Each  village  was  self-sufficient,  that  is,  most  of  the  necessities  of  life  were  produced  in  the  village  itself.  The  needs  of  the  villagers  were  few  and  simple.  Food,  clothing  and  shelter  were  their  basic  needs.  Arable-farming  and  cattle-breeding  satisfied  the  needs  of  the  people  in  the  way  of  foodstuffs,  clothing  and  footwear.  Wool  from  the  […]

The  townspeople  who  lived  on  the  lord’s  land  were  quite  often  harassed  by  the  landlord  who  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  retainers  attacked  and  plundered  the  town. What  could  be  done  to  defend  the  town  against  the  predatory  raids  of  the  feudal  lord? The  town  craftsmen  produced  goods  only  to  order  and  for  […]

In  the  11th-13th  centuries  when  the  town  crafts  began  to  grow  the  guild  system  was  of  great  importance.  The  life  of  the  craftsmen  was  bound  up  with  the  guilds.  The  guild  was  a  military  organization  as  each  guild  formed  its  mu­nicipal  guard  detachment  and  a  levy  of  guildsmen  fought  together  against  the  enemies  of  the  […]

In  the  13th-14th  centuries  the  inhabitants  of  the  bigger  towns  had  to  rely  more  and  more  on  the  neighbouring  country-side  for  their  foodstuffs  and  raw  materials  for  their  crafts. Trade  between  the  town  and  the  country-side  began  to  develop. Now  we  shall  learn  more  about: -  the  trade  connections  between  the  town  and  the  village; […]

People  from  the  country  would  come  to  the  town  markets  to  sell  their  surplus  produce  and  to  buy  the  townsmen’s  goods.  The  town  market  was  held,  as  a  rule,  on  a  certain  day  of  the  week.  On  market-day  stalls  were  put  up  in  the  mar­ket-place,  which  was  in  any  open  space  near  the  centre  of  […]

The  growing  trade  led  to  the  establishment  of  contacts  between  different  parts  of  the  country  and  to  the  development  of  commercial  contacts  between  England  and  other  countries. Through  its  connections  with  Normandy  England  came  into  closer  contact  with  the  Continent. People  travelled  between  England  and  the  Continent  more  often  than  before. A  good  deal  of  […]

London  merchants  drew  great  incomes  from  the  wool  trade,  as  the  capital  was  a  centre  of  trade  for  Northern  Europe.  It  established  commercial  contacts  with  the  trading  towns  of  the  Mediterranean  which  was  a  link  in  the  trade  between  Western  Europe  and  the  eastern  countries.  After  the  crusades  began,  people  learned  more  about  the  products  […]

The Great Exhibition of 1851, the brain child of the Prince Consort, was held in London. It demon­strated the vast wealth of the British empire created due to its industrial development. May 1st, 1851, was an exciting day for many people in Britain. The streets of London were unusually busy the morning of that day. […]

The shameful practice of child labour played an important role in the Industrial Revolution from its outset. The displaced working classes, from the seventeenth century on, took it for granted that a family would not be able to support itself if the children were not employed. The children of the poor were forced by economic […]

In the earliest stages of the Industrial Revolution, when machinery was crude, soon obsolete and worked by the uncertain and irregular power of water, facto­ry owners were determined to get the fullest possible use out of this machinery in the shortest possible time. Hours of work rose to sixteen and even eighteen a day. In […]