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BRITAIN 1750 to 1900

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGE: EXPANSION, TRADE AND INDUSTRY.

CULTURE OF INDUSTRIAL BRITAIN BRITAIN'S WORLD-WIDE EXPANSION POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

Date List

1761
Bridgewater canal.
1764
James Hargreave's spinning Jenny.
1768
Richard Arkwright's water frame.
1769
James Watt produces an improved steam engine.
1773
The " Boston Tea Party "
1776
The United States of America declare independence.
1779
Crompton's spinning mule. Abraham Darby III's iron bridge across the Severn.
1785
Cartwright patents his power loom. A steam spinning-mill opens in Nottinghamshire.
1789
The outbreak of the French revolution.
1799
Trade unions are banned.
1801
Union of Great Britain with Ireland. Pitt the younger resigns because George III refuses Catholic emancipation.
1802
The "health and morals of apprentices act" bans pauper apprentices from working more than a 12 hour day.
1804
A steam locomotive built by Trevithick pulls iron ore and passengers.
1807
The slave trade is abolished, in a bill championed by William Wilberforce. The government is split by disagreements about Catholic emancipation, and resigns.
1812
First Luddite risings.
1815
Corn law halts grain imports. Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo.
1816
Humphrey Davy's safety lamp.
1819
The Peterloo Massacre of pro-reform demonstrators in Manchester.
1824
The laws banning strikes and trade unions are repealed.
1825
The opening of the Stockton to Darlington railway.
1829
The Robert Peel's Catholic Emancipation Bill becomes law. Stephenson's Rocket wins the contest at Rainhill.
1830
The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester railway.
1832
The great reform act.
1833
A new factory act limits teenagers to work a maximum 12 hours a day, and prohibits the employment of under-nines. Slavery is abolished throughout the British Empire.
1834
The Tolpuddle martyrs are sentenced to 7 years transportation. Poor Law relief is abolished and replaced by workhouses.
1837
William IV dies; Victoria becomes queen.
1839
The first chartist petition is presented. The Anti corn-law league is founded.
1842
The second chartist petition is presented. Mines act stops women and children under the age of 10 from working underground.
1846
The Irish potato famine. The corn laws are repealed, allowing free trade. The Tory party is divided.
1848
The last Chartist petition.
1851
The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace.
1857
The Indian Mutiny. The second Opium War.
1867
The second Reform bill.
1870
Education reform act.
1875
Public health act.
1876
Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India.
1899
Seebohm Rowntree begins his survey on poverty.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture was improved; more was produced. Wasteland came into cultivation, and the medieval system of open fields with small strips was replaced by enclosure. Machinery was improved; Jethro Tull invented the seed drill. Thomas Coke spread the idea of "scientific breeding" of farm animals. Prices were low at first, but increased when Britain went to war with France in 1793. See corn law.
ANTI CORN-LAW LEAGUE
An organisation, founded early in 1839, which campaigned for free trade, Led by Richard Cobden and John Bright. They considered that free, unrestricted trade between nations would guarantee international peace and friendship, not just an increase in trade and cheaper bread.
ARCHITECTURE
John Nash's Royal Pavilion at Brighton, 1817, shows the influence that Britain's overseas trade was having. Outside, it is like an Indian Moghul emperor's palace, with Moslem-style pinnacles and minarets. The interior is Chinese-style. Another Chinese-style building from the same period is the pagoda at Kew gardens. Another late Georgian style was Rococo, an even more sophisticated and ornate development of the earlier Baroque style. Victorian architecture was based on a revival of older styles, but with a distinctive Victorian, romantic element. Gothic architecture, previously used in churches, was applied to houses. Sometimes several styles would be combined in one building. Many Victorians believed that ruins looked particularly romantic, so they would sometimes build a new ruin, just to improve the view, or deliberately damage an old castle to make it look better. Working class housing, for workers in the new factories, usually consisted of cramped back-to-back terraced houses.
