page_title: Calton weavers
section_title: Industrial revolution
hierarchical_section_title: Calton weavers / Industrial revolution
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of power loom weaving. Español: Ilustración de una tejeduría con telares mecánicos en 1835. El sector textil fue una importante actividad de la Revolución Industrial y de las fábricas mecanizadas de esos tiempos, las que como energía usaban una rueda de agua central o una máquina de vapor.
context_page_description: The Calton weavers were a community of handweavers established in the community of Calton, then in Lanarkshire just outside Glasgow, Scotland in the 18th century. In 1787 the weavers went on strike. Troops opened fire on the demonstrators and six weavers were killed.
  In the early 19th century, many of the weavers emigrated to Canada, settling in Carleton Place and other communities in eastern Ontario, where they continued their trade.
context_section_description: During the period between 1760 and 1830 the Lowland Clearances reduced demand for farm labour, forcing families to the cities to find work, usually in the mills. Life was hard; poverty, disease and desperation were rife. The displaced cottars had few skills other than weaving. They crowded the mills depressing wages.
  The end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 released soldiers into the workforce, increasing the problem.
  Irish immigrants also swelled the working population. By 1851, 23% of the population of Glasgow was Irish in origin. The Irish were blamed for crime and unemployment but, evidence of the time showed that, in fact, the Irish were more willing to work and less likely to seek relief than the Scots.
  From the later part of the 18th century, and accelerating in the 19th century, the weaving industry became increasingly mechanized. The flying shuttle halved the time to weave a piece, although it was not introduced to Scotland until the end of the 18th century.
  Steam-powered spinning mills were built starting in 1798.Power looms were used in Scottish linen weaving as early as 1810.
  Population growth and industrial mechanization combined to cause increasing social problems.
caption: Illustration of power loom weaving in 1835, from History of the cotton manufacture in Great Britain by Edward Baines (1800–1890). An idealized view of women working in a clean and spacious environment.
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