Social and economic conditions in the Belfast linen industry 1850-1900

Abstract

The scope of this study may be briefly indicated. The central subject is the conditions of labour in the spinning mills and weaving factories of the Belfast linen industry during the period 1850—1900. This involves a consideration of such questions as the number of hours worked, the dangers to health and life associated with the character of the processes, and state and private attempts directed towards the amelioration of conditions. As an account of working conditions would be unreal without some reference to earnings, an attempt has been made to indicate the course of monetary and real wages during the period. As some knowledge of the general development of the industry is essential to an understanding of the problems investigated, the paper begins with an outline of this development.Though the organisation of the linen industry was affected by the advent of capitalism before the end of the eighteenth century, it was not until 1829 that there was any fundamental change in technique. In that year Mulholland of Belfast, inspired by John Hinds, substituted the manufacture of linen for that of cotton and applied steam power to flax spinning, by the wet process.1 This individual act of enterprise was the prelude to a half century of rapid development. Another decide elapsed before any attempt was made to apply steam power to linen weaving and even then progress was slow.