ARKWRIGHT
(Sir Richard) Developed the water frame in 1768; opened spinning mill at Cromford.
ART
Much art of the later industrial revolution was a reaction against the materialism and ugliness of industrial society. William Morris produced beautifully handprinted books and carefully crafted tapestries. Blake, Pre-Raphaelites See also literature.
BOSTON TEA PARTY
BRIDGEWATER CANAL
The Duke of Bridgewater's canal was built to take coal from the Duke's mines at Worsley to his factories at Manchester. It was designed by John Gilbert and James Brindley. To avoid lock building, the canal was designed to follow contours. At one point the canal is carried across a river by a bridge (the Barton aqueduct).
BRINDLEY
(James) The chief designer of the Bridgewater Canal. Known for the fact that he tended to solve problems while in bed - not getting up until he had a solution.
BRUNEL
(Isambard Kingdom) 1806 - 1859. An engineer and inventor. He helped with his father's project to bore a tunnel under the river Thames, a very dangerous job. Once, when the tunnel flooded, he rescued a drowning man. He designed and built the Clifton suspension bridge. Great Eastern, 1858
CANAL
Between 1760 and 1790, almost 4000 miles of waterway were created. The name used for canals in the 18th century was "navigations", and the men who built them were called "navigators", or "navvies". Most navigations were built to transportcoal. They had to be level, because the water in them did not flow. Where a change in height was needed, locks were built. The Bridgewater canal and the Manchester Ship canal became the most famous. The Manchester Ship canal was begun in 1763.
CAPITAL
Money used to pay for industrial development. The banking system. Bank charter act 1844.
CARTWRIGHT
(Edmund) Edmund Cartwright developed the first power loom, to prove wrong some people who had told him that it couldn't be done. He patented a machine in 1785.
CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION
When Britain and Ireland were united in 1801, the fact that catholics were not allowed to become MPs meant that the catholic majority in ireland was not represented in parliament. William Pitt the younger resigned because George III would not allow more freedom to the catholics. In 1807 the government was seriously split over this issue, and resigned. The Catholic emancipation act of 1829, introduced by Robert Peel, allowed Catholics to run for any public office except regent, Lord Chancellor or Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It was reluctantly accepted by William IV.
CHARTISM
A political movement, begun in 1838 with the publication of a charter, which aimed at solving worker's grievances by obtaining the vote for them - "universal suffrage", as it was called. The charter, with a petition containing 1,250,000 signatures, was presented to parliament in 1839, where it was rejected by a large majority. A second petition, six miles long and with more than 3 million signatures, was presented to and rejected by parliament in 1842. After each rejection there were riots which were soon put down.
CLASS
CLIVE
(Robert) Robert Clive was one of the creators of British power in India. He had gone there in 1743, at the age of 18, to work for the East India company, but he was not happy until he joined the army, and showed himself to be a brilliant tactician. He won a decisive battle at Plassey in 1757, which gave him control of Bengal. He was made First Baron Clive of Plassey. By 1760 He had pushed the French out of three provinces of North-east India, but on returning to England he faced bribery charges. Eventually he was found innocent, and retired.
COAL
Coal was used to power steam engines used in factories and to pull trains. It was also used to make coke, useful in the smelting of iron. Coal is found in seams under the ground. At first it was dug from near the surface, but later deep mines had to be dug to get at it. Miners worked in hot, dusty and stuffy conditions. They hammered at the seams using picks and crowbars. The work was very dangerous. Steam engines were used to pump water out of mines.
COBDEN
One of the leaders of the anti corn-law league, an organisation which campaigned for free trade.
COLONIES
COLONY
Britain had founded some colonies on the eastern side of North America in the 17th century. Profit from trade with them, especially from the slave trade, helped to finance the industrial revolution. The East Indies and India supplied coffee, tea, spices and silk. African colonies provided a market for British goods. The British controlled the colonies and made sure that they could not create industries that would compete with Britain. In 1776 the American colonies broke away, to form the United States of America. Australia was then developed, largely as a place to send convicts.
