274
Factory owners
robert owen (1771-1858)
was a generous British
factory owner who tried to
improve working conditions.
Many other owners grew rich
by demanding long hours of
work for low wages.new towns
Factory towns were built
as fast and as cheaply as
possible. Large families
were crowded into tiny
houses, and the water
supply was often polluted.
Diseases spread rapidly, and
many people died young.the worLD we Live in toDay, with its factories and huge cities, began less than
300 years ago in Britain, and then spread to europe and the United states. Beginning
in about 1760, great changes took place that altered people’s lives and methods of
work forever, changes that are known today as the industrial revolution.
Machines powered by water, and later steam, were invented to produce cloth
and other goods more quickly. it took many workers to run these big
machines, so poor people moved from the country into the new
industrial towns to be near the factories. there were more
jobs and higher wages in the cities, but life was often
miserable. although the Factory act in 1833 banned
young children in Britain from working in factories,
there were no laws to control how long people
worked each day, or to make
sure the machines were safe.274- Industrial Revolution
New techNology
stronger metals were needed to make
machines, so cast iron and steel were
developed. steam to drive the new
engines was made by burning coal
to boil water. coal mines were driven
deep into the ground. cotton cloth
was the first product to be made
completely by machine. the new
goods were produced in large
numbers so they were
cheap to buy. Cast iron,
which could
be molded into any
shape, became common.BeDsteaD
iron was even
used for
making beds.Factory workers lived
in overcrowded houses,
which often became slums.Barges on new
canals carried
factory goods
from one town
to another.Chimneys
from the
new factories
created a lot
of smoke. This
made the towns
dirty and polluted.Davy LaMp
in 1815, British
inventor sir
humphry Davy
developed a
miner’s safety
lamp.Cotton replaced wool
as the main material
for making clothes.US_274_Industrial_Revolution_1.indd 274 21/01/16 5:01 pm