Notes

The First Industrial Revolution, between 1760 and
1830, began in Britain and spread throughout Europe and
the United States (Sabo, 2015). The introduction of steam
engines allowed the general mechanization of industries
which replaced the artisan method of an individual’s “knowhow”
with the high and rapid production of consumer
goods (Schuh et al., 2014). It was also in this period that
coal began to replace other fuels, such as wood.
The First Industrial Revolution was particularly important
for the textile industry. In 1733, John Kay patented his
flying shuttle propelled by a cord that increased consumption
of items produced in looms. Before this invention,
the yarn was manually carried back and forth in the loom,
which limited the width of the fabric. However, it was only in
1760 that the invention became popular with the possibility
of use of yarns in different colors (McNeil, 1990).
In 1764, James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny,
a spinning machine that replaced the manual method of
yarn production. According to McNeil (1990), an accident
with his spinning wheel and the movement of the hands
of craftsmen were inspirations for Hargreaves to develop
this machine. After 36 years of the invention, the number of
spindles increased over 15 times (Ribeiro, 1984).
Arkwright offered several contributions to textile machinery.
In 1769, he patented the water frame, a spinning
machine that combined Spinning Jenny’s system with a
waterwheel and cylinders that allowed for a more regular
yarn. In 1775, he patented the carding machine, which
consisted of a preparatory system for textile production
(McNeil, 1990; Ribeiro, 1984).
One of the most important inventions of the spinning
system was the introduction of a mechanical spindle in
the water frame in 1779, which allowed the production of a
high-quality yarn, and consequently replaced domestic production
with mass production (Ribeiro, 1984; McNeil, 1990).
Joseph-Marie Jacquard, in 1801, combined different
existing mechanisms to develop the Jacquard Loom.
He was also the inventor of punch cards that were later
considered the basis for the memory cards used in computers
(McNeil, 1990).
The First Industrial Revolution had coal as main source
of energy and the extraction of iron ore was effectively exploited
in the 19th century. Braudel (2009) and Hobsbawn
(2011) claim that iron began to be used in the manufacturing
of machines only at the end of the century; metallurgy
was restricted to the production of tools, nails, screws, iron
bars, among others. In some places in England, the birthplace
of the First Industrial Revolution, textile machinery
was still made of wood.