Cotton Trade in Medieval Times Part-II (Continued from Issue No

4 13th March, 2018 COTTON STATISTIcs & NEWS Cotton Trade in Medieval Times Part-II (Continued from Issue No. 49 dated 6th March 2018 Dr. T.R. Loknathan has a Ph. D. in plant The following table provides the list of inventions breeding. He is currently working as a Principal which played a great role in the ascent of cotton trade Scientist in the Division of Crop and commerce. While Richard Arkwright left Improvement at ICAR-CICR, a great fortune and during his time Nagpur. He is pursuing his research cotton trade trebled, many of these on genetic enhancement of cotton. inventors did not reap the benefits. John Kay had to flee to France and died Major Inventions That a penury; James Hargreaves’ patent was stolen and he died a poor man in Influenced Cotton Commerce 1778, writing in his will that a guinea This dramatic shift to machines be given to the vicar for preaching in the cotton industry was amazingly his funeral sermon while Mr. James rapid. England was, however, the gave the widow 400 pounds for her last country in Europe husband’s share in the to take up manufacture. factory. The golden age of But it made a mighty stir cotton lasted from 1788- when it did wake up. The 1803. The English cotton seductive Indian cottons trade flourished. This attracted the fancy of confirms what Erasmus the people in spite of the Darwin had to say, “It political pressure (laws and penalties) to abandon is probable that the clothing of this small seed will them, The weavers were encouraged to imitate the become the principal clothing of mankind.” forbidden fripperies (curtains) of Indian cotton. English enterprise rose, by applying brains and skills Cotton in America to handling Indian cottons more proficiently than the The short staple cotton fibre from India created native Indians. difficulty amongst the English spinners. At that Table 1 : Machinery which revolutionised the textile industry Sr. Name of the Year Inventor Remarks No. Invention Enhanced the efficiency of spinning, reducing the number of spinning hands 1 Fly Wheel or the Fly Shuttle 1730 John Kay (the word, “ Spinster” a proficient unmarried woman spinner. She provided her spun weft required for the looms. Increased the efficiency of the Dutch loom 2 Drop Box 1761 Robert Kay enabling the weaver to ply the separate shuttles. James Watt, a 3 Steam Engine 1762 Provided power to the looms mechanical apprentice Developing yarns through twisting by the Spinning Jenny (spinning James Hargreaves, spindles in an efficient way giving more 3 1764 machine with upright spindles) carpenter and weaver power to the handwheel, providing more weft Spinning frame or Water Richard Arkwright, 4 1769 Increased the pace of spinning Frame or the barber Numerous spinning jennies Lewis Paul and John 5 1770 Efficient spinning of the yarn into a warp with a plentiful supply of Wyat First piece of genuine British Richard Arkwright, Set up a water-powered factory at 6 1773 made calico the barber Crafford, Derbyshire Improved Arkwright machine Improved the quality of yarn, increasing 7. ( combining roller drawing and 1758-1827 Samuel Crompton the number of spindles thus expanding travelling carriage the loom capacity Machine of great power attached to the 8. Automatic loom 1787 Samuel Crompton Engine of Watt COTTON AssOCIATION OF INDIA 13th March, 2018 5 time the American upland cottons superior to the ventured into producing fancy cotton goods like lace, short staple Indian cottons gained momentum in though it was not a cotton producing nation. The production. The production of raw cotton dominated re-introduction of the cotton spinning and weaving in the select few Southeastern states and the finished skills in Netherlands, though they were the pioneers products were shipped to England from North to migrate to England as skilled hands, revived the America. With the advent of the Civil War from 1861- Netherlands cotton industry. Cotton spinning was 65, there was a blockade of shipment of Southern introduced by a Russian Ludwig Knop in 1839, in cotton by the North to England and Europe, resulting Russia. He had earlier worked in Manchester with in cotton famines in respective countries. Later on, a firm of cotton spinners. He was sent as an agent key policy changes resulted in the encouragement to Moscow and there started as a cotton spinner, of free trade and ended the blockade. Thus importing machinery from England. Italian cotton interdependence amongst countries for cotton - both industry flourished during the American Civil raw and finished products - added revenue to the War (1861-1863) due to increased production of economy of these countries. Three cotton exchanges cotton in the Italian soil. Thus, the diverse localised viz., New York, Middling and New Orleans were geographical advantages aided in the rise of cotton formed to understand the flow of the cotton trade industry at that time. and the economy of cotton commerce. Staple grades were created to classify the quality of different Conclusion: cottons grown in diverse regions of America. Cotton assumes an important role as clothing for mankind. The story of cotton trade extending from the Cotton in Europe ancient times to the medieval and renaissance period The cotton industry spread to parts of Germany, has lifted the veil concealing the potential of cotton France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Holland, etc. In as a product of commerce, revealing its glorious past. Germany, it was localised in Alsace and with its It still continues to be one of the prime contenders favourable conditions for operating machinery, it as a revenue fetching commodity crop occupying a came to be known as the Manchester of Europe. Saxony universal position in the clothing of mankind. also attracted the establishment of mills. Havre and ------- Bremen were the main centres of cotton trade, Havre being the main port. The French industry grew (The views expressed in this column are of the when it made use of English inventions. Switzerland author and not that of Cotton Association of India).

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