In the late 18th and early to mid 19th centuries, with the introduction of the steam engine, manufacturing in Brittan had undergone a world changing transformation which increased productivity and allowed for economic growth while creating horrid working conditions for its people. In addition to the technological advances, British factories faced a cultural change among the workforce testing social norms of the time. The centralization and mechanized advances in manufacturing lead to dramatic change in the social and economic aspects of British life. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the production of textiles took place in cottages across the city often by women and children with little to no supervision. The cottage operation affords the family-worker a long, healthy life due to small overhead costs and manageable workload. Social graces at the time, necessitated the male supervisor be married, meeting proper decorum among men and women of the small cottage operation. While production costs in the …show more content…
The move to machines allowed for large volumes of product at a high-quality; requirements that multiple skilled artisans could not meet at a higher cost. Industrialists at the time justified the treatment of their workers arguing the long working hours allowed the factory to meet the demands for their products, often requiring children to work from 5 A.M. until 7 P.M. with only two thirty minute breaks. From the Industrialist point of view, the physical exertion level has dropped dramatically due to the steam engine so it is only natural that the wages reflect the effort put into the work. When describing why their workers were decrepit, they pointed the blame not at the factory life, but their home life due to poor diet and living