INDUSTRIALISATION IN ULSTER, 1825-55 Flashcards
The north-east of Ireland was a growing heartland for…
Textiles production
What was the most prominent textiles industry?
Linen
How much did Linen account for the country’s exports to Britain?
1/3
By 1821, how much of the population worked in manufacturing of some kind?
40%
What did the textile industry in Ulster help develop?
A merchant class who were quick to establish trade routes with Britain
Why were steamships an expensive means of transportation?
High coal consumption rate
Chamber of Commerce
Local association created to promote the interests of businesses in a given area
After 1828 what did the Belfast Chamber of Commerce do?
Devoted time to raise money for investment into roads, canals and rail network in Ulster
What would strong internal trade links allow Ulster to become?
A desirable place for new businesses to locate and for more established ones to grow
What did the Linen industry add to Ireland?
General prosperity through the export of its goods to Britain
Why was there a great demand for Irish cloth?
It was recognised as the best quality available
What did Linen do for individual prosperity?
Offered small farmers the chance to supplement their agricultural income
How did farmers keep up with the high demand for Linen?
Took up weaving to enhance production.
Cottage Industry
A business that is operated from inside people’s homes
What was Belfast known as because of its success in the Linen industry?
Linenopolis
What were the benefits of wet-spinning?
- Yarns could be spun in larger quantities
- Returned better profit margins than cotton
Why did Belfast’s population increase?
People moved to the town for work in the new mills that were quickly being established
What percent charge were cotton goods subject to?
10%
When did the cotton industry start to decline?
1825
Why did the cotton industry fail?
- Shortage of capital
- Expense of coal
- Cotton mill owners turned to flax spinning
Why did cotton mill owners turn to flax spinning?
- Increased competition with British
- Invention of wet spinning
- Stock market crash in 1825
Why was there competition for cotton between Britain and Ireland?
They were able to produce cotton at a lower cost because of machinery and when protective tariffs were removed after 1824.
How much did raw cotton cost per pound and how much could it be sold for once spun?
10 pence per pound and 18 pence when spun
How much did flax cost and how much could it be sold for?
6 pence and sold for 4 shillings
Why did the wooden industry fail?
- Growing competition with Britain
- Competition made great use of steam powered looms rather than hand loom weaving.
What cities were in the linen triangle?
Lisburn, Dungannon and Armagh
What was the problem with the Linen triangle?
Area was landlocked and required an effective means for transporting goods to the entrepôts
What was Ulster’s initial transportation system?
Canal system but it was slow and cumbersome
Royal Commission
An executive appointed panel created to investigate and make recommendations for a particular aspect of government policy
What did the Royal Commission convene?
- Investigate the development of a broader railway network in Ireland.
- 1837 produced a general report about the need for investment
- 1838 made recommendation that the British should fund a national Irish railway to create a uniform service for the benefit of the whole nation
Why did some people challenge the Royal Commission’s recommendations?
Felt the railway should be entirely managed and funded by a private enterprise
When was the first line built?
1839
How much did the first line cost?
£107,000
Why was the first line important?
Opened up the interior and promoting easier access for the outlying areas to send their goods to foreign markets
How many miles of line had been built by the end of the century?
1,000
What did good rail links establish?
- Allowed the province to prosper because of the continued demand for Ulster linen
- Made industry more stable because of a continuous supply of goods that helped to ensure confidence foreign trade
In addition to the development of the railway system what is something else that helped linen prosper?
Mechanisation of the linen-making process
Why was wet-spinning so important?
Flax was inexpensive therefore, cost of making linen was reduced
How many flax spinning mills were there by the end of the 1830s?
35
Who owned the largest spinning company in the world?
Mullholland
What linen technique was a traditional affair?
Weaving
What caused a stump in hand spinners earnings?
The demand for wet-spun yarn
What country were one of the top buyers of Irish linen?
USA
Which industry really shaped the future for Belfast?
Shipbuilding
What were the 3 established shipyards in 1825?
- Ritchie and MacLaine
- Charles Connell and Sons
- Thompson and Kirwan
Why was it far from clear in the 1820s that Belfast would enjoy such a prosperous future?
City was not well adapted for large-scale building and lacked the space
Why was the River Lagan not adapted for shipbuilding?
Had significant bends which produced narrow channels only small ships could pass through.
Even with changes why did Belfast remain a difficult place to establish the shipbuilding industry?
It’s success in 1850 benefitted from adopting and mastering new techniques of shipbuilding and attracting orders from other ports such as Liverpool, where shipbuilders were finding it difficult to fulfil contracts.
When was the first steamship built?
1826
Why was the Chieftain a significant step?
Signalled the modernisation of this industry
What were ships originally built out of?
Wood
When was Belfast’s first iron ship built?
1838
Who built the Countess of Caledon ship?
Engineering and boiler-making firm Victor Coates and Company.
Why did an engineering and boiler-making firm make an iron ship?
Constructing iron ships were closer to engineering than the more traditional wood-based techniques, original shipyards were slow to adapt to new methods.
What did shipbuilding benefit after it grew?
International trade
What did the expansion of docks resulted in?
Increased capacity to manage a larger volume of seaborne traffic from around the world.
How many tonnes was it able to clear by 1835?
291,000
Ship tonnage
Measurement of the cargo-carrying capacity of ships, higher the tonnage, bigger the ship
Which province had the highest ship tonnage?
Cork
What were the benefits of the ship industry prospering?
Greater economic security and enhancing employment
Why was shipbuilding a long-term employment?
