For the Spanish, led by the Conquistadors, the discovery of South America resulted in unearthing cotton as a raw material for clothing. Initially, this made little impact on the invaders who favoured clothes produced in other materials, forcing the Mexicans to adapt.
By , wool and silk had been produced extensively. Moreover, the commercialisation of cotton proved difficult and it would not be until the seventeenth century that it was truly embraced as a raw material for the textiles industry to export. Meanwhile, British imperial ambitions led to the creation of the East India Company , a joint-stock company which allowed maritime trade in the region of the Indian Ocean and beyond.
When the raw material of cotton was introduced to Britain the demand grew and its value soared alongside its production. It was first imported to Britain in the sixteenth century, composed of a mixture of linen or yarn. By , cotton cloths were being produced and the imports of raw cotton from areas such as the West Indies continued to grow. By the eighteenth century, the middle classes were seeking a fabric which would meet their demands for durability but also colour and ease of washing; cotton fitted the bill.
It was during this surge in popularity that the East India Company continued to increase its imports of calico, a cheap cotton fabric from India. This met the growing demands from the poorest in Britain and found itself on the mass market. This subsequently had a negative impact back in Britain for the local manufacturers, so much so that in the Calico Act was passed by Parliament, enforcing a complete ban on calicoes in clothing or for domestic use.
Two decades later the ban was lifted; the industrial revolution had sparked a wave of engineering phenomenon and inventions, allowing Britain to compete on the world textile market. New inventions would revolutionise the textile industry, aid manufacturing and have a huge cultural and social impact on the lives of people in Britain. The spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves and the water frame created by Richard Arkwright made it possible for large scale production.
The engineering feats of the day were revolutionary and for the British Midlands, manufacturing became the backbone of the area. Britain was dominating the world market. The raw material proved increasingly useful in its dexterity and versatility as a product. New ways of producing and combining the commodity allowed for the creation of velvet.
This would be easier to produce than silk as it was much cheaper and also could be printed much easier than wool. The use of cotton therefore dominated fashions and styles of the day with more and more people gaining access to this once ancient precious commodity.
Cotton is a versatile crop, and easier to turn into clothing than wool or linen; the expanding population and prosperity of the Industrial Revolution greatly increased the demand for it.
The natural fibers responsible for clothing include leather, wool, flax linen and cotton. Cotton was native to India and Central America, but was difficult and expensive to cultivate until Eli Whitney's cotton gin in radically decreased the effort required to separate seeds from the natural fiber.
Linen and wool have their advantages too, but linen remains more expensive to process than cotton is, while wool was harder to clean. Before the early 19th Century, cotton had been an expensive import to Europe, but it is a comfortable fabric to wear next to your skin and easier to clean without losing its texture or fading.
It is also cooler to wear. With the invention of the Cotton Gin, the availability of cotton suddenly increased at a time when the population and the prosperity of Europeans and North Americans started to grow.
Weaving mills and powered looms made linen and wool cheaper too, but the sheer versatility of cotton and the many industrial uses for it has made the demand for cotton products increase enormously.
Cotton seed oil also had numerous new applications. When Norway began to build its mechanical industries in the middle of the 19th century, it also meant building new links within Europe.
This was part of the broader spread of the Industrial Revolution throughout Europe. The textile industry was among the first to be built and with it came new machines, knowledge and people, mostly from Germany and Great Britain, into Norway.
How to cite this page -. Farnie, Douglas A. Grieg, Sigurd. Norsk tekstil, Vol. Oslo: Johan Grundt Tanum, The Cambridge History of Western Textiles. About this tour -. Cotton cloth: moving know-how, workers and technology When Norway began to build its mechanical industries in the middle of the 19th century, it also meant building new links within Europe.
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