CONSERVATIVE PARTY
The Tories became the Conservative Party under the leadership of Robert Peel in 1832. The part split over the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. It was later reorganised by Benjamin Disraeli.
CORN LAW
The corn law, passed in 1815, was intended to protect British agriculture by keeping corn (i.e. grain) prices high, allowing imports only when the domestic price was above 80 shillings a quarter. (A "quarter" is 28 pounds). In 1846 the law was repealed, and the duty on foreign wheat, oats and barley was reduced to just one shilling a quarter.
COTTON
The cotton industry made use of cotton imported from the West Indies and America. It developed mainly in south Lancashire, which was convenient for the port of Liverpool, and for water power from pennine streams. The damp climate also helped, because cotton threads break easily in a dry atmosphere. Cotton manufacture was mechanised much more rapidly and completely than woollen manufacture.
CROMPTON
(Samuel) A spinner and weaver from Bolton, the inventor of the spinningmule. Unlike Arkwright, he was not a businessman, and he died poor despite a parliamentary grant of £5000. Other people made fortunes out of his invention.
DARBY
(Abraham) The first person to smelt iron using coke instead of charcoal. The coke was made by heating coal slowly to remove any impurities. For a long time, he kept his methods a closely guarded secret. He set up works at Coalbrookdale, on the River Severn. The world's first iron bridge was later built nearby by his grandson, Abraham Darby the third.
DISRAELI
(Benjamin) Conservative Prime Minister in 1868, and again from 1874 to 1880, he was Gladstone's great rival. He was also a successful novelist. He promoted reform at home and empire abroad. He introduced the 1867 Reform Bill, but it was heavily amended by the Whigs, who had a majority at the time. In 1868 he became Prime minister for a short time when Lord Derby resigned, but was defeated at the general election. 1875 Public Health Act.
EAST INDIA COMPANY
A trading company, founded in 1600, which became involved in politics. From the 1760's, after Clive's victory over the French, the East India Company controlled most of India, and by 1786 there were demands that India should be governed by Britain. From 1834 the company was simply an agent of the British government in India, and it ceased to exist in 1873. - opium monopoly in 1773. - role in Boston tea party. - Surplus East India Company tea unloaded on the colonies. 2nd opium war 1857.
ECONOMIC CHANGE
EDUCATION REFORM
Before 1870, 50% of children were without education. The 1870 Education Act provided elementary education for girls as well as boys, but it was not compulsory, and not free. In 1876, a new act obliged all children to attend school between the ages of 5 and 10.
EMPIRE
Provided a market for British goods, and a source of raw materials. Gave some Britons a feeling of superiority over subject peoples. Africa; underdeveloped. Cape colony taken from the Dutch 1806. Boer war. Australia - James Cook; convicts India - complex situation. Clive North America - revolt, independence.
ENCLOSURE
The combining together In 1750 much land was still farmed as open fields, divided into small strips, The enclosure of common land particular acts of parliament. 1801 first general enclosure act.
EXPANSION
Expansion came about because of the industrial revolution, and because the empire provided a large and expanding market for British goods. There was a temporary setback immediately after the war with the American colonies, which can be seen in the table below - the figures for 1780 are smaller than those for 1770. However, trade soon recovered, and Napoleon's attempts to blockade Britain (see Napoleonic war ) had little effect. There was also a large growth in the population, particularly in the towns.

INDUSTRIAL YEAR EXPORTS PRODUCTION

        Year                 Exports               Production
1700
100 
100
1770 
256 
199 
1780 
246 
197 
1790
383 
285 
1800
544 
387

FACTORIES
The development of machinery, such as the water frame ( 1768 ), which needed more power than could be provided manually, led to the development of factories. At first these were in hilly areas where fast streams could turn water wheels. Later, when steam power was developed, the important factor was closeness to coal for heating the water to produce steam. See also industrial revolution, factory act, factory reform.
