Textile Industry

The textile industry experienced significant growth during the Industrial Revolution, becoming one of the most critical sectors in the industrialization process. As the demand for cloth increased, merchants had to compete with others for the supplies needed to make it. This competition drove up costs for consumers. The solution to this problem was mechanization, which allowed for cheaper production compared to the lengthy and labor-intensive process of making cloth by hand.

In 1813, Francis Cabot Lowell set up the first American textile factory, revolutionizing the industry by combining the tasks needed to transform raw cotton into finished cloth. One of the new spinning machines that produced cloth faster was the “spinning jenny,” invented by Englishman James Hargreaves. This machine connected multiple spinning wheels, allowing up to eight threads to be processed at once. While the spinning jenny greatly increased production efficiency, it also led to job losses, resulting in worker riots due to its displacement of labor.

In 1789, Samuel Slater memorized the secrets of textile manufacturing and brought them to America, setting up the first water-powered cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. This marked the beginning of a new era in American textile production, contributing to the rapid growth of the industry in the United States.

With the growth of the factory system, England experienced a massive increase in textile production. Previously, production had taken place in cottages, but by the late 1700s, new factories were built in northern England that employed thousands of workers. Small factory towns grew into cities almost overnight, driven by the burgeoning textile industry.

England's new factory cities, such as Manchester, became dominated by the economic activity surrounding the textile mills. However, the rapid growth of these cities led to poor planning and severe pollution. They lacked sewers, paved streets, and safe water supplies. Workers lived in poorly constructed shacks near the factories, leading to overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions. Manchester's population, for instance, grew from 25,000 in 1700 to 450,000 in 1850, becoming the leading producer of textile products.

The cities' populations were clearly divided into two social statuses: the mill owners and the workers. The mill owners were hard-working, aggressive individuals who turned small investments into fortunes. They were often ruthless in their pursuit of profits and cared little about their workers, who lived in poverty. The mill owners became the wealthiest and most powerful people in the new industrial cities. The workers, on the other hand, made up the majority of the population and owned almost nothing. They lived in the worst sections of the city and constantly struggled to make enough money to survive. They often worked fourteen to sixteen hours a day in the textile mills for very low wages. Conditions in the mills were unhealthy: the air was filled with cotton dust, and the temperature was extremely hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Accidents often occurred when exhausted workers fell asleep at their machines.

International trade played a crucial role in the success of the textile factories. The production of clothing and other cotton items increased dramatically with the use of new machines. The English people, especially those near Manchester, bought much of the clothing produced, but the surplus needed to be exported. Consequently, manufacturers sought new markets for their cotton goods. England's trade with other nations increased substantially, with a large portion of its textile production going to China, India, Africa, and other parts of the world that had not yet industrialized.

England also needed to secure sources of cotton, as its cold climate was unsuitable for growing the crop. Initially, most of the cotton came from the West Indian Islands, a colony of England. After 1800, more cotton was sourced from the slave plantations of the southern United States. By 1840, England obtained three-fourths of its cotton from the United States.

Industrial cities began to emerge in other European countries soon after they appeared in England. France, Belgium, and Germany developed cities with characteristics similar to those of Manchester, although none reached the same level of production or degree of poverty for which Manchester was notorious. These developments marked the spread of the Industrial Revolution across Europe, transforming economies and societies on a continental scale.