A Global History of Textile Workers, 1650-2000

Framework Document

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To make a useful comparison between the various national overviews, the authors are requested to take account of the following guiding questions in writing their overviews.

1. Production

1. What was the size of production and how many people were involved in production?
2. What changes occurred in the size of production and workforce? How can they be explained?
3. What markets were exploited, and what role did regional and interregional competition play? How would you assess the impact of demand (consumption, trade cycle) on the production of textiles?
4. What technological developments took place in textile production (spinning and weaving)? How did this influence production and labour relations?

2. Organization of production

1. How was textile production organized? What was the position of masters/management on the one hand and workers on the other?
2. What changes occurred in the organization of production, and how can they be explained?
3. What role did guilds, trade unions, employers-organizations and other forms of (labour) organization play?

3. The workers

1. How were the textile workers recruited? What was their social and ethnic background? What changes took place and how can they be explained?
2. What was the gender composition of the work force? What changes took place and how can they be explained?
3. Was there a specific age composition of the workforce? How is this (absence of) age differentiation to be explained?
4. What were the labour conditions of the workers like (hours of work, payment, secondary labour conditions, etc.)?
5. What were the living circumstances of the workers?
6. Did a specific work culture or occupational identity develop? What changes occurred in occupational identity and how are they to be explained?
7. Were there forms of labour protest in this period? If so, how were they organized and what workers took part?

4. Environment

1. How important was the textile industry in the context of the national (or regional) economy? Did this change and if so, how and why?
2. What policy and regulations did (local) governments impose on the textile industry?
3. What was the relationship between urban and rural areas and how did it effect textile production?