Mill Times

Wool must first be spun into yarn before it can be woven into cloth. For centuries this was done by hand in the home. After being cleaned and prepared, the individual fibers were carefully drawn and twisted into a continuous thin strand and wound around a spindle. The spun yarn was then transferred to looms, on which it was woven into fabric.

The mechanization of spinning and weaving, which resulted in the creation of the textile industry, was part of an unprecedented period of technological innovation known as the Industrial Revolution. It began in England in the middle of the eighteenth century and continued well into the nineteenth century in Europe and the United States.

A new kind of building was designed to house great numbers of these new machines so they could all be run from a central power source. Long, narrow, multi-story structures, some using water wheels, others using steam engines, were built in both England and Scotland. They were called either manufactories or mills.

You are helping build the town of Wicksbridge. 

Beginning in 1810, you will watch a small farming community become an industrial town.

Your job is to listen carefully, draw quickly, and notice how one change creates another.

Have You Any Wool?

Thomas Kelly, my great-grandfather (x5), was a sheep herder and 'proprietor of land.' 

He raised these rare Manx Loaghtan sheep, which can have as many as 6 horns!

The first industry to be transformed in Great Britain was textile production. Before industrialization, every step of cloth making had to be done by hand. The raw fiber, like wool and cotton, had to be cleaned and untangled. The fibers had to be twisted into thread. Then the threads had to be woven into cloth. Each step was laborious and time-consuming. Skilled artisans used simple tools and equipment to make cloth at home.

READ CHAPTER 16 SECTION 1:  GREAT BRITAIN LEADS THE WAY

1. List the factors that allowed Britain to become the first nation to industrialize.
2. Write a one-sentence summary of how the textile industry in Great Britain changed throughout the 1700s.
3. Describe the resources and transportation system in Great Britain.

Working In a Coal Mine

THE YEAR IS 1710.

You own a coal mine.

Your mine is becoming more profitable—but there is a problem:

Water keeps flooding the mine.

How could you get the water out?

Possible answers:

Buckets
Pumps
People
Horses
Digging drainage tunnels
Some kind of machine

In this picture my dad is 2 years old, sitting on my grandfather's lap. His grandfather Lawrence is kneeling next to them, and his great-grandfather (my great-great-grandfather) William sits behind. William left the Isle of Man to come to America in 1890. William's father, John Robert (my great-great-grandfather) was a miner and worked in this lead/silver mine in a town called Laxey. The mine became famous for this giant wheel used to pump water from the deep shafts. 

It's the largest operating water wheel in the world.

Who was James Watt and how did his steam engine improve on Newcomen's design?

The American Cincinnatus

What makes a revolution successful: winning power or knowing when to give it up?

"You have often heard him compared to Cincinnatus," the French traveller Jacques-Pierre Brissot de Warville wrote after visiting George Washington at Mount Vernon in 1788. "The comparison is doubtless just. The celebrated General is nothing more at present than a good farmer, constantly occupied in the care of his farm and the improvement of cultivation."

Can you imagine Julius Caesar willingly turning back power? History is littered with examples of military men who seized power and were reluctant to give it up. Yet two remarkable individuals, separated by 2,000 years, both made the decision to give up near-absolute authority in favor of life as a citizen. George Washington, America’s first president, and Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, an early Roman statesman, lived dramatically different lives, but both understood the nature and importance of civic virtue. Washington’s decision to not seek a third term as president set a lasting precedent for the peaceful transition of power that endures today.

1) Who was Cincinnatus? 

2) Why was George Washington called the Cincinnatus of the West?

3) What precedent did George Washington set and why is it still so important today?

4) What do you think Washington would say about this statue that makes him look like Zeus?

5) How did the city of Cincinnati get its name? 

Napoleon

What is a coup d'etat?

Napoleon Bonaparte was an "enlightened despot"—an absolute ruler who used the rational, progressive ideas of the Enlightenment to shape his laws and government, even while holding supreme authoritarian power. Historians often debate whether his actions truly served freedom or just efficient control. He promoted both liberty through legal reform and tyranny through authoritarian rule.

Was Napoleon an Enlightenment leader—or did he betray the ideals of the Enlightenment?

Off With Their Heads!

