Manchester was called cottonopolis and it was the center of the world’s cotton industry

Manchester imported up to a billion tonnes of raw cotton each year

80% of the cotton in 1860 came from the southern United States

Manchester went from a population of 60,000 in 1800 to 142,000 by 1842

In 1837 the average age of death for the laboring population was 17

Manchester was one of the most filthy, overcrowded, and unhealthy places in Britain during the Industrial Revolution

Sewage was often left untreated and was sent directly to the rivers of Manchester

Source

https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/worlds-first-industrial-city#at-the-museum

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The first proper sewers in Manchester were created when the 1792 Police. Act gave power to pave and sewer the streets

Records of the earliest sewers weren’t well kept and the courses and locations of these sewers isn’t well known

The rapid growth of the sewers led to poor construction, and this led to sewer collapses in city center

The sewers were generally laid under the street

The sewers were frequently U shaped and no bigger than 3ft with barely any manholes for access

The egg shaped pipes were introduced by John Francis, the city serveyor in 1848

Source

https://substormflow.com/article/manchester-sewer-history/

19th-century medicine chest containing treatments for cholera, a bacterial infection spread through contaminated food and water

The medicine chest was made for cholera, after 1849 and lasted till the 1915s

Cholera affects the small intestine, some symptoms are: Watery Diarrhea, Vomiting, and muscle cramps.

The medicine chest contains aromatic confection powder and chalk mixture powder, which can be taken together or with cinnamon water

Catechu was recommended as a treatment for the worst attacks of cholera as it shrinks swellings, catechu was made for a vegetable extract

The medicine chest was sold by two chemists named Godfrey & Cooke, in London

Woden and was measured at 132 mm x 191 mm x 102 mm, and weight .98kg.

Manchester was the heart of new global networks of trading and manufacturing in the 19th century

Manchester exported around £200,000 worth of textiles, which is worth about £24 million today

Most of the cotton spun and woven grown by enslaved people in the Caribbean and in South America

Manchester's population explosion led to one of the most filthy, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions in Britain

The average age of death in Manchester at this time was only 17 years old

Only 11,000 out of the 47,000 houses in Manchester had a piped water supply

The build up of waste in the rivers of Manchester made the city more vulnerable to flooding and the River Irwell was rising at 3 inches a year

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The mortality rate in Manchester was 50% higher that the national average

By 1835, 90% of the UK's textile industry was based in Manchester

Manchester's population increased by five times from 1800 to 1850

Industrialization cause major pollution, which led to many health problems for the city’s inhabitants

Coal became a dominant source of energy and people started burning fossil fuels

People didn’t realize the long term consequences of this

However, they noticed that the poor air quality affected health

Manchester became known for its gloom, and the air pollution caused dark skies, dirty streets and homes, and air thick with smoke

Although this caused dreadful living conditions, coal smoke represented a thriving industry

It signified economic success and technological advancement

These clogs were the shoes men, women, and children used at work

The children that used these shoes didn’t actually own them

The children borrowed these shoes because they didn’t have enough money to buy them

They were lent to families with not enough money by the Charter Street Ragged School in Angel Meadow

The clogs were selected for the gallery to show the precarious lives of industrial Manchester’s workforce

Workers could make good money in the mills, but it wasn’t guaranteed, since there were cotton shortages or low demand that made them not able to get paid

The Charter Street in Angel Meadow also provided food, clothing, and basic education to the poorest people in Manchester.

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https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/museum-science-industry-given-100-year-old-9245126

The soles are stamped with ‘CSRS loaned, not to be pawned‘

These shoes are made of wood and leather, and only the poorest people wore them, not everyone

The clogs have been donated to the Museum of Science and Industry, and are known as a “very exciting item”

The heart of Manchester’s environmental problems was its inadequate water and sanitation.

The early decades of the 19th century, Manchester was growing famous around the worlds because of textiles, and trade.

Manchester’s towering cotton mills and warehouses created a brand new urban environment.

Pollution from human waste, Manchester’s manufacturing industries dumped gallons of contaminated water and tons of solid waste into the water.

Gained a reputation of the most filthy, overcrowded, and unhealthy place in Britain

River Irwell- a polluted river, that the riverbed was rising at a rate of about three inches a year.

The city demanded for clean water, and in 1851 Manchester corporation completed the first stage of a huge project- supply water from Longdendale in the Peak district.

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Manchester was famous for wool and cotton.

1729- cotton exchange- cotton can be bought and sold

population of 10,000, and soared by the end to 70,000

Source

The main power source in Manchester is coal, a fossil fuel that was used to smelt iron

Many people during that time didn’t know the future air quality when using coal as the power source

Coughs, stinging eyes and perpetual gloom became the frequent outcome of the overuse of coal

Since the Industrial Revolution resulted in machines and factories constantly increasing, that meant the amount of polluted air would also increase

Steam engines caused an increase in the utilization of coal to power machines in a mill

One of the products of burning coal include smoke, which can lead to heart and lung diseases.

