Title: Factory system - Wikipedia
Headings: Factory system
Factory system
Contents
Characteristics
History
Antiquity
Mills
Cotton spinning
Arkwright
Machine tools and interchangeable parts
Societal effects
See also
References

Content: Societal effects
Much manufacturing in the 18th century was carried out in homes under the domestic or putting-out system, especially the weaving of cloth and spinning of thread and yarn, often with just a single loom or spinning wheel. As these devices were mechanized, machine made goods were able to underprice the cottagers, leaving them unable to earn enough to make their effort worthwhile. Other products such as nails had long been produced in factory workshops, increasingly diversified using the division of labour to increase the efficiency of the system. Factory workers typically lived within walking distance to work until the introduction of bicycles and electric street railways in the 1890s. Thus the factory system was partly responsible for the rise of urban living, as large numbers of workers migrated into the towns in search of employment in the factories. Many mills had to provide dormitories for workers, especially for girls and women. The transition to industrialisation was not without difficulty. For example, a group of English workers known as Luddites formed to protest against industrialisation and sometimes sabotaged factories. They continued an already established tradition of workers opposing labour saving machinery. Numerous inventors in the textile industry such as John Kay and Samuel Crompton, suffered harassment when developing their machines or devices.