Required dedication and experience.
What was the first shipyard to be built in Belfast?
William Ritchie’s yard
Who took control of William Ritchies yard after his retirement?
Charles Connell
What was the first ship to bring tea to Belfast?
Fanny
In 1838, what was the largest vessel produced?
The Aurora
How did the Fanny and Aurora show economic development in Ireland?
Transported home-produced goods such as Linens to foreign markets
By 1842 how many vessels did Charles Connell and Sons produce?
32, 2 every year
Why did Thompson and Kirwan fail?
- Increase demand for iron ships
- Iron ships more costly
- Too small of a firm
Who bought Thompson and Kirwan?
Robert Hickson
When was Hickson and Company sold?
1858
Who overtook Britain as the biggest importer of Irish Linen in the 1840s?
USA
Shipbuilding gave birth to associate industries such as…
- Rope manufacturing
- Machine engineering
- Engines and boilers
Why were the port facilities not adapted for large-scale use?
Shallow water and bends meant it was difficult for larger ships to dock
When was the Ballast Board created?
1785
Why were the problems becoming acute in 1830?
Affected merchants profit margins and caused general frustrations.
Who did the Ballast Board assign to fix the problems in 1830?
Walker and Burgess
What were Walker and Burgess’s solution?
Two straight cuts at the bends of the river to create a single straight channel and deepening the river by dredging it 12 feet
How much did Walker and Burgess’s solution cost?
£180,000-£200,000
Why did locals oppose the idea Walker and Burgess proposed?
Saw it as an opportunity to extract advantageous concessions
Lord Donegall was only keen if on supporting the idea if ?
MPs for Down, Antrim and Carrickfergues and Belfast were given seats on board
What was the compromise of the Ballast Board?
Allowed the MP’s to sit and 16 further members to sit on a 4 year rotational basis.
When was work finally about to start on the River Lagan?
1837
Who undertook the improvement of the River Lagan?
William Dargan
When was the first cut completed?
1841
What was Dargan’s Island renamed in 1845?
Queen’s Island
What was the remaining space on Queen’s Island used as?
Given over to the development of shipbuilding
Who ended up with the shipbuilding space on Queen’s Island in 1861?
Harland and Wolf
When was the second cut completed?
1849
The Belfast Harbour Act 1847
- Ballast Board replaced by Belfast Harbour Commisonners
- Allowed an iron shipyard to be built on Queen’s Island
- Modernise shipbuilding
What was the industrialisation of Ulster a consequence of?
- Improved technologies
- Trade with Britain and the world
Andrew Mullholland
- Turned attention to flax spinning because of fire and declining cotton market
- Ulster’s first steam-powered wet flax-spinning mill
- World’s largest linen company
- Elected mayor of city in 1845
- Employed more than 5,000 workers
What were Hickson’s contributions to the industrialisation of Ulster?
- Ambition to establish an iron shipbuilding firm in the newly expanded Belfast harbour.
- His firm brought Harland as yard manager in 1854, precipitating the evolution of the shipyard into Ulster’s most successful firm Harland and Wolf after 1861.
What did Hickson begin his career in?
Timber merchant
Hickson and Company
- Hickson partnered with John Spence
- In Liverpool
- Bought newly opened ironworks in Belfast
What did Hickson write to the Belfast Harbour Commissions in 1853?
- Take the lease for a plot of land approx four acres in size
- Spend £1,500 to create new slipways and sheds for his intended shipbuilding venture
- Ensuring they maintain the depth of river at least 15 feet
Why did Hickson have all these demands for the Belfast Harbour Commissions?
He wanted his company to succeed
How did Hickson evidence his success that shipbuilding could have in Belfast?
He received two large orders so soon into his operation
What did Harland do to manage the shipyard?
- Tightened up the working practices
- Paid workers less
How much did weavers wage rise by?
20-30% in 1848-52
How much did the population rise by in Ulster?
2 million to 2.4 million
What did the growing population result in for housing?
- Shortage of homes
- Back to back housing
- Shared houses
- Poorly built housing
- Sanitation problems
How did the growing population affect society?
Poor behaviour, crime
What were working conditons like?
- 12 hours a day, 5 days a week
- 6 hour day on Saturday
- Noisy, poorly ventilated
- Inhalation of ‘pouce’ / phthisis disease
- Accidents by machinery
- Wages low
Factory Act
Required dangerous machinery to be fenced off
How much did a skilled cotton worker earn in 1820s compared to 1835?
14 shillings a week to 6-8 shillings
The 1832 Cholera Outbreak
- 400 lives in Belfast
- Board of Health established
- Bodies burnt
- Rigorous policy of street cleaning, whitewashing houses and fumigation
- Ended in 1833
When was the second cholera outbreak
1848
The 1848 Cholera Outbreak
- 35,000 lives nationwide
- Widespread because of famine
- Miasma
- Board of Guardians
- Second hospital
- Sewage systems to be created
- Demand landlords to improve conditions
Belfast Chamber of Commerce
- 76 members in 1827, 260 by 1893
- Only 8 were Catholic
- Purpose was to protect local businesses and improve their standing within Belfast.
How much did the percentage of Catholics grow in Belfast?
10% to 34%
Why did Catholics tend to go for the growing linen trade?
Required unskilled labour which they made up because of the discrimination they faced due to penal laws
What industry was the religious discrimination most noticed in?
Shipbuilding industry where there was a labour aristocracy.
Apprentice System
- Robert Hickson introduced
- Preference to those of same religion and those who could pay for 5 years of training
