Putting-out system facts for kids

The putting-out system was a way of getting work done by hiring people to do tasks from their homes. It was also called the workshop system or the domestic system. In this system, a main person or company would give work to people who would complete it from their own houses. This was a type of remote work.

This system was common in the English and American textile (cloth-making) industries. It was also used for making shoes, locks, and parts for small guns. This happened from the time of the Industrial Revolution until the mid-1800s. Even after the sewing machine was invented in 1846, the putting-out system was still used for making men's ready-made clothes.

The domestic system was great for times before big cities existed. Workers didn't have to travel far to a factory, which was hard because roads were not very good. Also, family members often spent many hours working on the farm or doing chores at home. Early factory owners sometimes had to build places for workers to live, especially for girls and women. Workers in the putting-out system had more freedom to balance their farm and home tasks with their paid work. This was very helpful, especially during winter.

This way of working is often seen as an early step towards modern industry, called proto-industrialization. It was very important until the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. Even though its name and locations changed, the main idea of the putting-out system hasn't changed much. Today, you can still find similar systems in places like China, India, and South America. It's not just for making clothes anymore.

How Cloth Was Made in Europe

The domestic system was a very popular way to make cloth in Europe. It was also used in other industries, like making iron items such as pins, pots, and pans for ironmongers (people who sold metal goods).

This system started as early as the 1400s, but it was most common in the 1600s and 1700s. It helped business owners and workers avoid the old guild system, which was often slow and strict. It also allowed them to use workers who lived in the countryside. Having workers do their jobs at home was good for everyone.

Workers were like remote workers. They would make individual items from raw materials. Then, they would bring the finished goods to a central business place, like a marketplace or a bigger town, to be put together and sold. Sometimes, traveling agents or traders would visit villages. They would give out raw materials and then collect the finished products. The raw materials were often given by a merchant, who then received the finished product. This is why it was called the "putting-out system."

This system had many benefits. Workers could work at their own speed. Children working in this system were often treated better than those in early factories. Also, because women often worked at home, someone was usually there to look after the children. The domestic system is sometimes said to have helped the rise of the nuclear family in Europe. This is because common people earned more money, making them less dependent on their larger extended families. This extra money also meant that farmers and villagers could afford more furniture, better food, and nicer clothes than before. The system was mostly found in Western Europe and did not become as strong in Eastern Europe.

The poem The Song of the Shirt (1843) by Thomas Hood describes the very hard life of a woman working under this system in Lambeth, England. It was written for a woman named Mrs. Biddell, a widow and seamstress who lived in very poor conditions. She sewed pants and shirts at home using materials from her employer. She even had to pay a deposit for the materials. To feed her hungry children, Mrs. Biddell sadly pawned the clothes she had made. This put her in debt. She was sent to a workhouse, and her final story is not known. However, her story helped people who wanted to fight against the terrible conditions of poor workers in England. These workers often worked seven days a week in very tough conditions, barely surviving with no hope for a better life.

Anders Jonsson (1816–1890) was a famous Swedish business owner who continued a putting-out business in Holsljunga. He hired up to 200 home workers. They would come to his house to get raw materials and return a few weeks later with finished textiles. Local peddlers from the city of Borås would then buy these textiles and sell them in Sweden and Norway.

What is a Cottage Industry?

A cottage industry is a type of industry where many producers work from their homes. It was often set up using the putting-out system. The main people involved were the merchant (business owner) and the rural worker. The merchant would "put out" basic materials to the home workers. These workers would then prepare the materials in their own homes and return the finished goods to the merchant.

The term "cottage industry" first referred to people working from home on tasks like sewing, lace-making, making wall hangings, or other household manufacturing. Before the Industrial Revolution, some industries that are now in big factories were once cottage industries. Business owners would travel around, buy raw materials, deliver them to people to work on, and then collect the finished products to sell or ship to other markets.

One reason the Industrial Revolution could happen in Western Europe was because these business people already knew how to expand their operations. Cottage industries were very common when many people worked in agriculture. This is because farmers and their families often had time and wanted to earn extra money, especially during winter when there was less farm work.

Images for kids

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  1795 home of a Swedish businessman who contracted up to 200 domestic workers. They came here to get raw material and returned after a couple of weeks with textiles. Local peddlers from the city of Borås then bought these textiles.

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  A 19th-century ox-powered double carding machine, used to prepare wool or cotton.

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  Queen Bertha of Burgundy teaching girls to spin flax using spindles and distaffs.

See also

In Spanish: Sistema putting-out para niños