Handloom weaving had been a lucrative craft in the late eighteenth century, and was actually aided by the invention of the Spinning Jenny in the 1760s. With a ready supply of spun thread, but no machine able to produce the woven cloth they created, weaving attracted huge numbers of workers. However, once power looms had been invented, and first introduced in mills in Manchester in 1791, it was only a matter of time before the handloom weavers were superseded. The new machines could be run by unskilled workers, who were paid a pittance. By 1841, destitution even among employed weavers was so severe that in Blackburn, for example a committee was formed to administer poor relief. A Royal Commission was formed to investigate the situation, b…

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Royal Commission on hand-loom weavers". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4823, accessed 23 November 2024.]