Industrial Revolution

Living through the

industrial revolution

AP Human Geography

Jobs

Case Study: Urbanization of Manchester

Housing

Medicine

Inventions

Food

In the days before alarm clocks were widely affordable, people were employed to wake sleeping workers in the early hours of the morning. They would shoot dried peas or pebbles at market workers’ windows. But who woke the Knocker Uppers up?

Rats were disease-carrying infestations during this time. The rats would often bite the people catching them. Once they were caught they could demonstrate rat poison at the local market or take them to the pub for some Rat-Races in the dogfighting pen. Both had the potential for at least a little money.

Like the idea of working in a warm, indoor environment? climb up a chimney and scrape it clear of soot. You will never get lonely in this job because you will always be accompanied by your boss, who will put pins into your feet or light a fire underneath you if you don't climb up there quickly enough. There is no fear of you getting fat and lazy in this job - in fact, your boss will see to it that you are given starvation rations so that you remain small and thin enough to get up and down the chimneys with ease. But you can usually only work till your 10 years old...

A tanner is someone who processes animal hides into leather and in Victorian times this process was so gruesome and unspeakably filthy that it was possibly the least desirable role available at the time. The process is much too long to describe at every stage, however, it included; collecting blood-drenched animal hides from the butchers, placing the hides in lime pits to allow them to rot and ‘soften’ for several weeks and soaking them in a festering cocktail of dog feces and water…

(just watch first 3 minutes) POWDER MONKEYThis job was done by women or children. They were responsible for bringing gunpowder up to the deck of the boat during battle. Work-related accidents usually only happened once... MUDLARKSearching for lost treasure and getting paid? Sounds too good to be true... Simply wait till the Thames is at low tide and roll up your britches and start digging through the mud and the muck (sewage) for some coins, nails, bolts or anything you could sell at the market. TOSHEREnjoy a good scavenger hunt? Simply climb into the sewage tunnels of London with a fishing net and catch whatever goodies you can in the slowly flowing sewage. Coins and nails are often dropped down the drains, although your net will also pick up poop, rotting dead rats and lots and lots of brown paper...