LONG ANS. QUESTIONS(5 Mark)

Question

"Historians now have come to increasingly recognise that the typical worker in the mid-nineteenth century was not a machine operator but the traditional craftsperson and labourer!" Justify it by giving examples.
OR
Why do historians agree that the typical worker in the mid-nineteenth century was not a machine operator but the traditional craftsperson and labourer?

Vidyadip · Accepted Answer

1. Traditional industries were deeply rooted in England. New machines could not easily displace them. Even at the end of the 19^ th century, less than 20 percent of the total workforce was employed in technologically advanced industrial sectors. 2. Textiles was a dynamic sector but a large portion of the output was produced not within factories, but outside, within domestic units. 3. New technology was expensive and merchants and industrialists were cautious about using it. The machines often broke down and repair was costly. They were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed. 4. Here, the case of the steam engine is worth-mentioning. James Watt improved the steam engine produced by Newcomen and patented the new engine in 1781. His industrialist friend Mathew Boulton manufactured the new model. But for years he failed to find any buyer. 5. At the beginning of the 19^ th century, there were not more than 321 steam engines all over England. So even the most powerful new technology that enhanced the productivity of labour manifold was slow to be accepted by industrialists. In the light of the above we can say that an average worker in the mid-nineteenth century was not a machine operator but the traditional craftsperson and labourer.

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