Charles X. -- The Duke of Orleans -- State of Parties -- Talleyrand -- Lyons -- First Impressions of Mountain Scenery -- Mont Cenis -- Turin -- Marengo -- Genoa -- Road to Florence -- Pisa -- Florence -- Lord and Lady Burghersh -- Thorwaldsen -- Lord Cochrane -- Rome -- St. Peter's -- Frascati -- Grotto Ferrata -- Queen Hortense and Louis Napoleon -- Coliseum -- Death of Lady Northampton -- The Moses -- Gardens -- Palm Sunday -- Sistine Chapel -- The Cardinals -- Popes -- Cardinal Albani -- The Farnese Palace -- A Dead Cardinal -- Pasquin -- Statue of Pompey -- Galleries and Catacombs -- Bunsen -- The Papal Benediction -- Ceremonies of the Holy Week -- The Grand Penitentiary -- A Confession -- Protestant Cemetery -- Illumination of St. Peter's -- Torlonia -- Bunsen on the Forum
CHAPTER IX.
Lake of Albano -- Velletri -- Naples -- Rapid Travelling in 1830 -- A Trial at Naples -- Deciphering Manuscripts -- Ball at the Duchesse d'Eboli's -- Matteis's Plot and Trial -- Pompeii -- Taking the Veil -- Pausilippo -- Baiae -- La Cava -- Salerno -- Paestum -- Lazaroni -- Museum of Naples -- Grotto del Cane -- The Camaldoli -- Herculaneum -- Vesuvius -- Sorrento -- Miracle of St. Januarius -- Astroni -- Farewell to Naples
CHAPTER X.
Moladi Gaeta -- Capua -- Lines on leaving Naples -- Return to Rome -- The Aqueducts -- 'Domine, quo vadis?' -- St. Peter's -- The Scala Santa -- Reasons in Favour of San Gennaro -- Ascent of St. Peter's -- Library of the Vatican -- A racing _ex voto_ -- Illness of George IV. -- Approaching _Coup d'Etat_ in France -- The Villa Mills -- The Malaria -- Duc and Duchesse de Dalberg -- The Emperor Nicholas on his Accession -- Cardinal Albani -- A _Columbarium_ -- Maii -- Sir William Gell -- Tivoli -- Hadrian's Villa -- The Adventures of Miss Kelly and Mr. Swift -- Audience of the Pope -- Gibson's Studio -- End of Miss Kelly's Marriage -- A Great Function -- The Jesuits -- Saint-making -- San Lorenzo in Lucina -- The Flagellants -- Statues by Torchlight -- Bunsen on the State of Rome -- Frascati -- Relations of Protestant States with Rome -- The French Ministry -- M. de Villele -- The Coliseum -- Excommunication of a Thief -- The Passionists -- The Corpus Domini -- A Rash Marriage -- Farewell to Rome -- Falls of Terni -- Statue at Pratolino -- Bologna -- Mezzofanti -- Ferrara -- Venice -- Padua -- Vicenza -- Brescia -- Verona -- Milan -- Lago Maggiore -- The Simplon -- Geneva -- Paris Page
NOTE.
Mr. Greville's Connexion with the Turf.

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