GS 336: Work and Society

Lecture 8
 2: Work in Historical Perspectives

Topic:
The transition from feudalism to proto-industrialization

Outline/Objectives
 Background
 Proto-Industrialization
 Features of Proto-Industrialization
 The putting-out system
 Advantages of the putting-out system
 Disadvantages of the putting-out System
 Life before the cottage industry: Urban Guilds
Background
Feudalism is generally believed to be ended with the Renaissance in
Europe (14th to 17th century)---a time in which there was a great revival
of art, science, literature and human freedom.
In addition to Renaissance, several other factors also contributed to the
transition from feudalism. These factors include a) flaws within the feudal
system b) external and internal forces that created a long-lasting impact
on the medieval societies.
Some of the internal factors that led to the collapse of feudalism were
internal wars, rebellions by the common people and inefficiency of the
system as a whole. The feudal system placed heads of groups between
the monarch and the inhabitants, thereby increasing tension between
the common folk and the monarch. A Peasant Revolt arose all over
Europe in the 14th century, which resulted into the old system being
broken up and the beginning of the modern social economy. The Revolt
led to the division of national wealth among small landed entrepreneurs.
Proto-Industrialization (PI)…
PI refers to a system of rural manufacturing in the early 18th
century Europe that was intermediate between autarchic
feudal production and modern urban factory production.
Variously described as rural manufacturing, domestic
manufacturing, cottage industry, and a "putting-out" system. it
was a dispersed system of production that used traditional
methods (hand made) of production and extensive low-paid
rural labor to produce goods for the market, both domestic
and international.
Unlike modern capitalist manufacturing, proto-
industrialization did not depend on rising labor productivity as
a source of higher profits; instead, merchants increased the
scale of their businesses by extending production to
additional households and workers.
…Proto-Industrialization
Characteristics of Proto-Industrialization System of Production
 Large-scale domestic/cottage industrial production
 Production for a market, often through urban-based merchant
 Low technology and very low rate of technological change
 Extensive rather than intensive growth
 Workers not producing for themselves but for an international market
 Not based on factories
 Period of time where efforts were made to organize efficient industrial
organizations.
 Guilds of the Middle Ages decreased competition so production centers were
sent to rural settings to avoid them (“putting-out system”)
 Very profitable since rural labor was cheap and available
 Lasted until the factory system of the 19th century
 1. The Putting-out System…
 The putting-out system is also called rural manufacturing, domestic or
cottage production system.

 The putting-out system prevailed in rural areas of western Europe,

England in particular, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

 The putting-out system was under the supervision of a merchant who

"put out" the raw materials, paid a certain sum per finished piece, and
sold the completed item to a distant (urban) market.

 Sometimes the laborers put out the work to others as well---sub letting
or sub—contract.

 The putting-out system differed from the handicraft system of home

production in that the workers neither bought materials nor sold the
products.
 …The Putting out System…

 Work was taken to the rural workers; the workers did not have to
go to work in factories.

 Spinners and weavers still owned the means of production, i. e.

the spinning wheels and looms belonged to the workers.

 Their work hours depended on the seasons, not a time clock.

 Rural homes tended to be small, crowded, and poorly ventilated.

 The workers remained primarily agricultural workers, their income

in the cottage industry was just supplemental and very low.

 Cottage industry was a model of early capitalism and a prelude to

industrialization.
…The Putting-out System…

Cottage Workers • Enterprising merchants would

purchase large amounts of cotton
and wool and distribute them to
Spinsters/Spinners rural workers.
Raw Materials • Rural carders would comb the
fibers so the wool could be spun.
Weavers • Rural spinners would spin the
yarn or thread.
• Rural weavers would weave the
Merchants yarn of thread into cloth.
• Rural dyers would bleach or dye
Dyers
the cloth.
• The merchants would then sell the
finished product to wholesalers or
directly to customers.
Domestic Manufacturing
 …The Putting out System…
 The system also allowed adult family members to develop a domestic
division of labor in which their children could contribute productive labor
under direct parental supervision.

 With time, it became clear to the merchant “putter-outs” that their

domestic employees required a greater degree of supervision to
maximize their productivity and discourage “embezzlement” of raw
materials or even finished products.

 It was these social considerations coupled with technological imperative

that accounted for the rise of the factory system. By removing wage-
earners from their own domestic environments and assembling them in a
common workplace (Factory). Merchant capitalists were in a better
position to control the hours and pace of work and, through vigilant
surveillance, to prevent embezzlement. By doing this, of course, many
merchant capitalists transformed themselves into industrial
capitalists—controlling the mode of commodity production.
 Advantages of the Putting-Out
1.
System
Peasants could supplement their agricultural incomes.
 Take advantage of winter months when farming was
impossible.
2. Merchants could avoid the higher wages and often
demanding regulations of urban labor.
 Easier to reduce the number of workers when the
economy was bad.
3. Merchants could acquire capital, which would later play a
part in funding industrialization itself.
 Peasants acquired future skills.
4. Young people could start separate households earlier,
thus contributing to population growth.
Disadvantage of the Putting-Out
System
When demand rose [which it did in the 18 century] this
system proved inefficient.
 Merchant-capitalists found it difficult to induce peasant-
workers to increase their output.

This dilemma eventually led to the factory system

 All the workers were concentrated in one place under the
supervision of a manager.
 Water or steam power could easily be applied there.
Cottage Industries: The “Putting-Out”/Domestic System
Cottage Industries
The transition from Feudalism to
Proto-Industrialization and Modern
Urban Capitalism
2. Life Before the Cottage Industry-Urban Guilds

 Urban guilds dominated the economy

• collected taxes from their members
• imposed standards and orders on trade
• represented the interests of commerce to the government
 Received privileges from the crown
 Very restrictive - violators of these monopolies could be
prosecuted
 Homework Assignment
Read the following topic from the textbook (pages 44-47)

The Transition from Feudalism

to Proto-Industrialization
 Thank You

Any Questions?