HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Human Wrongs Watch

By John Scales Avery*

17 August 2015

Child Labour and Slavery

In the early 19th century, industrial society began to be governed by new rules: Traditions were forgotten and replaced by purely economic laws. Labor was viewed as a commodity, like coal or grain, and wages were paid according to the laws of supply and demand, without regard for the needs of the workers. Wages fell to starvation levels, hours of work increased, and working conditions deteriorated.

A watercolor painting by Vincent van Gogh showing wives of Belgian miners carrying bags of coal.

John Fielden’s book, “The Curse of the Factory System” was written in 1836, and it describes the condition of young children working in the cotton mills.