The late Eric Hobsbawm famously remarked ‘whoever says Industrial Revolution says cotton’. Traditional accounts of the British Industrial Revolution tell the story of an Asian textile – cotton – transformed into a cheap, mass-produced British staple by means of cost-cutting mechanical inventions. Indeed, technology was centre stage in Adolphe Blanqui’s 1837 Histoire de l’Économie Politique en Europe, the book which offered probably the first systematic application of the concept of industrial revolution. Blanqui insisted that Britain had recently undergone an economic revolution comparable to the social and political revolution experienced in France. In a chapter entitled ‘On the economic revolution in England caused by the discoveries of Watt and Arkwright’, he defined that economic revolution in terms of technology, or, to be more precise, in terms of just two machines:
‘Two machines, henceforth immortal, the steam engine and the spinning machine, overturned the old commercial system and, almost at the same moment, gave birth to material products and social questions unknown to our fathers … Hatched in the brains of Watt and Arkwright, two men of genius, the industrial revolution took possession of England.’
Recent quantitative studies of the classic period of the British Industrial Revolution, from 1760 to 1830, have suggested that overall rates of economic growth were significantly lower than had previously been assumed. Yet despite the tendency to downplay the significance of Industrial Revolution for the economy as a whole, economic historians continue to foreground those technological innovations on which the very notion of Industrial Revolution was originally founded. The question of why the crucial technological innovations were British is central to the two most recent (and influential) general treatments of the Industrial Revolution – Robert Allen’s The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective and Joel Mokyr’s The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain, 1700-1850. Both books employ a distinction between micro- and macro-inventions, identifying James Hargreaves’ spinning jenny and Richard Arkwright’s water frame as key macro-inventions in cotton spinning, along with Samuel Crompton’s later spinning mule, which integrated the principles of the first two machines.
Robert Allen, constructs his argument about technical innovation around Hargreaves’ spinning jenny, famously invented in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in the mid-1760s. He offers an explanation for this key macro-invention rooted in economic incentives, in particular in an economy with high wages, but cheap capital and very cheap energy, which rendered worthwhile the high costs of developing macro-inventions and converting them into commercially useful technologies. In his book and an associated article, Allen offers an elaborate cliometric comparison of the jenny’s potential to reduce spinning costs in Britain, France and India. He concludes jennies more than paid for themselves at high British wages for hand spinning, but were not economically advantageous at lower French wage rates, and certainly not at even lower Indian wages. His analysis has been subjected to considerable technical criticism by his fellow cliometricians. However, there is a more profound problem with Allen’s argument. The evidence on which his calculations are based is flawed.
16 spindle version of James Hargreave’s spinning jenny, as patented in 1770. Helmshore Mills Textile Museum.
Allen’s contrast between England and France depends on evidence for low French wages in hand spinning and a correspondingly slow take-up of the spinning jenny in France. He insists that French cotton producers declined to adopt the jenny in any numbers. His evidence is a 1790 French government estimate, which put the number of jennies in the whole of France at only 900, which he contrasts with an estimate of 20,070 jennies for Britain in 1788, almost certainly a considerable exaggeration. He fails, however, to point out that the French estimate was made immediately after the mass machine-breaking riots that accompanied the early months of the French Revolution in the preceding year, 1789. The number of jennies in use in France in the later 1780s was probably much higher, as Jeff Horn has pointed out. Using the small numbers of jennies reported in 1790 cannot demonstrate that the machine was uneconomic in France.
It was certainly not the view of the French government inspectors of manufactures that the jenny was uneconomic. Louis-Casimir Brown, inspector of manufactures for Picardy, reported in 1779 that the jenny ‘combines the advantages 1st of having a yarn of the same degree of twist, 2nd and of a constant fineness, as long as the spinner of the slivers has drawn them out smoothly, 3rd finally it is possible to spin much more’. He provided a detailed breakdown of costs, which indicates a saving over equivalent hand-spun yarn of more than 20%. Eight years later, an evaluation of jennies with 40 spindles spinning cotton at Oissel in Normandy by Jean-Baptiste Goy, the French inspector of manufactures for the Généralité de Rouen, agreed: ‘these machines combine the advantages of reducing labour costs a little, with the production of a yarn that is more uniform’.
