INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: CAPITALISM AND CLASS-BASED SOCIETY

Index

1. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2. NEW CLASS-BASED SOCIETY AND NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

- Origins- The driving forces of industrialisation- The development of industry- Consequences of industrialisation- Expansion of Industrial Revolution

- Definition- Origins- Characteristics and classes- The first working-class movements- Revolutionary ideologies- Goals of working-class movements

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Introduction

01 Origins of Industrialisation

Industrialisation was a long, slow process that started in Great Britain in the 18th century. It was based on the mechanisation of production, technical innovations and new ways of working which caused strong growth in the production of goods.

02 Causes of the British Industrial Revolution

LIBERAL POLITICS

POPULATION GROWTH

AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS

WEALTHY TRADE

POPULATION GROWTH During the 18th century, due to the Enlightened reforms, living condition improved across Europe. Increased in food production and hygienic and medical advances (first vaccines, for example) reduced the mortality. This demographic growth had a double effect:

• An increase of demand of food and manufactured products that encouraged production.
• Surplus of workers, prone to looking for jobs in growing industry.

British demographic transition

AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION During the 18th century, several innovations allowed a large growth of agricultural production:

• The Norfolk system: it consisted in draining the soil and preparing it with fertilisers and manure, and using a four year crop rotation system that eliminated the fallow land preventing the soil exhaustion and feeding livestock.

• The mechanisation: steel plough, seed drill and mechanised harvester made easier and faster the work, improving the production.

• The enclosure system: it replaced the open field system by extensive agricultural holdings thanks to the enclosure acts. It had a double effect: the fields became more profitable and easier to work out, and the bourgeoisie and entrepreneur nobility purchased and exploted a lot of communal and uncultivated lands.

As a result, the profits obteined from agriculture grew remarkably and landowners accumulated capital (investment money).

TECHNICAL ADVANCES Industrialization could not have been able without:

• Mechanisation: several machines were invented in order to carry out tasks faster, substituing the manual work. The first innovations took place in the textile industry and agriculture.

• New sources of energy: first machines were moved by the power of water but in 1769 James Watt invented the steam machine and coal and steam power became the main sources of energy.

WEALTHY TRADE During the 18th century, foreign trade increased because Great Britain dominated trade routes in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, specially those which came from India. Besides, the local and domestic trade also grew thanks to the absence of customs. As a result, merchant bourgeoisie became prosperer and wealthier, with increasing incomes and capital.

LIBERAL POLITICS

Engand was a parliamentarian system since the 17th century in which bourgeoisie had an important political role through the Chamber of Commons. Besides, it was the cradle of Economic Liberalism. As a result, Great Britain governments had approved several laws liberalising economy:

• Private property as a sacred right protected by law.
• Abolition of protectionism and absence of internal customs.
• Flexibility of the guild system: freedom of production and new forms of manufacturing as the putting out system or "domestic industry".
• Enclosure acts: several laws that allowed the expropiation of communal and uncultivated lands and the combination of properties that were purchased by bourgeoises.

More information in "agricultural revolution".

03 Development of industry

TEXTILE INDUSTRY

STEEL INDUSTRY

TRANSPORT REVOLUTION

During the earliest stages of the Industrial Revolution three areas drove economic growth and encouraged the industrialization:

TEXTILE INDUSTRY It was the first mechanised sector due to its relationship with agricultural development: the wealthy owners of flocks of sheeps and cotton fields invested soon their capital in textile manufacturing in order to increase their profits. Innovations consisted in spinning and weaving machines:

• 1733: the Flying Shuttle enabled hand weavers to produce fabrics more quickly.
• 1765-67: the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame produced various threads at the same time.
• 1784: the Power Weaving Loom, first steam-powered weaving machine.
• 1785: the Spinning Mule produced a very fine and resistant thread.

These large machines brought about the birth of the factory because large buildings were needed. Wood and cotton consuption in Britain 1717-1840

THE STEEL INDUSTRY Its development was facilitated by the use of coal as combustible and a technical innovation: the Bessemer converter, which allowed to transform iron into steel in large quantities and producing a better quality product. The production of steel increased quickly encouraged by other sectors, specially the development of train transport.

THE TRANSPORT REVOLUTION The improvement to transport routes played an important role in the industrial revolution: factories were established close to sources of energy so raw materials had to be transport from the sources to them and products had to be moved from factories to markets. However, these improvements would not have been so significant without the invention of the steam engine: Fulton invented the steamship in 1807 and Stephenson's "Rocket" steam locomotive was invented in 1829. All of this made possible to move large quantities of products more quickly and soon the extend of railway network was the main indicator of a country's level of industrialisation.

04 Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution led to dramatic transformations:

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

SOCIAL AND WORKING CONSEQUENCES

• Outstanding development of agricultural production, thanks to the use of machines and the growth of demand and markets.

• Unprecedent increase of trade encouraged by the transport revolution and the increase of factory production.

