Britain and the History of Cotton

Britain emerged as the first industrial nation, with cotton serving as the first symbol of the new era. The earliest factories in England came up by the 1730s, but it was only in the late eighteenth century that the number of factories multiplied. Cotton production boomed during this period, marking a significant transformation in industrial history.

The growth of the cotton industry was remarkable. In 1760, Britain imported 2.5 million pounds of raw cotton to feed its cotton industry. By 1787, this import soared to 22 million pounds. This dramatic increase was linked to numerous changes within the process of production.

Before factories emerged, a proto-industrial system existed. This system was part of a network of commercial exchanges controlled by merchants. Goods were produced by a vast number of producers working within their family farms, not in factories. At each stage of production, 20 to 25 workers were employed by each merchant.

As cotton industries developed in England, industrial groups began worrying about imports from other countries. They pressurised the government to impose import duties on cotton textiles so that Manchester goods could sell in Britain without facing competition. Simultaneously, industrialists persuaded the East India Company to sell British manufactures in Indian markets.

The impact on India was profound. At the end of the eighteenth century, there had been virtually no import of cotton piece-goods into India. By 1850, cotton piece-goods constituted over 31 per cent of the value of Indian imports, and by the 1870s, this figure exceeded 50 per cent.