Child Labour During The Industrial Revolution In Britain

Essay by co_clueJunior High, 8th grade August 2006

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Child labour generally means children work to produce a good or a service whether they are paid or not. It's a term for employing children. The Industrial Revolution introduces steam power. Factories were built. These took away the job from people. They moved to crowded cities to find work places. Labourers were needed. Families were poor so they sent children to work as well. People were used to it, they worked when they were young and it was normal for their children to do so.

As young as five year old children were already working, sometimes up to nineteen hours a day with one hour break. Usually it was twelve to fourteen hours. Children were attractive to owners because they were cheap and often not paid at all. Their salary was about 3 pence.

Children were in horrible conditions. They were using, large, heavy, and dangerous equipment. Most workers arrived at 5a.m.

and did not leave until 10p.m. The master would put the clock forwards in the morning and backwards in the evening.

Children worked in factories, mills, and mines. In factories, they were required to clean the machines while they were still running. The machines were not turned off because nothing is being produced when they are. Therefore, no income is made. The owners were extremely greedy and cruel. Many accidents happened. Children inhaled dust and fumes from under the machines. The ones who picked up cotton waste were called "scavengers". 'Pieces" had to lean over the spinning machine to repair broken threads. There was a big chance to be caught in them. The noise from machines made children deaf.

In the mines children usually worked naked due to the high temperature. They used to dig long paths in mines to find coal. It was the main source to...