FACTORY ACT
The factory act of 1833 - banned employment of children under 9 in factories. - ordered that the working day should be at most nine hours for 9 to 13 year olds, and twelve hours for those under 18.
FACTORY REFORM
Robert Owen. The factory act of 1833
FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
FLYING SHUTTLE
The flying shuttle was invented by John Kay, a weaver. It made weaving much faster. Weavers could make twice as much cloth as before. This meant that they needed twice as much yarn from the spinners. Machines such as the spinning jenny were invented to make the extra yarn that was needed.
FOREIGN POLICY
American independence War with France Continental congress.
FRANCHISE
The right to vote, especially the right to vote in elections for members of parliament. It was also known as suffrage. See chartism, parliamentary reform, reform act, rotten borough.
FREE TRADE
The corn law of 1815 was opposed by industrialists, who wanted free trade instead. They argued that Britain should buy cheap grain from abroad in exchange for manufactured goods, and that this would bring down the cost of living as well as allowing Britain to build up profitable industries.
FRY
(Elizabeth). 1780 - 1845 Quaker prison reformer.
GEORGE III
King of England from 1760 to 1820. He was also Elector, and later King, of Hanover. During his reign the American colonies were lost, but Britain won an empire in the Seven Year's War, and emerged as a leading power in Europe after the Napoleonic wars. George adopted William Pitt as his Prime Minister, but opposed Pitt's plans for Catholic emancipation. He tried to revive royal power and influence in government. From 1811 onward he was periodically mad, and his son, the future George IV, acted as Regent.
GEORGE IV
King of England from 1820 to 1830. He was the son of George III. From 1811 until the death of his father, he acted as Regent during his father's illness.
GEORGIAN
The name of the period from 1714 to 1830, when there were four kings, one after another, all called George. For George III and George IV see above.
GLADSTONE
(William Ewart). Liberal Chancellor, and later Prime Minister. He was the major shaping force behind the Liberal Party. He enacted the Education Act of 1870, and a parliamentary reform act. He was brought down by the defeat of his Irish Home Rule bill.
GORDON RIOTS
1780: A week-long anti-Catholic riot, instigated by George Gordon, an MP for a pocket borough.
GREY
(Earl) Whig leader, and prime minister. During his time as prime minister the 1832reform bill, the bill abolishing slavery throughout the British Empire, and the 1834poor law amendment act were passed.
HARDIE
(Keir) Formed the Independent Labour Party. In 1892 he was the first socialist to be elected to parliament.
HARGREAVES
(James). The inventor of the spinning Jenny, he was a carpenter and weaver from Blackburn. His house and machinery were smashed by angry hand-spinners in 1767, but he enjoyed some good fortune later, after moving to Nottingham.
INDIA
Before the coming of Europeans, India was ruled by the Mughal dynasty. Europeanisation. The East India company. Robert Clive defeated French at Plassey, and as governor of Bengal showed some administrative ability. He was accused of corruption, but found not guilty. Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India, was also accused and found not guilty. Lord Cornwallis, who was defeated in America, was more successful in India (Governor-General, 1786 - 1793). The last of the Moghuls was involved in a mutiny in 1857, and was exiled. Victoria becomes Empress 1876
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Spinning jenny, water frame, mule, power looms, coal,
INDUSTRY
Child labour - factory act of 1833. -See Cotton, Industrial revolution, Luddite, Wedgwood
IRISH HOME RULE
IRON
Iron was needed to make steam engines, and rails for them to run on, and other new machinery. At first it was made in blast furnaces, using charcoal and iron ore. The charcoal was made by burning wood very slowly. Abraham Darby found a way of using coke, made from coal, instead of charcoal.
