What were the advantages and disadvantages of the factory system?

L/O – To describe what the factory system was and to judge whether factories were a change for the better or worse

Definition

Factory System = a way of producing goods by

manufacturing them with machines in a factory rather

than by hand at home

Key Words - Recap

Problems with the Domestic System – Recap

Arkwright and the first factory• In 1769, Richard Arkwright

invented the Water Frame. It was great but had one problem – it couldn’t fit into people’s homes!

• Arkwright’s solution was to put his huge machines into specially created buildings – known as factories or mills.

• His first opened in 1771 at Cromford in Derbyshire.

The Factory System• Some factories were huge. This textile mill, built in

1850 by Sir Titus Salt just outside Bradford, was one of the largest of its time.

From Water to Steam Power• By 1800, it was clear that the factory

system was a much better way of producing goods than the domestic system.

• The problem was that owners wanted to run their machines 24 hours an day, 365 days a year.

• Early factories used water power – a huge wheel turned by a river which drives machinery.

1. Read Source A. Explain what the problem was with water power.

Source A16th Dec: The river is frozen. Our waterwheel will not turn and we have no power. The workers have been sent home because their looms do not function.

29th May: The hot weather had made the River Ribble very low. In the afternoons, our looms go very slow.

28th Aug: Work has stopped in 30 mills in Blackburn. Work will not start until it rains again.

(A factory owner’s diary, 1805)

Full steam ahead!• Water power was just not reliable

enough – so factory owners turned to a new form of power that scientists had been developing – the steam engine!

• Not only was steam power faster and more reliable, it also meant factories no longer had to be built next to fast-flowing rivers.

• By 1850, Britain became known as ‘the workshop of the world’ as it produced over 2/3 of the world’s cotton and ½ the world’s hardware.

2.) Look at the diagram. Explain in your own words how steam power works.

Causes and Consequences of FactoriesNew inventions had

to be housed somewhere

Enclosure meant there was a lot of

unemployed people willing to work in

factories

Growing population meant that factories

would be guaranteed to make

a profit

Invention of steam-power meant that factories could be

built anywhere

Huge profits were made for factory

owners

One worker could produce 60x more cloth than a whole family – prices of

goods became cheaper

Britain became rich and could afford a

massive empire

Workers had to work in terrible

conditions for little pay and no holidays

1.) Describe the reasons why factories were created in the first place. What do

you think was the most important cause?

2.) Explain what the consequences of building factories were. Which was the

most important consequence?

Advantages & Disadvantages of the Factory System

• By 1850, the Domestic System was no more and nearly all goods were produced in factories.

• But what were the advantages and disadvantages of the Factory System?

• Cut out and stick the cards into your books to show whether they are advantages or disadvantages

Advantages of factories

Disadvantages of factories

Factories provided paid work for

women.

Wages were very low.

Advantages & Disadvantages of the Factory System

• Now look at your finished table.

• Sum up the advantages and disadvantages.

• Were factories a change for the better or worse? Explain your opinion, showing you have thought about both points of view

Advantages of factories

Disadvantages of factories

Britain became the most powerful

country in the world.

Accidents in factories killed and

injured people

Britain became rich and could

afford an empire.

Small towns became important cities very quickly.

Factories stimulated other

industries like coal

Demand for cotton encouraged slavery

in the USA

Workers houses were overcrowded and had no toilets

Men, women and children had to

work 14-hour days

Plenary

1. What was the Domestic System?2. What was the Factory System?

3. Why were the first factories built?4. What were the benefits of factories?

5. What were the disadvantages of factories?

Did we meet our learning objective?

L/O – To judge whether factories were a change for the better or worse