“If you go back to 1800, everybody was poor. I mean everybody. The Industrial Revolution kicked in, and a lot of countries benefited, but by no means everyone.” Bill Gates once stated about the effects of the Industrial Revolution. (BrainyQuote)
During the middle of 1700s, after important political and social revolutions in United States, France and Latin America, a new revolution in England transformed the way people lived and worked.
This period, often referred to as the industrial revolution, started a chain of effects like the moving of farmers to cities that fueled the urbanization of the cities. With the urbanization came construction of new factories, development of transportation but also a decrease of standards of living for the many …show more content…
One of the main negative effects was that the working class’ living and working conditions were extremely severe and poor. England’s rapid development left no time for them to make any development plans, sanitary codes or building codes. They lacked adequate housing, education and police protection. People lived in small houses, in unhygienic conditions. Often whole families shared one room. Most of the unpaved streets had no drains, and garbage collected in heaps on them. Sickness was wide-spread, there were many epidemics of deadly diseases. (Beck, Roger, et al. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. USA: Holt McDougal, 2012.) Not only the living conditions were bad at the time but also the working conditions. In order to increase production and profitability factory-owners wanted machines to be running as long as possible and workers to work the utmost. Factory work was not like on the farm, it did not change with the seasons as it did there, but it always stayed the same. The critical amount of working hours per day, often 14 hours six days a week (Beck, Roger, et al. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. USA: Holt McDougal, 2012. ), was not the worst part of the working conditions. Factories were seldom clean, machines often hurt employees and it was not rare to have deadly incidents in factories (for example, a boiler might explode or a drive belt might catch an arm).
The most dangerous working conditions were in coalmines. Children and women were often employed in this period because they were the cheapest source of labor, they often worked in terrible conditions for many hour. In an interview in 1832 Hannah Brown stated "I began work at the mill in Bradford when I was nine years old… we began at six in the morning and worked until nine at night. When business was brisk, we began at five and worked until ten in the evening."
During the middle of 1700s, after important political and social revolutions in United States, France and Latin America, a new revolution in England transformed the way people lived and worked.
This period, often referred to as the industrial revolution, started a chain of effects like the moving of farmers to cities that fueled the urbanization of the cities. With the urbanization came construction of new factories, development of transportation but also a decrease of standards of living for the many …show more content…
One of the main negative effects was that the working class’ living and working conditions were extremely severe and poor. England’s rapid development left no time for them to make any development plans, sanitary codes or building codes. They lacked adequate housing, education and police protection. People lived in small houses, in unhygienic conditions. Often whole families shared one room. Most of the unpaved streets had no drains, and garbage collected in heaps on them. Sickness was wide-spread, there were many epidemics of deadly diseases. (Beck, Roger, et al. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. USA: Holt McDougal, 2012.) Not only the living conditions were bad at the time but also the working conditions. In order to increase production and profitability factory-owners wanted machines to be running as long as possible and workers to work the utmost. Factory work was not like on the farm, it did not change with the seasons as it did there, but it always stayed the same. The critical amount of working hours per day, often 14 hours six days a week (Beck, Roger, et al. Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. USA: Holt McDougal, 2012. ), was not the worst part of the working conditions. Factories were seldom clean, machines often hurt employees and it was not rare to have deadly incidents in factories (for example, a boiler might explode or a drive belt might catch an arm).
The most dangerous working conditions were in coalmines. Children and women were often employed in this period because they were the cheapest source of labor, they often worked in terrible conditions for many hour. In an interview in 1832 Hannah Brown stated "I began work at the mill in Bradford when I was nine years old… we began at six in the morning and worked until nine at night. When business was brisk, we began at five and worked until ten in the evening."