His first task as a young worker was to serve as a draw-boy.
Sitting on a perch above the heavy, massive loom and working quickly in advance of each passage of the flying shuttle carrying the weft thread, he would lift and re-position warp threads of various colors in different spots to create the pattern desired by the Master weaver who operated the loom. This tedious and sometimes dangerous task was given to children because their smaller fingers were more capable of setting the fine silk, wool, or cotton threads used.
The Industrial Revolution heralded what would be a long, gradual shift from a farming economy, to an industrial, trade-based economy. As fewer peasants made their living off the land, they migrated to the cities, where factories sought workers in response to foreign demands for their trade goods. Throughout France, the textile industry flourished.
Poverty Led to Revolution
Unfortunately, this new economic growth and the growth of a new entrepreneurial class came at some expense. The citizens of Lyon, as well as other industrial cities, were overworked, yet still poor and lacking food. The "curse" of the Industrial Revolution was that the upper middle-class factory owners profited from the rise in foreign trade, while the lower classes suffered crowded living conditions and little pay.
This is a free page. This page contains 197 words. This
biography contains 1,693 words (approx. 6 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Joseph Marie Jacquard Access Pass.
