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The Bank of England is established
The Bank of England was founded in 1694 as a private bank, created to fund the war against France. The original charter, granted by King William and Queen Mary, outlined that the bank was made to 'promote the public good and benefit of our people'.It had just 17 clerks and 2 gatekeepers as its staff. -
Abraham Darby invents a powerful blast furnace
In January 1709, Abraham Darby, a British Ironmaster, created a Blast Furnace capable of producing iron of a very high quality. It was a coke-fired furnace, which was superior in both cost and efficient to most other methods, including coal, which was too weak to support the heavy charge associated with Iron. His discovery changed iron manufacturing drastically over the next 100 or so years. -
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The invention of better textile machines slowly moves the industry into factories
From the 1730s to the 1780s, there were many improvements to spinning and weaving machines that shifted the industry from homes to factories. It started in 1733, when John Kay invented the Flying Shuttle, which enabled weavers to weave faster. From there, Cotton Mills were opened in 1742, the Spinning Jenny was invented in 1764, which improved upon the spinning wheel, and in the same year, the first powered textile machine was invented by Richard Arkwright. -
Britain defeats France in the Seven Years' War
The 7 Years' War lasted from 1956-63. It spanned through 5 continents, and was known in America as the "French and Indian War." After many small fights between the two countries, England officially declared war on the French in 1956. The Treaty of Paris was signed on the 10 of February 1763, decidedly ending the war, and were rewarded Canada, Louisiana and Florida. -
James Watt invents a Steam Engine able to Power Industry
The first working Steam Engine was created in 1698, around 40 years before James' birth. In 1764, Watt was given a Steam Engine to repair. While he was repairing it, he realised that it was extremely inefficient, and began to improve the design. By 1790, he was a wealthy man and devoted himself to research. -
Henry Cort's 'puddling' process further improves to quality of iron products
The Puddling Process, a way of converting pig iron into wrought iron by exposing it to heat and stirring in a furnace whilst using oxidizing substances, was invented by Henry Cort, an English Manufacturer, in 1783. It was the first method ever developed that enabled wrought iron to be developed on a large scale. -
The French Revolution Begins
The French Revolution was a time period in France when the monarchy was overthrown by the French people, who took control of the Government. It lasted 10 years from May 1789, when the Bastille Prison was stormed. It totally changed the social and political structure of the French country and put and end to the ruthless Monarchy. -
The Parliament passes Combination Acts, making Trade Unions Illegal
In 1799, the British Parliament passed created was called the Combination Acts, which made trade unionism against the law. The punishment if people went against these laws consisted of three months in jail or two months of hard labour. In 1824, the acts were repealed, allowing trade unions to be formed again. -
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Tuberculosis causes one-third of deaths
From 1800 until 50 years later, Tuberculosis caused over a 1 in 3 deaths in England. Also known as TB, it if an infectious disease that affects the lungs due to bacteria. It attacks the kidney, spine, and brain until your body cannot function properly. -
The first official population census is held in Britain
The Census Act of 1800 was carried out by the Parliament of Great Britain, enabling the first Census of England, Scotland and Wales to be undertaken. It was carried out in 1801 and every ten years following that. It was taken in two parts: firstly, the number of people and their occupations, families and houses, and secondly, the numbers of marriages, baptisms and burials. -
Luddites begin to damage textiles machines in protest
From 1811 onwards, a group of rebels known as the Luddites arose. Led by Ned Ludd, Luddites were against the new machines, inventions and ways of working. So, they rose up in arms, and started damaging machines in workplace and building a reputation for themselves. -
The first Steam Locomotive is built
Puffing Billy, known as the first ever built Steam Locomotive, was built in 1813 by William Hedley and a crew of his co-workers, in Newcastle in the United Kingdom. It was created to move coal wagons from the Wylam Mine to the Docks at Northumberland. -
14 Luddites were hanged in York Castle
On January the 16th, 1813, fourteen men who were in their prison cells had been sentenced to death because of crimes such as murder and burglary. They were escorted by a large body of soldiers, at 11 in the morning, and were hanged and suspended until noon -
A factory act is passed limiting child factory work hours
In 1819, after a culmination of protests and rebellions, the British Parliament finally decides to take some weight off the poor children's shoulders by restricting 9-13 year olds to under 9 hours and children 13 to adult to a maximum of 12 hours of factory work each day. -
The first Public Steam Railway is opened
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) were a railway company that operated in North-East England from 1825. They used the first public railway that they created to use steam locomotives from September 1825, which originally hauled steam waggons, but eventually started carrying passengers in coaches drawn by horses until carriages pulled by locomotives were introduced in 1833. -
Stephenson's Rocket hauls the first train on the Manchester to Liverpool Railway Line
In 1830, the first train on the Manchester to Liverpool Railway Line was sent out. It used Stephenson's Rocket, which had a 0-2-2 wheel arrangement, fairly advanced for its time and age. It became the template for most Steam Engine for the next 100 years. -
The Swing Riots cause damage to farming machines in rural England
The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising in the Summer of 1830 from agricultural workers in Southern and Eastern England about their harsh conditions. They destroyed threshing machines in the Elham Valley and arose from their, forming an army across many parts of Britain. The name came from Captain Swing, the fictitious name he created to address people in letters. -
The Parliament passes another Factory Act stopping children under nine years from working in factories
After many years of disagreement, Britain finally came to a decision to ban any children under nine years of age from working in factories. Instead, they went to nurseries, where they learnt, played and didn't have to work so hard in factories all day at that young an age. -
Samuel Morse develops the Telegraph System
Developed throughout the early 1830s by Samuel Morse and other inventors, the Telegraph System worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. In addition to this, Samuel also developed Morse Code. He sent his first telegraph message in 1844 from Washington to Maryland. -
The Plug Plot Riots cause deaths and arrests
Known as the Preston Strike, in 1842, workers protested due to depression which resulted in wage cuts of over 25%. 4 men died and 2 were injured, due to guns and also rocks being thrown at police and military. There were 3,000 cotton workers protesting, formed as a group after a meeting before the riots. -
The Irish Potato Famine leads to mass emigration
The Irish Potato Famine, or the "Great Hunger," started in 1845 when an organism similar to a Fungus, P. infestans, spread at a rate of knots throughout Ireland. It ruined up to half of the potato crop of that year, and about three quarters from the coming 7 years. At the close of the disease, roughly 1 million people died from starvation, and at least 1 million more forced to seek refuge. -
The Parliament passes the final factory act setting maximum working hours
In 1874, the Government conjures the last Act, setting limits of the working hours per week for all workers, not just kids. Previously, people had been slaving away for as long as fourteen or sixteen hours every day for many consecutive weeks, without decent breaks or living and working conditions.
