Archivo del autor: Peter Van der Heyden. docenciapvdh@outlook.com

Sir James Caird, an expert on farming in England, visited the majority of agricultural counties in 1850 and 1851, and wrote a number of reports on the farming activities in each area for “The Times”, which were then published in book form. He also noted the labourers’ wages and the cost of provisions, and presentedSigue leyendo «12.12. Comparison 1770 to 1850»

The agricultural and non-agricultural occupations have to be calculated and analysed separately, as there are a number of differences in wages and in structure of expenses. Wages   Agricultural Non-agricultural       Wage level Defined by farmers’ incomes, i.e. wheat prices Defined by negotiations with business owners, or with impersonal market Wages movements in high-inflation periodsSigue leyendo «12.11. Wages, Expenses, Real Wages, 1770-1860»

The comparison of earnings (only weekly winter wages) with expenses, and the real wages (index 1770 = 100) are: Earnings Expenses RealWage Earnings Expenses RealWage 1815 186.2 150.6 123.6 1841 169.2 151.7   111.6 1816 183.1 159.1 115.0 1842 161.5 137.3 117.6 1817   189.2 178.2 106.2 1843 153.8 126.3 121.8 1818 190.8 178.2 107.1Sigue leyendo «12.10. Real Wages»

The calculation of the cost of living uses practically the same sources and rules, as for the chapter 1770-1815. Clothing “Do not they use fustian for their clothing?” “Yes; they cannot afford to wear their own native wool.” “But they wear a great deal of fustian, which is cheaper than woollen cloth by half?” “Yes,Sigue leyendo «12.9. Calculation of Cost of Living»

The daily life of the farm labourers was made easier by the introduction of many implements and simple machines made of iron: scythes, forks, billhooks, hedgeslashers, ploughshares, clod-crushers, harrows, lightweight iron ploughs, horse-drawn butter churns, horse-drawn hay rakes and cheesepressers. Hay rakingThe picture shows a horse-drawn hay rake and the traditional hand held wooden rake.Sigue leyendo «12.8. New Implements»

Special Assistant Poor Law Commissioners were sent in 1843 to report on the Employment of Women and Children in Agriculture, in a number of counties in England. The four commissioners visited a) Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, and Somerset, b) Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, c) Suffolk, Norfolk, and Lincoln, d) Yorkshire and Northumberland. It is clear thatSigue leyendo «12.7. Conditions of the Labourers 1834-1860»

Mr. Purdy, the head of the Statistical Area of the Poor Law Administration,  gives some real cases of expenses. A family in Kent, November 1835:     s  d       Earnings   9 0       Flour 5 gallons 4 2 Bacon 3 ½ lbs. 1 5 Butter 1 ½ lbs. 1 2 ¼Sigue leyendo «12.6. Real Family Budgets»

In 1795, as a response to the high prices of corn, the “Speenhamland System” for subsidising the poor was introduced in a large number of agricultural parishes. The idea was to guarantee the head of family, or the single man, a cash income calculated as a function of the number of members of the family,Sigue leyendo «12.5. The New Poor Law 1834»

The economy of Great Britain from 1815 to 1821 went through a very bad time. As the War with France had finished, the Government stopped immediately payments for arms production, uniforms and boots, and infrastructure. The soldiers and sailors were licenced, so as to save money on their wages. Many companies went bankrupt. The emergencySigue leyendo «12.4. Standard of Living 1815-1834»

The corn prices in this period were practically the same in all parts of England, so that for a comparison of wages per county in terms of weight of corn, we can use just one figure for each date given. (prices in shillings per bushel of grain) 1824 1832 1833 1837 1850 1850 1860 1860Sigue leyendo «12.3. Wheat Prices»