Observers in 1820 tried to persuade mill owners to reduce the amount of smoke, a practice called “smoke consuming.”

The first cotton mill was produced in Shudehill, Manchester in 1782 by Richard Arkwight

By 1840 there were over 500 smoking chimneys in Manchester skyline which caused dreadful living conditions because the air was filled with coal smoke

This urban air pollution was called the "The Smoke Nuisance"

For some people, they thought that the smoke was a symbol of success, as it meant there were more job opportunities

To try to stop the pollution, a practice was enabled called the "smoke consuming" which made mill owners reduce the quantity of smoke their mills produced.

People thought that profits were going up in smoke as "coal was being wasted"

There were many different inventions to try to reduce the pollution including the Lancashire boiler, the boiler stroker and gas powered engines.

Not only was there air pollution but there was also river pollution

Since there was a lot of river pollution, it led to many mills being constructed, leading to job opportunities

Water-borne diseases were eased by the sanitary reform measures in the 19th century.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800902000290

Manchester was the first industrial city, from towering mills and factories to warehouses.

The main fuel in Manchester was coal and was used as fuel in factories and smelting iron.

Most of the cotton spun and woven grown by enslaved people in the Caribbean and in South America.

Richard Arkwright transformed the textiles industry and wanted a machine powered factory.

John Dalton was a scientist in Manchester. His work advanced our understanding in multiple fields of research.

There was a lot of contamination in the water and people had no other source of water so they had to drink it.

Living in Manchester during the Industrial Revolution meant living in air population every day. There was air population because of the factories.

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Manchester-England/Evolution-of-the-modern-city

The first canal was used to bring coal from Worsley.

Manchesters first cotton mill built in early 1780s and by 1830s there wear about 99 cotton mills.

Manchester had a population of 70,000 by 1801.

Industrialization in the 1800s, while still being very world-changing, brought life changing pollution that caused health problems and environmental changes for the people

The primary source of air pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels as an energy source, which start up in Manchester where coal was the dominant energy source

Coughing, stinging eyes, perpetual gloom, dirt, stench, and smoke were a big problem for visitors and people living in Manchester

Manchester was the worlds first industrial city, making it have a long and difficult history of urban air pollution

The first ever steam-powered cotton mill was built at Shudehill in Manchester in 1782 by a man named Richard Arkwright

By the mid-1840s, there were around 500+ smoking industrial chimneys on the skyline of Manchester

The single-cylinder condensing beam engine is made around the time of the 1830s, a type of early steam engine which first made possible the idea for the machines in a cotton mill to be powered via a coal-fueled steam engine intrinsic to the amount of energy being created

The most popular shoes for women, children, and men of the industrial Manchester were clogs

However, these clogs were never owned by the children who wore them

A school in Angel Meadow called Charter Street Ragged loaned clogs to families who could not afford them

The clogs were stamped as “CSRS loaned, not to be pawned” to ensure that the children or their family would not pawn the clogs for money

The workers in Manchester textile mills could receive good money, although work was hard to guarantee

Mill would often shut down to cotton shortage or low demand for cloth, which made people struggle for good, clothes, and place to live

The worst Manchester slum district in the 19th Century, Charter Street provided food, clothing, and basic education to poorest people of Manchester

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https://museums.eu/article/details/109857/clogs-from-victorian-ragged-school-in-manchester-acquired-by-museum-of-science-and-industry

The Ragged school was originally a Juvenile Refugee and School in 1847

The children’s “raggedly” clothing have the school its name

Signs of the previous establishment still remain on the exterior of the school

Canals were the key transport arteries of early industrial Manchester

Manchester lacked navigable rivers, therefore artificial water routes were need to transport goods

Canals brought in materials including coal and raw cotton, and exported finished goods

Good transport links to the Midlands and southern England were essential for Manchester to take advantage of new consumer markets for its products

By the 1820s, Manchester was at the heart of an extensive canal network

3rd Duke of Bridgewater, which ran from Runcorn to Manchester was a vital canal. This was linked to the Leeds and Liverpool canal in 1821, creating a direct link with Liverpool, the main port for raw cotton imports

Apart from cotton, these local canals were important

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for moving coal, stone, timber and salt across the region

By the 1890s, Manchester was an international centre for commerce and distribution

The Canal was built between 1887 and 1894; it ran for 35 miles and had numerous technical innovations

https://medium.com/special-collections/transport-and-industrial-manchester-6e141b843b41#:~:text=Canals%20were%20the%20key%20transport,mostly%20to%20the%20home%20market).

Manchester is often called the "first industrial city" because it was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century.

It became the world’s first city to fully embrace factory-based mass production, particularly in the textile industry.

The city’s rise to industrial prominence was largely fueled by cotton manufacturing.

The rapid growth of factories attracted thousands of workers from rural areas, sparking urbanization.