LIBERAL PARTY
When the Whigs, representing the large landowners and nobility, were joined by various middle-class members and Radicals, the result was called the Liberal Party. It was given this name by Lord John Russell, Prime Minster from 1846 to 1852, but it was William Gladstone who was the main shaping force of the party. Under his leadership the Liberals established a national system of education, and reformed the electoral system. The party was weakened in 1886 by the departure of the Liberal Unionists, who disagreed with Gladstone's plans for Irish home rule.
LITERATURE
Dickens, Samuel Johnson.
LIVING CONDITIONS
gin drinking, poor laws, workhouses, squires,
LOCK
A pair of gates in a canal which hold back the water so that a boat can go from one level to another without too much water flowing through to the lower level. Only one gate is ever open at a time.
LUDDITE
The Luddites were machine wreckers who pretended that they were led by a mysterious Ned Ludd. Many textile workers had become unemployed because the new machinery needed fewer people to work it, and most of these who found work had to take a cut in wages. This made the action of the Luddites popular.
MALTHUS
(Thomas) 1766 - 1834. An English economist who published an essay in population, in which he claimed that the increase in population would lead to problems because food production would not keep pace. He proposed that marriage should be discouraged.
METHODIST
The Methodist movement within the Church of England was founded by John and Charles Wesley in 1729. From 1730 it became involved in social work, with members visiting prisons, finding employment for prisoners, and distributing food, clothes, books and medicine to workhouses.
MULE
The spinning mule was a machine developed by Samuel Crompton which combined the best features of the spinning Jenny and the water frame. It spun better yarn than either of these.
NAPOLEONIC WAR
1793 to 1815. In 1793 Britain formed a coalition with Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands and Spain to oppose France. By 1795 the French had won several important battles, and Napoleon Bonaparte had become head of their army. He was defeated by Horatio Nelson at the battle of the Nile in 1799 and the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Napoleon tried to blockade Britain by threatening to seize any ship which visited a French-controlled port after visiting a British port. This was not successful. The British increased their colonial trade, and emerged from the blockade wealthier than when they started.
OWEN
(Robert) A Welsh supporter of factory reform and socialism. As manager, and later owner, of the New Lanark cotton mills, he ensured that the workers were well housed, and that their children were educated. He organised a trade union. He also organised co-operatice communities in Hampshire and in America, but these were not successful.
PALMERSTON
(Viscount) Liberal Prime Minister, 1855 to 1858 and again 1859 to 1865. He forced China ports to open for foreign trade, and acquired Hong Kong for Britain.
PARLIAMENT
Parliament consisted, as it does today, of the house of Commons and the house of Lords. In the 1750's it was dominated by William Pitt, and commanded widespread support. The lords had much more power than they do today. The commons were elected, but by a small proportion of the population. The industrial revolution led to the rise of new classes which were unrepresented. This led to demands for parliamentary reform. The Whigs and Tories started off as loose alliances. They turned into organised political parties, eventually becoming the Liberals and the conservatives.
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM
Changes aimed at making parliament, particularly the house of commons, more representative. This was done by giving more people the right to vote, and by increasing the number of constituencies in the highly populated towns and cities, and abolishing the " rotten borough s". There were two great reform acts, in 1833 and 1867. The 1867 act almost doubled the number of voters. Secret ballots were introduced in 1872.
PEEL
(Sir Robert) A leading Tory. As home secretary, he founded the Metropolitan police in 1829, and introduced the 1829 catholic emancipation bill. He was Prime Minister from 1834 to 1835, and again from 1841 to 1846. He was persuaded by Richard Cobden that the corn laws should be repealed. This put him in a very difficult position, because his party consisted mostly of landowners who benefitted from those laws. In 1846 he repealed them, and was forced to resign when a large proportion of his party rebelled against him.
PETERLOO
The name given to the events of 16th August 1819 when more than 60,000 people went to St. Peter's field, Manchester, to hear Henry "Orator" Hunt demand parliamentary reform and the repeal of the corn laws. The crowd was orderly, but the Manchester Yeomanry - soldiers mounted on horseback - attacked with sabres. Nine men and two women were killed, and 600 were injured.