Allen is lead further astray by his reliance on French spinning wage data derived from Arthur Young, the English agricultural writer who toured France in 1787-9. Oddly, Allen’s references are not to Young’s own book, Travels during the Years 1787, 1788, and 1789, published shortly after his return to England, but to Constantia Maxwell’s collection of extracts from it, first published in 1929. Nor does Allen reference the wages Young reported for cotton spinning, but rather Young’s averaging of all his observations of spinning earnings across France, including the spinning of flax, hemp, coarse wool, and fine wool, which often paid far less than spinning cotton. Young recorded relatively few observations for cotton spinning wages in France. Those he did report were mainly for Normandy, in the eighteenth century France’s counterpart to Lancashire for cotton manufacturing. Country spinners near Le Havre earned 16 sous per day, at Yvetot in the Caux 12 sous per day, at Rouen, described by Young as ‘the Manchester of France’, 12 sous per day, while good cotton spinners at La Roche-Guyon, to the south-east on the edge of the Normandy cotton spinning zone, earned 12 sous to 15 sous per day. Only at Angers, in Anjou nearly 200 miles to the south-west, did he report lower rates for spinning cotton of 5 sous to 10 sous per day. The 12 sous to 16 sous per day he recorded in Normandy represented 6d. to 8d. a day in English money. That is the mid-range of the 4d. to 10d. a day (assuming a six-day week) Young had previously recorded at Manchester in 1771.
So it is not clear from Young’s data that there was any difference in average wages for hand cotton spinning between the key cotton manufacturing districts in England and France during the years jennies were being introduced. The foundations of the cliometric edifice constructed by Allen to explain international differences in the adoption of the first major spinning innovation of the Industrial Revolution are flawed.
[This is an extract from a longer paper, ‘Fashion, Textiles and the Origins of Industrial Revolution’. It explores the markets for 18th century Lancashire ‘cotton’ textiles and the fibres from which they were woven to re-interpret the key textile inventions of the early Industrial Revolution. The full paper is available at John Styles’ academia.edu pages, at https://www.academia.edu/20778558/Fashion_Textiles_and_the_Origins_of_Industrial_Revolution]
In your research on spinning from 1550-1800, have you come across anything on spinning yarn, not for fabric, but for embroidery?
I’m working on a Jacobean project, and every darn book says the same thing. (The yarn was wool). I’d like to to know microns, breeds, where would someone like Beth of Hardwick would send to for her embroidery yarn. Was it spun in Shrewsbury? The Earl of Shrewsbury’s Papers indicated: Their income from land was derived mainly from three sources – from rents, from the rich sheep lands of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire which were kept in hand. (the third was minerals, but that was later).
But I cannot find any wool processing in this area. I’m sure they didn’t run to the local haberdashery…so any ideas where to look? Has the National Trust or the V/A looked at any of this work with microscopes to tell about the wool? Where can I look? I’ve spent weeks on this project. If I could just get one definitive answer, I could start the dyeing process. Thanks, for any and all help. (I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen the words, “poor woman, spinning white wool”.
Would like to be on your email list for updates to the spinning projects. … worthy endeavor!
Regards,
Carolyn Penny, Spinner in North Carolina, USA
Another advantage of playing online is that you can play without
money in the event you choose. By using cash profit zones, you are not playing from the casino, you’re
playing against yourself, now this is very very important.
Live casino games, like live roulette, live blackjack, and
live baccarat, are around to be played through the comfort
of your house in the present gambling market.
First of all I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question in which
I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing.
I’ve had a hard time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out.
I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes
are usually wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
Cheers!
I used to be suggested this website by means of my cousin.
I am no longer sure whether this submit is written through him as nobody else know
such particular approximately my difficulty.
You are amazing! Thanks!
Your style is very unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from.
I appreciate you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I
will just bookmark this web site.
Unquestionably consider that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be
on the net the easiest thing to consider of. I say to
you, I certainly get annoyed at the same time as other people consider concerns that they just do not recognize about.
