Factory system & Industrial Revolution

Factory system

The factory system was a method of manufacturing first adopted in England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s and later spread throughout the world. Industrialisation led to the creation of the factories. Arguably the first was John Lombe's water-powered silk mill at Derby, operational by 1721. However, the rise of the factory came somewhat later when cotton spinning was mechanised. The factory system was largely responsible for the rise of the modern city, as large numbers of workers migrated into the cities in search of employment in the factories. Much manufacturing in the 18th century was carried out in homes, especially the

 weaving of cloth and spinning of thread and yarn, often with just a single loom or spinning wheel. As these devices were mechanised, they replaced the cottagers, who were forced to work in a central factory. Other products such as nails had long been produced in factory workshops, increasingly diversified using the division of labour to increase the efficiency of the system.

1-The factory system developed in the late eighteenth century, chiefly due to the advances being made in the textile industry.

2-With inventions such as the flying shuttle, the spinning jenny, and many others, the making of cloth became much faster, and could be done on a much wider scale.As a result, hand weavers were driven out of business by big new factories, which they were later forced to work in.

3-These factories were first run by water, then by steam, and their output greatly improved the nation's economy.

4-Instead of one worker completing an item, such as a length of material, a variety of machines made the fabric. Also, instead of one worker following the same piece of material from raw wool to dyed cloth, each worker concentrated on only one task. This "assembly-line" approach was very efficient, however the tasks became extremely monotonous and repetitive.

5-Working conditions were also very poor in the factories. Factory labourers—mainly young children— had to put in extremely long hours, were very poorly paid, and worked in dangerous and violent surroundings. During the first part of the Industrial Revolution there were no laws to protect workers, and even when a few were passed they were rarely followed.

In short ,the factory system reduced the free worker to virtual slavery; it lowered his standard of living to the level of bare subsistence; in cramming women and children into the mills, it destroyed family life and sapped the very foundations of society, morality, and public health. A small minority of ruthless exploiters had cleverly succeeded in imposing their yoke upon the immense majority.