PITT THE ELDER
(William) Dominated the political scene between 1742 and 1760, even though King George II disliked him and kept him out of office for most of the time.
PITT THE YOUNGER
(William) Pitt the Younger became Prime Minister in 1783, at the age of 24. He reduced taxes on foreign goods, until 1793 when the war with France made it necessary to increase them again. He was forced to resign in 1801 by the king's refusal to accept Catholic emancipation.
POLITICAL ISSUE
See: Irish home rule Catholic emancipation Parliamentary reformFactory reform Foreign policy Corn laws ClassSocialismPoverty
POLITICAL PARTIES
The Whigs and Tories started off as loose alliances. Partly because of the need to register voters, they turned into organised political parties, eventually becoming the Liberals and the Conservatives.
POOR LAW
The Poor law introduced in Elizabethan times had forced parishes to provide relief for destitute, poor and handicapped people. At first, able bodied people were discouraged from applying, but the "Speenhamland system" led to money being given to people who were both able bodied and in work. This simply encouraged employers to reduce wages. The 1834 poor law amendment act ensured that aid would only be provided as a last resort for the totally destitute. They were expected to stay in workhouses which were deliberately made uncomfortable.
POPULAR CULTURE
Dialect poets, broadsheets, folk songs.
POPULATION
Between 1750 and 1900 there was a large increase in the population, combined with migration from the countryide to the towns in search of work. According to the first census, in 1801, there were 10.6 million people in England, Wales and Scotland. Move to towns. Malthus published an essay in population, in which he claimed that the increase in population would lead to problems because food production would not keep pace.
POVERTY
Many people were made poor by the enclosure of common land which they had farmed. Hand loom weavers became poor after they were put out of business by power looms. Many tried to carry on working, but the price they could get for their cloth was not enough to live on. Many factories paid low wages, and the houses which were built near the factories often were crowded together with no running water, and only one lavatory for each row of houses. For people who could not find other work, there were workhouses which were deliberately made uncomfortable. Some William Booth Charles Booth Seebohm Rowntree See also Poor Law.
POWER LOOM
The first power loom was made by Edmund Cartwright. It was driven by the newly-invented steam engine. It was not very successful, because it kept breaking down.
PROTEST MOVEMENT
PUBLIC HEALTH ACT
1875
RAILWAY
Railways were originally constructed to overcome the ruts and bogs of bridleways. Carriages were pulled along them by horses. The first steam trains were demonstrated by Richard Trevithick, but without financial success. In 1812 "Prince Regent", a train designed by John Blenkinsop, began a regular run near Leeds. In 1813 William Hedley produced "Puffing Billy", which could pull nine loaded wagons. George Stephenson improved steam trains to the point where it became clear that they would largely replace horse transport and canals. The Stockton and Darlington railway, 13 km long and opened in 1825, carried passengers and freight, but sometimes used horses. The Liverpool and Manchester railway, opened in 1830, was steam-only. By 1870 there were 15,557 miles of rail in Britain. Railways revolutionised transport; they carried farm produce quickly to towns, and allowed national newspapers to replace local ones. They gave much greater mobility to people.
REFORM
- See education reform, factory reform, parliamentary reform, public health, reform act.
REFORM ACT
There were several reform acts, aimed at parliamentary reform. 1832 - this act reorganised the allocation of parliamentary seats, and gave voting rights to owners of houses or land worth more than £10 per year. 1867 - this act almost doubled the number of voters, by giving the vote to male householders and lodgers paying £10 per year or more for rooms - about 1,500,000 men. At the time, this act was called "a leap in the dark". 1884 - gave the franchise to almost all adult males. Before the 1832 act there were 56 " Rotten Borough s" with fewer than 2000 inhabitants, and every county had two MP's regardless of its size. Reformers wanted the new industrial towns to be represented in parliament. The changes ensured that the newly-wealthy factory owners were represented, but not the workers. The chartists wanted to go further, but failed to achieve their aim and their movement collapsed. A national reform league then arose, and held many meetings and demonstrations. This led to the acts of 1867 and 1884.