The French Revolution is a period where one can typically find little to laugh about, unless the mass slaughter of tens-of-thousands of people tickles your historical fancy or massages your deep-seeded hate for European aristocracy. The bloody period did much to shape modern world politics, abolished slavery in French-held territories and opened the door to the rise to Napoleon Bonaparte, but the popular symbol that lingers in most people’s minds is the guillotine.

Developed as an efficient and humane manner of execution, the guillotine was a perfect symbol for the Age of Enlightenment-fuelled violence of the French Revolution — a combination of vicious violence and modern invention. Executions of King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette and countless other nobles and members of the ruling class were public events during the Reign of Terror of the Revolutionary period. Ironically, Maximilien Robespierre, one of the architects of the Reign of Terror would also meet his death at the guillotine when public sentiment turned against the violence of the era. Beyond the French Revolution, the guillotine would remain a prominent mode of execution for prisoners worldwide and a mode of terror for governments such as the German Third Reich well into the late 20th-century.

In Guillotine, you will take on the role of rival executioners competing for the public's favor during the French Revolution.The mechanics mirror the chaotic, unpredictable nature of the historical Reign of Terror (1793–1794). During this period, the political winds shifted so violently that a faction leader could go from directing the executions to being executed themselves the very next day. The game captures this through "Action" cards that represent bribes, shifting crowd moods, and sudden bureaucratic interventions that arbitrarily change who is next on the chopping block.

1) What was the most valuable head in your basket? Least?  What did the game suggest about the relationship between power and survival?

2) Did you win or lose?  Why?  What would you do differently if you played again?

3) What was one important difference between the game and the real French Revolution?

4) Why did the Reign of Terror eventually turn against people who had supported the Revolution?

5) How can a revolution that begins by demanding liberty and equality end up restricting people's freedom?

Let Them Eat Cake!

Did Marie Antoinette really say “LET THEM EAT CAKE?!”

Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “Of course she didn’t, she spoke French!” But, in fact, she didn’t say “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” either. This saying in France actually pre-dated her arrival there by anywhere from about thirty years to as much as a century!

So how did this saying get attributed to Marie Antoinette? Primarily, because the people of France loathed her. If you read up on her history, you’ll find most of this loathing was primarily because she was an easy and very visible target to vent their rage against the French aristocracy on.

🍰 Possible Ingredients for a French Revolution Cake

Ingredient	Possible “Amount”	What It Represents
👑 Absolute Monarchy	5 cups	The king held enormous political power
💰 Government Debt	6 lbs.	France was deeply in debt, including from wars
💸 High Taxes on the Third Estate	5 cups	Common people carried much of the tax burden
⚖️ Social Inequality	7 lbs.	The Three Estates had very unequal privileges
👨‍🌾 Angry Peasants	5 cups	Peasants faced taxes, dues, and economic hardship
🍞 Bread Shortages	6 loaves	Rising food prices created hardship and anger
📈 Rising Bread Prices	4 cups	Ordinary people struggled to afford food
💡 Enlightenment Ideas	6 tablespoons	Ideas about liberty, equality, rights, and government
🗣️ Demand for Political Representation	5 cups	The Third Estate wanted greater political influence
👑 Louis XVI's Weak Leadership	3 cups	Problems of leadership and difficulty addressing the crisis
👸 Marie Antoinette	2 cups	Public criticism of the monarchy and royal extravagance
🏰 Privileges of the First & Second Estates	6 lbs.	Clergy and nobility enjoyed important privileges
🧾 Unfair Tax System	6 cups	Taxes were distributed unevenly among estates
🌾 Poor Harvests	4 cups	Bad harvests contributed to food shortages
🏛️ Estates-General	3 cups	Its meeting helped bring the political crisis into the open
📜 Declaration of the Rights of Man	3 tablespoons	Revolutionary ideas about rights and equality
🇺🇸 American Revolution	2 cups	Provided an example of revolution and republican government
🗞️ Pamphlets & Newspapers	2 cups	Spread political ideas and criticism
😡 Public Anger	7 cups	Growing frustration with government and inequality
🏰 Storming of the Bastille	2 cups	A major early revolutionary event
🔥 Fear of Counter-Revolution	2 cups	Fear that enemies would destroy the revolution