You controlled to hit the nail upon the highest and
outlined out the whole thing with no need side-effects , people could take a
signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
It’s genuinely very difficult in this busy life to listen news on TV, so I only use internet
for that purpose, and take the latest information.
I believe that is among the so much vital info for me.
And i’m glad reading your article. However want to observation on few common issues, The site
taste is perfect, the articles is in reality excellent :
D. Excellent process, cheers
Thanks , I have just been looking for info approximately this subject for a while and yours is the
best I’ve discovered till now. However, what in regards
to the bottom line? Are you certain about the source?
The best in class, Depoxito offer you high-end experience that direct the look and vibes of authentic VIP standarts, we
have the funds for you the best enthralling to high-level experience of VIPs expect
in any summit end casino, grand liven up casino royale pay for you
the other studio design element including the grand blackjack,
offering our VIP Customer the best experience of a Salon privee table.
New style table plus feature across the room in the same way as grand roulette upgraded on our provider playtechs mini prestige roulette which delivering more engaging and richer playing experience.
The other experience contains a sum of seven tables including five blackjack tables, one roulette table and one baccarat table.
Grand stimulate casino royale has been high hand-engineered to fit the
needs of our customer to using it, and contains unique elements that
is specially intended to maximize the impact value
we got from our customers and diversify it to the existing network.
Soon, Depoxito will develop an better reality technology on live casino
for our VIP member, these most innovative
technology ever seen in living casino including this improved reality.
Which allow players to experience products upon an entire further
level which is never seen before literally leaping out of the game and taking the blackjack,
baccarat, roulette and further game into the combined entire
level.
Depoxito VIP Baccarat, we find the money for you the categorically exclusive flesh and blood
VIP Baccarat that is played later than going on to 7 players at the same table and our highly trained lovely living baccarat dealer.
And of course our VIP member will feel as if they were in reality sitting at one of
the summit casino baccarat table. This immersive
gaming experience creates a hugely carefree song that our VIP
players will locate hard to surpass.
Here is the list of liven up casino game that
depoxito provide, we come up with the money for the widest range of live
casino games on the shout from the rooftops including : blackjack
unlimited, blackjack prestige, roulette, baccarat, poker, hi-lo, sic bo, and grand bring to life casino royale such
as Grand Baccarat, Grand Blackjack and Grand Roulette for our VIP member.
And of course as a aficionado of Depoxito you can enjoy every the
games that we present to you, every you habit to attain is just visit our site depoxito
and register it forlorn takes in the works to 3 minutes and then youre normal to enactment any
game that you want.
Be our VIP, physical our VIP enthusiast of course
contracted you the best encouragement you can acquire from us all you craving to be a VIP member is completely easy.
every you dependence is just save playing upon our site,
enlargement and act out as soon as a VIP as soon as the amount that our company had written, keep playing and our customer benefits will gain access to you that you are promoted
to become a VIP enthusiast upon our site.
I am genuinely happy to read this blog posts which includes lots of helpful data, thanks for providing
these information.
Option Links to Official Online Gambling Sites
Now in a good all-sophisticated era, everyone may access the web very very easily.
Until now many free games that can be played by everyone,
one example is online gambling games. With the appointment regarding gambling that used to be only on terrain, now an online program has made it very easy for
many gambling gamers to channel their interests in the world
regarding online gambling.
But before an individual want to play gambling
which can be now online program. You’ve still got to learn typically the characteristics of trusted online gambling sites.
Why will be that? Because in the particular online world there are still online gambling sites that cheat.
Definition of Alternative Links
An alternative link is usually a link provided simply by a reliable online
gambling agent to prevent blocking when you want to
enter in or access their web site.
How to Get Alternate Backlinks
When you previously know the meaning of alternative links, we will offer some
steps to get alternative links:
1. An individual can look at the main internet gambling sites.
Usually these people will provide alternative link information with their site.
2. The second step is to be able to directly contact Livechat,
a person can directly ask the customer service on obligation
3. You can notice an alternative link in order to your
trusted online gambling site through the set of online gambling
sites below.