Question -
Answer -
The following inventions in 18th century England (given in chronological order) are important milestones in the history of cotton.
a. James Hargreaves invented the Spinning JennyтАЩ in 1764. This speeded up spinning work significantly.
b. John Key invented the тАШFlying ShuttleтАЩ in 1769, which sped up the weaving process.
c. Richard Arkwright improved the тАШSpinning JennyтАЩ in 1769 so that it could be run by water power. He called it the тАШWater FrameтАЩ.
d. In 1776, Samuel Crompton invented the тАШMuleтАЩ, which combined the advantages of both the тАШWater FrameтАЩ and the тАШSpinning JennyтАЩ.
e. In 1785, Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom, which used steam power for both spinning and weaving.
f. Eli Whitney (in the USA) invented the тАШCotton GinтАЩ in 1793, which solved the problem of removing seeds from cotton fibres. This could separate the seeds from the fibres 300 times faster than by hand. Later on, Arkwright created a complete cotton mill, where all the textile manufacturing process could be completed under one roof and management.
g. The use of steam power played a very significant role in running cotton mills. Production of textiles increased in a very short time and with less manual labour. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were near about 321 steam engines in England, out of which 80 were in use in cotton textile mills.
h. The East India Company appointed тАШGomasthasтАЩ, the paid servants of the company to supervise weavers, collect supplies and judge and inspect the quality of textiles. The Gomasthas were the link between the East India Company and the weavers. The company arranged loans to the weavers to purchase raw material for weaving the cloth.