RELIGION AND SOCIAL REFORM
Much social reform was prompted by religion. For example, Elizabeth Fry's strong Quaker beliefs led to her concern for prison reform. William Wilberforce campaigned against slavery after a religious conversion. The methodists and the Salvation Army both stressed the importance of social work. The concern for worker's welfare
RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCE
1780 Anti-Catholic riots - see Gordon Riots. Catholic emancipation. Oxford movement.
ROTTEN BOROUGH
Seats in the house of commons that were controlled by a handful of voters. For example, George Gordon, leader of the Gordon Riots, received a pocket borough seat as a bribe to keep him from standing in another seat.
ROYAL ACADEMY
Founded by king George III, 1768.
SALVATION ARMY
The Salvation Army was founded in 1878 by William Booth, and worked among the worst off. See religion and social reform.
SLAVE TRADE
The slave trade began when plantation owners in the West Indies found that there were not enough native workers to tend the plantations. It became tremendously profitable. The wealth of Liverpool and Bristol came largely from slavery. William Wilberforce founded the Society for the abolition of the slave trade in 1787. He lost a vote in 1791, but in 1807 the slave trade was finally made illegal and in 1833 slavery was abolished throughout the British empire.
SOCIALISM
The idea that Joseph Chamberlain Robert Owen
SPINNING
Spinning was used to transform wool or cotton into a thread that could be used in weaving. At first it was done with a spinning wheel, worked by hand. The spinning jenny, the water frame and the mule were machines which spun several threads at a time. The larger machines were powered by water wheels or by steam.
SPINNING JENNY
A highly successful spinning machine produced in 1764 by James Hargreaves, a carpenter and weaver from Blackburn. It was like a spinning wheel, and was worked by hand, but it could spin sixteen threads at once. It made a major contribution to the industrial revolution, but was superseded by Arkwright's water frame and Crompton's mule.
SPINNING WHEEL
A wheel used for spinning wool or cotton into a thread that could be used in weaving. Spinning wheels were worked by hand. They were replaced by the spinning jenny, which could spin sixteen threads at a time.
STEAM ENGINE
Thomas Newcomen, an Englishman, invented a steam engine that was used to pump water out of coal mines. Later, James watt made a more powerful version, which could be used to drive factory machinery. Richard Trevithick made more improvements, and put an engine onto a cart. He made the first steam trains. George Stephenson made more reliable trains, which were used in successful passenger railways.
STEPHENSON
(George) George Stephenson was adevoted engineer, who learned to repair all kinds of machines before he could read and write. His first steam locomotive ran in 1814, and could pull eight loaded wagons. He improved steam trains to the point where it became clear that they would replace horse drawn transport and canals. He designed many locomotives, and built many miles of track. For the Stockton and Darlington railway he designed four trains, including the Locomotion, which pulled twelve loaded wagons, a coach and twenty-one passenger cars at the ceremonial opening. He was chief engineer for the laying of the track of the Liverpool and Manchester railway, and his "Rocket" won the competition for the best steam engine at Rainhill in 1829, ensuring that the trains for the railway would be supplied by him.
TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS
Six men who were deported to Australia in 1834 for belonging to a trade union. Two years later, after a massive public outcry, they were given a free pardon and passage home.
TORIES
TORY
" Tory " was originally a term of abuse applied to monarchist supporters of James II. It later became associated with Anglicanism and opposition to religious toleration. At first there were no organised political parties, but in 1784 William Pitt he Younger emerged as leader of a Tory group in parliament, representing mainly village squires. In 1809 the Tory Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, was assassinated, and Lord Liverpool took over. Lord Liverpool had been in Paris at the start of the French Revolution. He did not trust the masses, and did not want to give them political power. Tories successfully opposed reform until they lost their majority in 1830. From 1832, under Robert Peel, they became the Conservative Party.
