In 1830, British textiles accounted for around two thirds of the country’s exports. This growth continued up to the beginning of the First World War. In 1850 Britain imported 589 million pounds of raw cotton and in 1913 this had risen to 2179 million pounds. This raw cotton was transformed into all kinds of different cloth for a wide range of purposes. 86% of all cotton cloth was exported in 1913. Lower quality cloth went to less well developed countries such as India and the middle east meanwhile good quality finished cloth was sent to Australia, Canada and China. The cotton industry seemed to expand far faster than other textile industries. The rise of the cotton plantations of the southern USA meant the huge demand of the British cotton factories could be met. Additionally, the machines supplied were particularly suited for use with cotton.
During the 18th century, there were a series of important inventions that may have in fact been the reason for the enormous impact that cotton had on the British industry. Kay’s flying shuttle in 1933 seemed to trigger a line of extraordinary inventions that was to revolutionise the British cotton industry. Wheels were fitted to the shuttle and a spring at each side to drive the shuttle to and fro across the loom. This simple improvement meant one weaver could weave as much cloth as two weavers did before. This was closely followed by Hargreave’s spinning jenny in 1764. By 1780 the jenny was capable of spinning 80 spindles and was used in many spinner’s homes. Arwright’s frame in 1769 was large and expensive but was used widely in factories. In 1779, Crompton’s mule was invented and began to make fine but very strong thread. This combination of Hargreave’s spinning jenny and Arwright’s frame was capable of spinning 300-400 spindles. It is estimated that by 1811 there were 4.2 million mule spindles. Finally Cartwright’s Power loom in 1785 raised the cotton weaved from 60,000 in 1830 to 250,000 in 1850.
Despite these inventions and innovation, the mechanisation of both spinning and weaving continued. More productive steam power and the introduction of large steam engines meant spinning mules and looms increased productivity.
However, despite these seemingly radical changes, there was in reality little change in the way British cloth was made throughout this period. This was mainly due to the fact that unlike the American system, the British textiles industry was made up of several small firms. Each carried out a stage in the making process of the cloth but no single person controlled this entire process. This made it very difficult to bring in changes, as these would affect several different firms. Buying new machines was also expensive, particularly for the small companies.
Total production levels rose in response to rocketing demand for cotton. The growth of the export sector provided the greatest spur to production accounting for 60% of the total sales in 1871. In the years when climatic conditions demanded a lightweight cloth and high poverty levels demanded low price products, cotton moved away from its traditional markets and Asian markets such as China and India grew noticeably. In fact, India became critical to the Lancashire cotton industry. The export of cotton cloth to India accounted for 16.6% of total cloth by value produced in Britain in 1851. This had reached 19.4% in 1873.
In conclusion, the British economy benefited greatly from the cotton industry. Due to new mechanisation and revolutionary new ideas and technology, cloth could be made to a very high standard. Cheaper and often more wearable than wool or silk, cotton began to be exported all over the world and not just in Europe. This made up a significant portion of not only the British textile industry but the economy as a whole. However, it is important to consider cotton in comparison to other industries. In reality not a great deal changed in the way cotton was manufactured so perhaps its impact up to 1914 was not as substantial as it appears.