• Spreading of economic Liberalism.

• Growth of banks and appearence of the stock market as way of financing factories and facilities.

• A new social system based on wealth appeared.

• New model of city: cities became the centre of the industrial system with factories and transport's networks. Cities grew quickly due to many people moved form the countryside to the cities to work in industry. As a result, city walls were demolished and new neighbourhoods appeared.

• New model of working development: the division of labour, in which each worker was responsible for a different part of the production process. Guild system and qualified work dissapeared.

During the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution spread to other European countries (Germany, Belgium and France) and to the United States.

05 Expansion of Industrialisation

This countries had the proper conditions:- Abundant reserves of coal and iron.- Population growth.- Capital for investment.- Well-developed railway networks.

SPAIN

INDUSTRIALISATION OF SPAIN Started in the 19th century, but it was a slow process and began later than in other countries because of various problems:

• Domestic demand was limited because population had insufficient income.
• Poor quality coal and lack of local technology, so both had to be imported.
• Insufficient domestic capital for investment in industry.

Only two industries became important in the late 19th century:

• Cotton industry (Cataluña).
• Steel industry (Vizcaya).

THE CLASS-BASED SOCIETY

Definition

01 What was the class-based society?

It is a new form of social organisation that replaced the old estates system.In the class-bases society, people's status depended on their wealth and their position in the production process, rather than on their family background.

02 Origins of the class-based society

FRENCH REVOLUTION

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

It originated in the political and economic changes that had taken place as a result of the late-18th century revolutions.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION It was the first revolution that abolished the privileges of the nobility and the clergy and brought about the legal end of the estates system. After this revolution, part of the third estate, the bourgeoisie, got political rigths and took part in politics. All men became equal on the law.

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION It consolidated wealth and economic power as new factors in the social system Thanks to the industrial revolution, bourgeoisie, specifically factory and businees owners, became the most powerful and importat social group. In addition, a new social group was formed: the working class, made up of industrial workers.

03 Characteristics of the new society

• People's class was determinated mainly by their wealth (land, buildings, businesses, wages and other income).
• Citizens were equal before law, but unequal in wealth = UNEQUAL SOCIETY

UPPER CLASS Was made up of the wealthiest people, including:

• The wealthy bourgeoisie: bankers, business and factory owners who obteined larhe profits from their businesses and becae dominant social group.
• Those from the nobility who continued to recieve high incomes from their agricultural holdings or invested in businesses.

Their lived in the cities, in new neighbourhoods which were extension of the historical centre, built far away from the noise and pollution of the factories. They were well planned with straight, wide avenues, gas street lights, shops, theatres and tram-lines. Homes were usually large, well-built and comfortable. In Spanish we knew them as "ensanches".

MIDDLE CLASS It was made up of people with a medium level of wealth:

• civil servents, lawyers and doctors, who provided services.
• small-scale merchants and craftsmen who owned their own workshops or shops.
• farmers who owned small holdings.

Some of them lived in the same neighbourhoods than the upper class, in smaller houses.

WORKING CLASS The working class lives in extreme poverty. It was made up of:

1. industrial workers, the proletariat. They worked in factories, they did not own property. They suffered terrible working and living conditions:
   • wages too low to support a family, so women and children had to work as well. However, their wages were even low than men's. Child labour was common in factories and, specially in mines.
   • extremely long working day, between 14 and 16 hours a day.
   • lack of safety and hygiene in the workplace, so chronic illnesses and accidents were common, especially in the mines.
   • workers had no rights, so in case of illness or accident they lost their wages and they could be dismissed at any time without compensation.
   • working-class neighbourhoods were built in marginal areas on the outskirts of the city, often near factories. The streets were narroy and there was usually no lightings or other services. The houses were small, poorly built and uncomfortable.
2. tenant farmers, who rented agricultural land to cultivate it, and agricultural labourers, who did seasonal work and were paid by day.

Causes and origins

- Difficult working and living conditions experienced by the working-class led to protests and demands.- Factory owners opposed workers' demands because improving their conditions would reduce their profits.- Economic Liberalism allowed factory owners to carry out their businesses without any type of restriction.

Fisrt movements

04 The first working-class movements

LUDITES

TRADE UNIONS

UTOPIAN SOCIALISM

CHARTIST

Luddites: emerged in 1811, they protested destroying machines because they felt they were replaced by them. The government reactions was establish the death penalty for anyone who destroyed a machine.

Trade Unions: appeared in 1830's. They were association of workers from the same industry, which offered mutual assistance in case of accident or injury and demanded better working conditions. They tryed to use strikes but strike and unions were declared illegal.

Chartist movement: emerged in Great Britain (1838-1848). The chartists petitioned Parliament demanding political reforms, such as universal manhood suffrage and salaries for members of parliament. This would make possible to pass laws protecting workers' interets, but their petition was rejected.

