The Factory System:
Early Factory Production
Hard as it may have been, the life of a handloom weaver provided a measure of independence. He could organise his own working week. In good times it wasn't unusual for him to take Monday and Tuesday off and make up the time later. Ingenious devices were being constructed in workshops that were going to change all that. The new machinery was installed initially in the merchants' warehouses, then purpose built mills appeared and the handloom weavers had to surrender their independence, move to the towns and submit to the factory system. Many expressed their resentment and frustration by smashing the new power looms.
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