The Age of Industrialisation

A phase before factories where there was large-scale industrial production for an international market. It was decentralized (in villages/homes) and controlled by merchants.

Stapler: Someone who sorts wool according to its fibre. Fuller: Someone who 'fulls' (gathers/pleats) cloth.

Because urban crafts guilds were powerful in towns. They restricted entry of new people and controlled prices. Merchants could not expand there, so they went to villages.

Richard Arkwright.

Cotton and Metal (Iron and Steel).

James Watt improved the engine produced by Newcomen. Matthew Boulton manufactured it.

A machine devised by James Hargreaves in 1764. It allowed one spinner to operate several spindles. It caused fear of unemployment among women hand-spinners.

Paid servants appointed by the East India Company to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth. They were outsiders and often haughty.

Before British, India dominated textile trade (Surat/Masulipatam ports). After British power rose, these ports declined. Bombay and Calcutta grew. Trade became controlled by European companies carrying goods in their ships.

1. Collapse of export market. 2. Shrinking of local market (flooded by Manchester imports). 3. Shortage of raw cotton (prices led by US Civil War). 4. Clashes with Gomasthas.

Dwarkanath Tagore (Bengal), Dinshaw Petit and Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (Bombay), Seth Hukumchand (Marwari who set up first Jute Mill in Calcutta).

From neighbouring districts. e.g., Bombay mills drew from Ratnagiri. Kanpur mills from Kanpur district. Jobbers recruited them.

An old and trusted worker employed by industrialists to get new recruits. He got people from his village, ensured them jobs, and helped in times of crisis. He became powerful and demanded bribes.

Factory Acts (limiting hours for women/children).

Nationalists persuaded people to boycott foreign cloth. Production of Indian handloom/mills went up.

British mills were busy with war production. Manchester imports to India declined. Indian mills had a vast home market to supply. They also supplied war needs (bags, uniforms). Industrial production boomed.

A mechanical device used for weaving, moved by ropes and pulleys. It increased productivity of handloom weavers.

Some intricate designs (Saris with woven borders) could not be mimicked by machines. Also, famines didn't affect the rich who bought fine cloth.

Advertisements (newspapers, magazines, hoardings, walls). Labels (Made in Manchester). Calendars (used even by illiterate). Images of Gods/Goddesses (Krishna, Saraswati) to give divine approval. Figures of Emperors/Nawabs.

'Buy my product'. It made the product appear desirable and necessary.

1730s: Earliest factories in England.

Cotton was the first symbol of new era.

Before 1840s: Cotton leading sector.

After 1840s (Railways): Iron and Steel leading.

Steam Engine patented by Watt in 1781.

Steam engines used in cotton, wool, mining.

Victoria Britain: Aristocrats preferred handmade.

Handmade = Class, Machine = Mass.

US Civil War (1860s) cut off cotton to Britain.

Britain turned to India for raw cotton.

1854: First cotton mill in Bombay.

1855: First jute mill in Bengal.

1874: First spinning/weaving mill in Madras.

Dwarkanath Tagore invested in shipping/mining.

Parsis and Marwaris controlled early trade.

Colonial rule barred Indians from shipping.

Jobber was often a person of authority.

1900-1912: Cotton production in India doubled.

WWI was a boon for Indian industry.

Manchester could never recapture Indian market after WWI.

Handicrafts production actually expanded in 20th century.

Fly shuttle introduced in 20th century.

Gripe Water calendar had Baby Krishna.

Labels had images of Indian gods.

Advertisements create a consumer culture.

Spinning Jenny invented

James Watt patents Steam Engine

First Cotton Mill in Bombay

First Iron & Steel Plant (Jamshedpur)