TRADE
By 1800, tea from China had become the British national drink. The East India Company paid for it with Opium, which led to the opium wars. Tea also had a large part to play in the Amerian revolution - see Boston Tea Party. see also Free Trade.
TRADE UNION
Unions were banned in 1799. The ban was repealed in 1824, and in 1833 the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union was founded by Robert Owen. This alarmed other employers, who forced workers to sign a statement declaring that they were not members of the G.N.C.T.U., sacking them if they refused. In 1834 the Tolpuddle martyrs were deported for belonging to a union. A few months later, the G.N.C.T.U. fell apart.
TRANSPORT
See Canals, Railways, Roads, Turnpikes.
TREVITHICK
(Richard) A Cornish engineer who improved steam engine s; using high-pressure steam, he developed an engine light enough to be carried on a cart. He went on to build the first railway locomotive. It pulled wagons of iron ore. In 1804, it pulled a load of five wagons, a coach and about seventy passenger, but there were problems because the engine was too heavy for the rail. In 1808 he demonstrated the "catch-me-who-can", a train which ran on a short circular track in London, with a charge of a shilling a ride. None of Trevithick's ventures were financially successful, and he died in poverty in 1833.
WATER FRAME
A spinning machine devised in 1768 by Richard Arkwright. Unlike the spinning Jenny, it could not be operated by hand. It needed the power of a water wheel to operate it, and this led to the setting up of factories.
WATT
(James) A Glasgow engineer who was asked to repair Glasgow university's demonstration model of the Newcomen steam engine. He noticed that it was inefficient, and came up with some ideas to improve it. In 1769 he began producing machines based on his new ideas, in Edinburgh. There were production problems, and in 1774 Watt moved to Birmingham and joined with Matthew Boulton, who could guarantee accurate workmanship.
WELLINGTON
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. He was Conservative Prime Minister from 1828 to 1830 and again in 1834.
WESLEY
(Charles and John). Two brothers, founders of the methodist movement of the Church of England. Charles wrote and published thousands of hymns. John was a tireless preacher. It was under John's influence that the movement became separated from the Church of England.
WHIG
" Whig " was originally a term of abuse applied to opponents of James II. The whigs were a group which represented the large landowners and nobility. They later emerged as one of the two main political parties, in opposition to William Pitt the Younger's tories. They came to represent the views of industrialists and of religious dissenters. They generally pressed for reform because they believed that there might otherwise be a revolution.
WILBERFORCE
(William) A campaigner against slavery; he entered parliament in 1780, and founded the Society for the abolition of the slave trade in 1787. He lost a vote in 1791, but in 1807 the slave trade was finally made illegal and in 1833 slavery was abolished. He was an Evangelical Christian. His belief in freedom did not extend to unions of workmen, which he thought should be made illegal.
WILLIAM IV
King of the United Kingdom, 1830 - 1837. He was the third son of king George III. He was opposed to parliamentary reform, but grudgingly accepted the reform act of 1832.
WORKHOUSE
Workhouses were provided by the 1834 poor law amendment act. They were deliberately made uncomfortable. Families were kept apart, visitors were not allowed, discipline was strict, and food was just enough to keep people alive. In one workhouse, near Leeds, people were fed from a trough, like pigs. The conditions in workhouses were exposed by Charles Dickens.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Many factories were dangerous and unhealthy places. Cotton mills were stuffy, because the windows were kept closed to stop the threads from drying out and breaking. The women who worked in them had to stand all the time, for ten hours a day, six days a week. Some people worked for more that twelve hours a day, for wages that were not enough to pay the rent and feed and clothe the family. Coal miners worked in hot, dusty and stuffy conditions, with very little light. They hammered at the seams using picks and crowbars. The work was very dangerous, especially before the invention of the Davy lamp. See also factory act, child labour.

Copyright 1997 M. Gradwell, Ambition Data Services Ltd.

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