UTOPIAN SOCIALISM It was one of the first theories that criticised capitalism developed in the first half of the 19th century. Utopic socialism aimed to improve working conditions through education and negotiation of their labour situation with the middle class. The most imortant utopian socialists were:

• Charles Fourier: he suggested reorganising society into perfect communities which he called "phalanxes" ("falansterios"). These communities would operate as cooperatives for workers, who lwould live and work together, sharing resources and the means of productions.

• Robert Owen: he put his socialist and humanitarian ideas into practice in Scotland in aroun 1800. He created a cooperative system of working in his textile company, reduce working hours and improved the labour conditions.

Working-class ideologies

During the 19th century, several ideologies promoted working-class interests and aimed to transform society through worker's revolution. They were: - MARXISM - ANARCHISM

The International

05 Revolutionary ideologies

In the second half of the 19th century, the leaders of worker's organizations from various European countries began to meet.They were awared that proletariat faced the same problems so they form the International, hoping that their demands would be strengthened by working together across borders.Two meetings took place: - The First International - The Second International

MARXISM Marxism, also known as scientific socialism, was developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels based on their analysis of politics and the economy through history. According to this analysis, the following stages would lead to the destruction of capitalism and the establishment of a communist society. The key concepts of Marxism were:

• Class struggle: all History had been a struggle between the oppressed and the oppressors. This class struggle was, according to Marxism, the "motor of history". At that point of History, the oppressed proletariat would win the struggle because the capitalist system was unsustainable. The objective of that struggle would be to gain political power.
• The dictatorship of the working classes: once they had achieved political power, the working classes would establish a temporary dictatorship in order to avoid oppressors to stop the changes. Those changes would lead to a communist economy and society.
• Communist economy: private property (capitalism) would be abolished because is the source of all the social differences. The means of production would be socialised: they would be owned by the state, so all the workers, as society would be owners of them. The states would control, plan and organised the production and the market so all the economy would be collective.
• Communist society: the class-based society would disappear because everybody would have the same relationship with the means of productions. Society would be equal.

ANARCHISM The first anarchist philosopher was Joseph Proudhon but its best-known advocate was Mikhail Bakunin. Anarchism supported the overthought of capitalism via social revolution. These were the main principles of anarchism:

• Individual freedom: people had to fight against any authority or institution that limited freedom. Freedom is a key factor on human happiness and social justice.
• Direct actions: it rejected political parties or any kind of representation. Each citizen should represent him or herself and the only way of finishing capitalism is the direct revolution.
• The abolition of private property: society would be organised into independent communes. The means of production would be owned collectively and the decisions would be taken by popular assemblies.

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL Also known as the International Workingmen's Association (IWA)*. Was founded in London in 1864 and included all the working-class organizations, such as trade unions and Marxism and Anarchism groups. Its objective was to coordinate worker's action all over the world. During the meetings, anarchists and marxists disagreed about how organise the worker's movement and, finally, the IWA was dissolved. Socialists wanted to form political parties and get political power as the only way to destroy the capitalist system. Anarchists, on the other hand, opposed the existence of any political organization and claimed for destroying the system using social revolution (strikes and riots). * Asociación Internacional de Trabajadores (AIT).

THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL  Was established in Paris in 1889 only by socialist groups. It called for an eight-hour working day and established 1 May as an international day of protest for worker's right. It was dissolved when the First World War began in 1914 because of the tensions among nationalist feelings.

LABOUR REFORMS

POLITICAL REFORMS

- Higher wages- Shorter working days- Better safety and hygiene in factories- Banning on child labour

- Freedom of association- Right to straike and protest- Universal manhood suffrage- Ending to the requirement that parliamentarian were property owners- Working-class representation in Parliament

06 The goals of working-class movements

Characteristics

Working-class movements developed in a similar way than in Europe, but there were some differences:- The slow industrialization of Spain meaned low number of factory workers.- The majority of proletariat was made up of agricultura labourers.

Working-class movements

07 The working-class movement in Spain

LUDDITES

SOCIEDADES DE SOCORRO MUTUO

SOCIALISM

ANARCHISM

Luddites-style movements took place in Cataluña, centre of textile industry. In 1835, workers set the sewing machines of Bonaplata factory (Barcelona) on fire.

From the 1840 onwards, The sociedades de socorro mutuo were the precursors of the trade unions and their objectives were the same.

Anarchists organised many revolutionary unions or syndicates. The most important one during the 19th century was the Federación de Trabajadores de la Región Española (FTRE). Some of them engaged in violent direct action against business and landowners, specially in Cataluña (industrial workers) and Andalucía (agricultural labourers). In 1910, the anarchists opposers to violent actions established the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), a federation of all the anarcho-syndicalist federations. It became the biggest and stronger union in Spain.

The first socialist, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), was established in 1879, and its leader would be Pablo Iglesias. In 1888 the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) was founded, a marxist syndicate.