The changes in British manufacturing spread across Europe and America, replacing traditional rural lifestyles as people migrated to cities in search of work. Men, women and children worked in the new factories operating machines that spun and wove cloth, or made pottery, paper and glass.
The Industrial Revolution's impact was strongest and most immediate in the textile industry, as factories sprang up all over Britain to produce goods of cotton, wool, flax, silk and lace for sale in Britain and its overseas colonies. Factory workers operated spinning equipment such as the spinning jenny, water frame and spinning mule, or weaving equipment like the power loom. Factories could run up to 24 hours a day, six days a week, and a typical shift was 10 to 14 hours. Automated equipment with moving parts was inherently dangerous, but workers usually received no compensation if injured.
Since factories had working shifts of 10 and 14 hours, a lot of workforce was required to cover the labor demand, and people started to migrate from rural zones to cities in search of work and better opportunities.The economy was based on production and demand, so factories increased production with 24 working hours a day, demanding more and more workforce.
