The finding that reveals the brutal treatment of child workers in the Industrial Revolutio

“Seeing the hardships of these children written in their bones was very moving”.

Rebecca Gowland is Professor of Bioarchaeology (the study of biological remains) at Durham University in the north of England.

And she is one of the authors of an unprecedented study, which reveals the horrendous conditions of working children, some as young as 7, during the 19th century in England.

The lives of poor children sent as apprentices extremely poor” to textile factories during the Industrial Revolution has been documented by historians.

But the Durham University study “provides for the first time bioarchaeological evidence and analyzes skeletal remains of the trainees, allowing a direct examination of the impact of poverty and work on their bodies,” he said Gowland to BBC Mundo.

The study was made possible after the discovery of more than 150 skeletons in the town of Fewston, in the county of North Yorkshire, in the north of England.

The remains were found when excavating land to build a historic center next to an old church.

When the scientists examined the skeletons, they found that the majority were of children and adolescents, and that they had signs of numerous diseases.

The researchers, together with historians, were able to put together the puzzle of the hell in which they lived day by day the children learn.

But the finding does not only speak of the past. The study, the authors point out, has an urgent message for the present, in which it is estimated that there is 160 million working children globally.

Exploitation of children

The industrial revolution transformed the economic and social landscape of Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

But the industrial boom “was based on the low-paid work of women and children, enabling British factories to be competitive in an increasingly globalized marketplace”, the study says.

In 1845, 43% of workers in cotton textile mills were under the age of 18, and in other industries this figure was substantially higher.

Factories, sometimes called “ cotton mills” or spinning mills, housed machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton.

While many children from rural areas were sent to factories in cities such as London and Liverpool, there was also a shift in the opposite direction.

Poor children were transferred from cities to spinning mills in rural towns like Fewston.

Some children began apprenticeships “as young as 7,” Gowland said,

There they remained tied to their place of employment until the age of 21, in the case of boys, or marriage, in the case of girls.

Caroline, Sarah, Cornelius…

The apprentices whose remains were found in Fewston came from different cities, including Hull and London.

Apprentices such as Caroline or Sarah, according to historical records.

“In 1803 Caroline Farmer was one of the youngest apprentices at 7 years old, sent from the parish of Southwark in London”, a document cited in the study recounts.

“In September that same year, 12-year-old Sarah Canty apprenticed to Fewston from Lambeth in London,along with three other girls of a similar age.”

“And in November of that same year, Sarah's brother Cornelius, who was just 7 years old, was sent to a factory in Lancashire”.

The minors arrived at their new destination from the workhouses or “work houses” they lived in cities.

Workhouses “were places where homeless people could go and stay,” Gowland explained.

The children used to end up there when they were orphans or their parents were too poor to support them.

“People only went to workhouses when they were absolutely desperate”.

Local and non-local children

Scientists had to differentiate the skeletons of the apprentice children from the skeletal remains of local children buried in the same place.

And for this they resorted to the analysis of isotopes (atoms of the same chemical element but with different atomic masses) of strontium and oxygen, which are indicators of geographical locations.

“As our teeth develop, the strontium and oxygen isotope values ​​within them reflect local geology and drinking water,” Gowland explained.

When we analyzed the juveniles, we could see that many of them were not from the area because their strontium and oxygen isotope values ​​were very different from the local values.

“And when we compared their isotope values ​​with those of other archaeological sites, we saw that some of the children had values ​​consistent with the London area. This aligns with what we know from historical evidence, which is that some of the children were sent to Fewston from the poorest parishes in London”.

Written stories in the bones

The skeletons of the apprentices betray the brutal conditions in the factories.

The bones of the minors were deformed, they were short compared to other children of that time, and they showed signs of vitamin deficiencies and respiratory disease.

“We saw many defects in their teeth, both in the permanent teeth and in the deciduous teeth, demonstrating the poor health of children during their first years of life, including during intrauterine development”, Gowland said.

There was also evidence of rickets and other deficiency diseases such as scurvy.

“We can diagnose these conditions because they leave traces in the bones. Vitamin D deficiency can cause some bowing of the long bones and other changes. Vitamin C deficiency is generally seen as porous lesions in specific areas of the skeleton”.

“Respiratory disease can be seen with reactive formation of new bone in the ribs and sinuses”.

The children were also extremely short for their age.

“When a child doesn't eat enough, their body prioritizes other biological functions, especially the brain and immune system. This happens at a cost to growth, Gowland explained.”

“If kids later get more resources, like better nutrition, they can experience catch-up growth, but these kids didn't get that opportunity.”

“Her diet was probably quite monotonous, consisting of bread and watery tea”.

From carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, the scientists deduced that the children had a diet so low in animal protein that it was similar “to that of the victims of the Great Irish Famine of the 19th century” .

Fear of the “infernal bell”

Accounts from the time reveal what daily life was like for “extremely poor apprentices”.

“They lived in apprentice houses, separating the boys from the girls,” Gowland said.

The working day was 14 hours, “from 6 in the morning to 8 at night five days a week, and 11 hours on Saturdays”.

Factories were large and contained a lot of heavy machinery, that it was extremely noisy and caused hearing problems for minors.

The children worked all day next to the machines, and their tasks were dangerous.

The so-called children “scavengers”, for example, they had to pick up the cotton that fell under the machines while they were moving.

The Reverend Robert Collyer, who apprenticed at the Fewston factory from the ages of 8 to 14, left one of the few first-hand accounts.

If children tried to sit down, the supervisor punished them. his “little shoulders,” with a leather strap, Collyer recounts.

“The result of this was that the weaker children were so crippled that the memory of their crooked limbs it still casts a rather sinister light for me, he adds.

Collyer also discusses his constant exhaustion (“I was tired beyond words”) and his fear in anticipating “hell's bell” who woke up the children to call them at work.

The air inside the factories was contaminated with cotton fibers that the children inhaled and this caused them breathing difficulties.

Children were likely to cough a lot and succumb to common infections such as colds because his immune system was weakened, Gowland said.

Also, “as expected, there were accidents. At the Fewston factory, a boy named Henry Ludley Marwood died when his arm got caught in a machine and his flesh tore. He died a week later when his arm was amputated...”

Lessons for the present

Study notes that “this is not just a story from the past” 8221;.

At present, the authors note, it is estimated that 73 Millions of children (ages 5-17) around the world perform hazardous work. This is nearly half of the 160 million working children globally”.

“I firmly believe that bioarchaeology has important lessons for us today,” Gowland told BBC Mundo.

“It is essential that we no longer allow history to repeat itself. When people hear about the Fewston children they are shocked that these children have been treated in such an abominable way. These children were dehumanized and treated as ‘the other’ during his lifetime and the same thing happens today in the world”.

For Gowland, the study shows how serious the mark that poverty can leave, even from gestation, on the growth of children

“This project has made me want to work more closely with public health researchers to provide a new perspective on the importance of investing in children's health”.

Honouring the Fewston children

The children's remains, along with others excavated from the site, were reburied in a ceremony, Gowland explained.

The burial was attended by members of the local community in Fewston and the scientists who worked on the study.

“The children were commemorated in a series of artworks and their names were embroidered on a children's apron so they would not be forgotten.”

A permanent display remembers children at the Washburn Heritage Center in Fewston.

“I have analyzed skeletal remains of children from different times and places. And I found the story of the Fewston children particularly overwhelming,” Gowland told BBC Mundo.

“We all felt like we wanted the chance to tell her story.

“Although these children had no voice during their lives, we wanted to amplify their stories in death”.