Analysis of the bones of pre-1800 American colonists show extreme overwork. They died young.
Analysis of the bones of pre-Columbian Central American natives also showed extreme labor done by children.
What eventually saved children from this was the rising productivity that came from industrialization.
So is studying early American colonists : they found themselves in particularly hostile territory, which they had no know-how about, with only unreliable support by ship.
The height of Americans started skyrocketing in 1800, and this continued right up to WW2, when it leveled off. As historian Eugene Weber observed, America in 1800 was the first time in human history when enough food was produced to end the constant threat of famine.
P.S. The pre-Columbian North American Indians didn't have it much better. Their bones show repeated episodes of famine.
This is true of every country that transitioned to an adequate food supply.
Not at all. On the contrary, the life expectancy dropped to an all-time low for the underclass during the industrial revolution.
> subsistence farming before 1800, and children were put to work
It's been very common for children to start doing house work a young age and then learn a trade from their parents. And it's still the norm in many poor rural countries today.
It's very unfair to describe it as dangerous or abusive and compare it to the industrial revolution life.
Meanwhile factories run all the time.
There's a reason parents sent their kids to those factories. They desperately needed the money. I doubt they hated their kids.
Industries desperately needed cheap labor and the mechanization of farming helped by generating widespread unemployment.
Yep. But I think a big difference here is between subsistence farming and serfdom on the farm you lived in vs sending kids into the wool factories with unbreathable air. The testimonies from factory inspectors is mind blowing.
> What eventually saved children from this was the rising productivity that came from industrialization.
Eventually, thankfully yes. But the Factory Act also mandated maximum hours children could work per day, making employing children expensive as they needed double the number of children to work in shifts, which eventuated to banning shift work for children altogether (because they weren't allowed to work past certain hours making shift teams useless).
It's not until around 1800 that the population ceased to be constrained by the ability to produce food. We live in a time of amazing abundance, they did not.
Farmers worked less hours and with much less intensity than industrial workers.
The incredible drop in life expectancy of farmers turning industrial workers says everything.
Its really a great lifestyle. I highly recommend it.
(Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate had a "nailery" where the nails were made that were needed for the buildings.)
In any case, powered irrigation is a huge deal. Just imagine the backbreaking work hauling the water by hand.
Not quiet, as they're not subsistence farming but surplus farming. Though, it's not surplus as in big business, just enough to make it through to the next the year's crop. I don't even think they have bank accounts etc.