Work Life During The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a time period characterized by sustained economic and technological development. Every time period, however, has it’s imperfections. The work life of all social classes of people deteriorated and benefitted throughout the region. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system. Urbanization skyrocketed as new opportunities emerged from the Industrial Revolution. Small local farms transformed into grand mechanized cities. Commercialization progressed at a rate unlike any other and high demand from …show more content…
The textile industry was also the first to use the new, modernized production methods. Before the Industrial Revolution, work life was very much reliant on the human. The industrial revolution took away some of that weight from humans and placed it on machines. In certain areas after the Industrial Revolution, due to brilliant inventions such as the Water Frame and loom, some people did not even have to work, the machines did all their work for them, replacing humans, Pre-industrial work life was very basic compared to what was to come. Ideas like the three-field crop system were blown out of proportion when compared to the open-field system. The three field system not only provided less food but, produced more work for the farmers. Certain pre-industrial areas had very harsh and strict laws concerning their people’s work duties. In France, for example, nearly all French peasants were not only subject to banalités but, they were required to live by the corvée, which stated that a peasant had to work for a certain number of days each year to fulfill their labor requirement. In Prussia and Austria, despite attempts by the monarchies late in the …show more content…
The worst working conditions for the serfs was in Russia. In Russia, nobles counted their wealth and power by the number of “souls”, or male serfs that they owned rather than the size of their land or their actual economic standings. In effect, these Russian landlords regarded serfs merely as economic commodities. The landlords in Russia could demand a barshchina from their serfs, which was a mandatory six days a week worth of labor. However, this totalitarian landlord rule was not present throughout all of Europe. In the southeastern areas of Europe, where the Ottomans were in control, peasants and serfs were free although, landlords attempted to exert authority in every possible way, it was halted by the monarchies. Almost all people had one set of clothes that they would wear to work daily and