Question

"The typical worker in the mid-nineteenth century was not a machine operator but the traditional craftsperson and labourer." Justify.

Answer 1

Slow pace of technology of new machines : Though Technological inventions were taking place, bur their pace was very slow They did not spread dramatically across The industrial landscape.
(ii) Expensive : New technologies and machines were expensive, so the producers and the industrialists were cautious about using them. The machines often broke down and the repair was costly. They were not as effective as their inventors and manufacturers claimed.
(iii) Limited use of machines : James Wat improved the seam engine produced by Newcomen, and patented the new engine in 178I. His industrialist friend Mathew Boultcn manufactured the new model. But they could no: find sufficient buyers. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were approximately 321 steam engines, all over England. Of these.  were in cotton industries. 9 in wool industries, and the rest in mining, canal works and iron works. No other industry was using steam engine even in the late 19th century. So even the most powerful new- technology that enhanced the productivity of labour manifold was slow to be accepted by the industrialists.