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a sign of very primitive economical conditions. From that timethe import of cotton into England is mentioned. But how littleimportant was the manipulation of cotton, even at the turn ofthe century, is shown by the fact that in the Elizabethan poor-laws the various occupations, notably the spinning of flax, hemp,and wool, are recommended as employments in workhouses,whilst cotton is not mentioned by a single word.
It was the transference of the world’s highways of commerce,in connection with political events, which caused Germany andFlanders to give way, economically, to Holland, and later on toEngland . On this basis is the flourishing of the English cottonindustry to be understood. Already Lewis Roberts, in his“Treasure of Traffic,” published in 1641, mentions the cottonindustry of Manchester as a flourishing trade. Daniel De Foe finds, on his “ Tour through the whole Island of Great Britain,”in 1727, the town of Manchester in an astonishing state ofprogress. In a few years its population had doubled. This hasto be ascribed, he says, before everything else, to the cotton in-dustry, which has flourished so exceedingly during the last 40years.
The art and manner of manufacturing was at that time,according to Guest, as follows (1). The warp for the wovengoods consisted of linen yarn, mostly imported from Germany. Cotton for this purpose could not yet be spun strong enough.The weft was cotton yarn, which was spun by country people inthe vicinity of Manchester. The weaver was an independenthand-worker. He bought yarns, and brought the woven goodsto the Manchester market for sale. In the degree that theindustry produced not only for local needs but also for moredistant markets, and the striving to cheapen the production costsextended with competition, the independent weaving mastergave way to the wage worker who received the yarns forweaving from the merchant. The merchant origin-ally sold the woven goods himself, by carrying them on the backsof packhorses through the country. Up to this point merchantand weaver stood socially equal. But in proportion as themerchant became the giver-out of the yams he began to get thesales effected by commercial travellers and pattern books. • Thischange is put by Guest at 1740.
1 Guest: “History of Cotton Manufacture ” (1820, p. 7).