Before the Industrial Revolution...

The Industrial revolution was led by Britain and took place in around 1750 to the late nineteenth century, largely in Europe. It brought about huge advancements in technology, which have continued to evolve over time.
Now, can you imagine life without technology?
No cars, no handphones, no computer!
Also, children not even 12 years of age had to start working.

Fig 2.1. The picture above shows children and adults alike working in a factory.

Most people relied on farming to get by and lived in farms. It was very labour intensive, as machinery had not been invented then, so people had to do work manually. Fig 2.2. This picture shows a farm. Note that the farm is very rural and there are hardly any neighbours around!

However, farming could not support them all year round due to the different seasons. Thus, they also relied on other jobs such as crafting. They grew their own food and made their own furniture, clothes and tools. Places like orchard road and NTUC didn’t exist. Textile (clothes industry), in particular, was one of Britain’s biggest trades. However, all of the cloth was produced manually – imagine spinning wheels and weaving all day! That was the life of a young ladies and women back then.