London in the Age of Industrialisation
Entrepreneurs, Labour Force and Living Conditions, 1700–1850

Analyses the effects of the industrial revolution on London's working population.

L. D. Schwarz (Author)

9780521403658, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 October 1992

304 pages
23.6 x 15.9 x 2.8 cm, 0.583 kg

"London in the Age of Industrialism is an admirably researched, elegantly written, and thoroughly accessible book. Schwarz has synthesized a diverse, multidisciplinary literature, incorporating his own detailed archival work to provide a new perspective on economy and society in London over one and one-half centuries." the Journal of Modern History

This book is the first full-length analysis of the London working population and the effects of the industrial revolution in London to appear for over sixty years. Prior to the mid nineteenth century London may not have experienced the direct effects of the industrial revolution to any great extent, but the indirect effects were felt strongly. L. D. Schwarz disagrees with the view that 'the industrial revolution was a storm that passed over London and broke elsewhere', and seeks to judge the effect of industrialisation on what was the country's largest manufacturing city. Its size and role as national capital meant that London was in certain important respects unique, but it was nonetheless susceptible to many of the wider economic transformations that occurred during the period 1700–1850, and Dr Schwarz offers a detailed analysis of the changes to the economy and social structure of London that these wrought. He analyses middle-class wealth, the incomes of the working classes, living standards (defined very broadly to include the impact of the seasons and of the trade cycle), the fall in the death rate, the changing nature of the labour force in general and of artisans in particular, money wages and perquisites and the economic role of women.

Introduction
Part I. Wealth and Occupations in London: 1. The structure of London's economy and labour force
2. Manufacturing, services and the London bourgeoisie
Part II. Fluctuations and Mortality in the Metropolis: 3. Trends, cycles and wars
4. Seasonal fluctuations
5. The population of London: the ending of the old regime
Part III. The Standard of Living and the London Trades: 6. The making of a wage rate
7. The challenge of sweated labour: a tale of four trades
8. The defences of the inferior artisans, conclusion: downstream from industrialisation
Appendices: 1. Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sources on occupations and incomes
2. Occupations insured with Sun Fire Office and Royal Exchange Assurance, 1775–87
3. 1851 census: Armstrong classification
4. 1851 census: summary tables.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], British & Irish history [HBJD1]