Click below for a demonastration from the Smithsonian Institution on the operation of the cotton gin
Friday, January 20, 2012
One of the birthplaces of the "Factory System"
Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for spinning cotton developed by Richard Arkwright. With advancements in technology, it became possible to produce cotton continuously. The system was adopted throughout the valley, and later spread so that by 1788 there were over 200 Arkwright-type mills in Britain. Arkwright's inventions and system of organising labour was exported to Europe and the United States.
Water-power was first introduced to England by John Lombe at his silk mill in Derby in 1719, but it was Richard Arkwright who applied water-power to the process of producing cotton in the 1770s. His patent of a water frame allowed cotton to be spun continuously and meant it could be produced by unskilled workers. Cromford Mill and Cromford was the site of Arkwright's first mill, and his system of production and worker's housing was copied throughout the valley. To ensure the presence of a labour force, it was necessary to construct housing for the mill workers. Thus, new settlements were established by mill owners around the mills -- sometimes developing a pre-existing community -- with their own amenities such as schools, chapels, and markets. Most of the housing still exists and is still in use. Along with the transport infrastructure form part of the site. A transport infrastructure was built to open new markets for the mills' produce.
Mills and worker's settlements were established at Belper, Darley Abbey, and Milford by Arkwright's competitors. Arkwright-type mills were so successful that sometimes they were copied without paying royalties to Richard Arkwright. The cotton industry in the Derwent Valley went into decline in the first quarter of the 19th century as the market shifted towards Lancashire which was better position in relation to markets and raw materials. The mills and their associated buildings are well preserved and have been reused since the cotton industry declined. Many of the buildings within the World Heritage Site are also listed buildings and Scheduled Monuments. Some of the mills now contain museums and are open to the public.
English Enclosure Movement
Click on the tab below for a lecture overview of the transition from Medieval formations to the modern.
Industrial Revolution
The ideas of Karl Marx and his co-author, co-respondent, and friend Friedrich Engels were some of the most influential of the 20th Century, though their roots were firmly established in the turmoil of the 19th. Click this link for a synopsis of the Manifesto that was published in 1848. Manifesto
Then click on "Analysis" in the upper right for a fuller explication.
View this clip and pay particular attention to the social effects of mechanization:
View this clip with the question of why the Industrial Revolution began wherfe and when it did.
Yankee inventor (and history teacher!) Eli Whitney made a few small technological innovations in his "Gin" (short for engine) with very large social, cultural, and political ramifications.
James Watt's developments of the earlier bulky and inefficient steam engine brought English factories down out of the hills (where water power was preeminent) and into the modern industrial city.
Before the rise of the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame, the production of textiles took place in homes, cabins, and farms. But with the rise of Richard Arkwright's complex, large, expensive, and water-driven Water Frame, industry needed its own space, the "factory."
The clip below examines the roleof water power in the development of industry.
The "Jenny" (an adaptation of the word "Engine") played a significant role in the early years of the Industrial Revolution. A few things to keep in mind: it was manpowered--or more accurately "woman-powered"--and was still small enough to fit in the homes or cabins of "spinners."
Napoleon
A very romantic painting of Napoleon "Crossing the Alps" by David
Av ery different portrayal of "Emperor Napoleon I"
Only Napoleon was allowed to crown his "Empress"
Napoleon's "Continental System"
Napoleon's Empire (Note the bewildering number of alliances formed against him)
Napoleon's first island prison: Elba
A plan of the Battle of Waterloo
The Emperor's last island prison: St. Helena
The Napoleon House in New Orleans
French Revolution
Louis and Marie Antoinette at Tuileries Palace
David's "Tennis Court Oath"
The Bastille
The March ofthe Fishwives
A Revolutionary "Sans-Culotte"
David's "Death of Marat"
A Detail Reveals the Name of Marat's Murderer
Georges Danton
Maximilien Robespierre
The Execution of Robespierre
We will discuss the French Revolution in more detail in lecture. View the following clips with your study terms at hand.
This clip deals with the royal family and economic background of the Revolution.
The clip below links several of the ideas and figures of the Enlightenment that were discussed in lecture and textbook.
In the clip below, note the economic conditions that predate the Revolution. Note also the political structure of France: the so-called "Estates" and the Estates-General.
The French are very proud that their Revolution was a revolution of the people against oppression and despotism. The clip below indicates the source of some of that pride: the attack on the Bastille, the newspaper of Marat, and the march of the formidable "fishwives" in early October, 1789.
The following clip continues on the narrative of a "people's" revolution. It also chronicles the rise of Robespierre and the Jacobins. And as the revolutionaries rose in power, the king (and Church) must diminish.
As both the textbook and lecture indicate, Maxmilien Robespierre was a seminal figure in the "Radical" phase of the Revolution. In the clip below, pay particular attention to his efforts to "rationalize" French society and to implement anti-Church and anti-Christianity measures. Note also the pernicious use of terror and violence by Robespierre and his allies transform the nation.
The clip below chronicles the "Great Terror" and the ultimate downfall of Robespierre himself. There is also an interesting evaluation of the Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Newton's Less Scientific Side
Isaac Newton--the formulator of the great Universal Theory of Gravitation--became in the next century a hero of the Enlightenment...a paragon of reason and rationalism. These brief video clips discuss instead that Newton's infatuation with alchemy and heretical sects makes a much more complex (and human) person.
Art of the Renaissance Documentary
The clip here is the Introduction to the filma and a brief scene from the Hollywood Film, "The Agony and the Ecstasy" inside the Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo the Painter
Pope Julius II had originally hired Michelangelo to design and sculpt his papal tomb for St. Peter's. While in the middle of the project, the pope pulled the artist away to "decorate" the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel--the pope's smaller chapel inside the Vatican. The result was one of the greatest frescoes in history. The work is massive--when in the chapel you feel like you are personally INSIDE a work of art. It is truly an inspiring experience. The work itself is a very Renaissance blend of religious images (mostly Old Testament figures and scenes) and classical figures like the Roman sybil at top left. Thirty years after finishing the ceiling, the artists was once again commissioned for a work in the chapel. This time he created the huge "Last Judgment" (above center and top right) that covers the entire wall behind the altar.
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