Matchmaking In The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain during the mid-18th to the early 19th century. One of the most poisonous and dangerous jobs in the Industrial Revolution was matchmaking where workers would dip the ends of match sticks into a hazardous chemical called phosphorus.
The prime candidates to complete the job of matchmaking were young girls aged 4-16 years old who were known as ‘match girls’. These children worked, making matches, from 6:00 in the morning to almost 10:00 at night and were ideal for employment as factory owners were able to make them work for as long as they wanted for a little amount of money. Parents allowed their children to supplement their own low incomes as they struggled with poverty during this time period. Matchmaking came into existence as a result of the Industrial Revolution because a demand for ‘strike anywhere’ or ‘lucifer’ matches arose rapidly. The tips of these matches were made out of a hazardous chemical called yellow phosphorus which …show more content…
When the phosphorus was ingested or inhaled, it would get in the worker’s mouths and teeth. From there, the phosphorus would start to decay the jaw from holes in their teeth and pieces of bone were worked out through their gums. Annie Besant, a journalist, took on the cause of the match maker and helped organise a strike for the workers at Bryant and May. She wrote an article on July 14th, 1888 in the newspaper The Link titled ‘White Slavery in London’ addressing the poor conditions endured by the employees and highlighting the insufficient pay obtained whilst the shareholders profited huge returns and benefitted from their work. Besant writes that the company owners were also huge shareholders and benefitted from the lucrative profits of the sale of phosphorus
The prime candidates to complete the job of matchmaking were young girls aged 4-16 years old who were known as ‘match girls’. These children worked, making matches, from 6:00 in the morning to almost 10:00 at night and were ideal for employment as factory owners were able to make them work for as long as they wanted for a little amount of money. Parents allowed their children to supplement their own low incomes as they struggled with poverty during this time period. Matchmaking came into existence as a result of the Industrial Revolution because a demand for ‘strike anywhere’ or ‘lucifer’ matches arose rapidly. The tips of these matches were made out of a hazardous chemical called yellow phosphorus which …show more content…
When the phosphorus was ingested or inhaled, it would get in the worker’s mouths and teeth. From there, the phosphorus would start to decay the jaw from holes in their teeth and pieces of bone were worked out through their gums. Annie Besant, a journalist, took on the cause of the match maker and helped organise a strike for the workers at Bryant and May. She wrote an article on July 14th, 1888 in the newspaper The Link titled ‘White Slavery in London’ addressing the poor conditions endured by the employees and highlighting the insufficient pay obtained whilst the shareholders profited huge returns and benefitted from their work. Besant writes that the company owners were also huge shareholders and benefitted from the lucrative profits of the sale of phosphorus