Working Conditions In Urban Areas

Question 1

Who can the factory be credited to?

Answer 1

Richard Arkwright
- set up cotton mill in Cromford 1771
- employed 300 people
- before this Britain was a nation of small cotton industries where work was carried out in the home

Question 2

What were the few benefits of factory labour?

Answer 2

• employer was able to closely supervise his workforce and ensure the efficient use of expensive machinery
• payed better wages than agricultural work

Question 3

What was the purpose of factory work?

Answer 3

• create profit: employers sought out to maximise output and keep costs low

Question 4

What did employees face on a regular basis as a consequence of employers focus on profit?

Answer 4

• tightly packed buildings
• noisy machinery
• long hours
• unsafe conditions

Question 5

Why was there limited legislation regarding working hours before 1833?

Answer 5

Factory Act of 1833
- No children under 9 to be employed
- A break of 1.5 hours was to be provided for meals during the day
- 4 full time inspectors enforced the Act

Question 6

Why were reforms of limited help to factory workers?

Answer 6

• only affected women and children so men continued to work more than 10 hour days throughout the 19th century

Question 7

What were fines used for in factories? And why?

Answer 7

• if workers were late or their actions reduced the speed with which they could do their work.
• fines meant that the employer could compensate himself for loss of productivity

Question 8

Give an example of a fine used in factories.

Answer 8

• fined 2 hours wages for 10 minutes lateness
• caught talking fined 1/5th of their daily wage
• employers only concerned with profit and productivity

Question 9

Why were safety measures not implemented in factories and what did this cause?

Answer 9

• Implementing safety measures would have been too expensive and damaged profits
• High injury rate: tired workers would constantly have to move heavy machinery or fix parts which caused accidents

Question 10

What was introduced in 1815 which slightly increased the safety of mines?

Answer 10

The Davy Lamp

Question 11

What risks did working underground pose? Why were these risks taken more often?

Answer 11

• Flooding, Gas Explosions, Collapsing Shafts
• Risks were taken more often due to a demand for coal because of an introduction of the steam engine in 1769

Question 12

Between 1770 and 1850, what did mine production increase from and to and what did this mean for mine workers?

Answer 12

• 6 million to 55 million tonnes
• workers had to mine deeper, extracting from about 90 meters in the 18th century to 300 meters by 1850

Question 13

What were shifts like for mine workers?

Answer 13

-12 hours a day
- 6 days a week

Question 14

What were mine workers NOT until 1844 and why was this a benefit for employers?

Answer 14

• up until 1844, mine workers were not permanently employed but were ‘bound’ for agreed lengths of time.
• mine owners were not obliged to provide constant work in that period but the miner was required to present himself for work when needed.
• did not guarantee miners a fixed wage