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The change and improvements in farming meant that it was possible to produce more food with less labour and this meant a fair number of unemployed farm workers. These were the people who moved into the towns and cities and were available for work in the new factories that were beginning to appear. However, these factories operated in absolutely terrible conditions and they could do so because the poor people desperately needed work and some money. These workers would be shut in dark, damp rooms for hours and this contrasted with their previous work when most days were spent working in the open air in the fields. Another of these new industries was coal mining as coal provided the power for many of these new machines. The country was in the throes of changing from a nation of farmers to a nation of shopkeepers. In the past, people had grown or made their own food, clothes and indeed their income was based on what they could sell. Now they had to get used to needing to buy their needs. Money was essential in order to survive but most people only got that money by working for someone else. People’s lives began to be more like yours is today. They actually had less machines but their way of life was very similar. Schools were for all pupils not just the wealthy and people went out to work each day.
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