Manchester’s population exploded, from about 75,000 people in 1800 to over 300,000 by the mid-1800s, making it one of the largest cities in Britain.

While the city’s economy thrived, working conditions were often dangerous and overcrowded.

Many workers, including children, worked long hours in dark, poorly ventilated mills, leading to widespread health problems and pollution in the city.

Many faced Stench, gloom, coughing, viruses, and difficulty to breath

Chimneys where a key invention in the industrial revolution as by the time 1850, more than 500 chimneys were visible in Manchester sky

———————————————————A timeline showcasing Manchester’s industrial growth:

• 1760s: Introduction of new textile machinery

• 1800s: Manchester becomes the world leader in cotton manufacturing

• 1820s-1830s: Development of canals and railways

• 1840s: Rapid urbanization and rise of factory-based economy

Manchester became the world's leading producer of cotton textiles, causing the city to be nicknamed Cottonopolis.

The first three cotton mills were created in Manchester in the 1780s. These mills were named the Arkwright's, Salvin's, and Piccadilly mills.

The number of mills doubled between 1800 and 1816, going from 42 mills to 86.

The increase in cotton mills and factories opened up more job opportunities, attracting people from all over Britain.

Many people switched from rural farms to work in mills and industrial jobs in Manchester

The population of Manchester went from 9,000 people in 1717 to 25,000 people in 1773 after the Industrial Revolution started

Manchester was an endpoint for the world's first intercity railroad spanning from the city of Liverpool to Manchester. This was created in 1830 and added to the increase in population.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2023/apr/03/cotton-capital-how-slavery-made-manchester-the-worlds-first-industrial-city

Manchester was the first industrial city, from towering mills and factories to warehouses.

in 19th century (1800s) Manchester, coal was the main source of energy for powering industry because people didn’t know about the long term issues of burning fossil fuels

The air was filled with sooty coal smoke because of the amount of coal-powered steam engines that powered the city’s cotton mills

By mid 1840s, there were about 500 industrial chimneys that released smoke which meant A LOT of smoke was released daily

Rather than taking the heavy smoke in the air as a bad thing, industrialists believed it was a sign of economic success and progress with technology, whereas workers believed it so be a sign of jobs

Steam engines in Manchester were easily able to use coal because coal was readily available from Lancashire’s mines nearby

Mill owners in Manchester wanted more advanced engines to power businesses faster for more money, so engines got bigger, which meant more coal-burning boilers and smoking chimneys were built as well (which resulted in 2000 industrial chimneys polluting the air in the area by the end of the 19th century, or 1800s)

People started forming societies against this heavy smoke production and one of the main ways they advocated against this was by explaining that smoke is produced when coal isn’t burnt properly, so if it doesn’t burn fully, then the coal is being wasted (if lots of black smoke appears/coal isn’t burning properly, then coal is being wasted/profits are lowered)

Clogs were the most common footwear for men, women, and children working in Manchester’s industrial mills during the 19th century.

Children who wore these clogs did not own themso instead, they were borrowed from the Charter Street Ragged School in Angel Meadow, which gave them to poor families.

To prevent families from pawning them for money, the clogs were stamped with “CSRS loaned, not to be pawned.”

during the industrial revolution there was a lot of dye synthesized

the dye was was discovered when a man was trying to make medicine

the die comes from aniline

the color was named mauvine

it was the worlds first synthetic dye, as before, people got dyes naturally.

its created attempted to sabotage other country's from getting it

its discovery helped to establish the modern chemical industry as we know it today, and reshaped science and synthetics.

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all dye came from insects roots or minerals before the industrial revolution, they where very difficult and expensive to get.

new dyes took fashion by storm, rapidly opening up the possibility's.

the creator got a patent for the dye and left his lab and chemistry to start manufacturing.

https://library.si.edu/exhibition/color-in-a-new-light/making

On 26 August 1856, William Henry Perkin, at age 18, accidentally discovered the world's first synthetic dye, mauveine (aniline purple).

While oxidizing aniline with potassium dichromate, Perkin observed a black precipitate that could make a purple dye capable of coloring silk when processed.

The discovery of this dye revolutionized the dye industry and helped establish the modern chemical industry. Coal tar was seen as only a wasteful byproduct of burning coal, but now it could be used to extract aniline and make dyes, pharmaceuticals, perfumes, and saccharin.

Perkin patented mauveine in 1856, made a fortune off of it, and retired at the young age of 36 to focus on other chemistry research.

During his retirement, however, Perkin kept secretly improving his method of producing the mauveine. This led to even more significant advances in the mass production of synthetic dyes.

In 2012, Dr. Plater analyzed a physical dye sample. He applied liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to look at its chemical structure and compared it to dyes used in 19th-century stamps.

Perkin’s original lab notebook from 1855-1856 still exists, showing detailed records of his experiments. These include purple fingerprints from his work with mauveine.