According to Marx's account in Das Kapital, the "ominous signs" had actually appeared as early as 1850.
Although Britain was not native to cotton, it could produce wool locally. Yet as the population continued to grow, the average age of British sheep fell as they were slaughtered for food, causing the price of raw wool to rise.
Profit could only be calculated once goods had been converted into money—that was, once they had been sold. When profits vanished, wool machinery began to shut down, while linen manufacturers started dismissing workers and taking machinery out of service.
Flax was a crop that could be grown in Europe, and its low price should have ensured considerable profits. Yet Britain's flax was supplied from the Baltic Sea.
First, Britain's population had become urbanized, leaving fewer people to cultivate flax. Second, because of the Crimean War, Russia's flax supply declined. Other kingdoms produced poor-quality crops, causing flax prices to soar, and the industry languished just like the wool trade.
Then the American Civil War broke out, cutting off the route by which American cotton reached Britain. Indian cotton was used instead, but because of its harvesting methods and many other reasons, Indian cotton contained a high level of impurities, severely affecting its quality and reducing machine speed. For textile workers paid by the piece, reduced production also meant lower wages.
In 1848, 15 percent of Manchester's population was unemployed, and 70 percent worked full-time. By 1862, 15 percent were unemployed, 35 percent worked short hours, and only 49 percent had full-time work. Nearby areas had even higher rates of unemployment and underemployment.
Even those working full-time earned pitifully little. Workers began taking jobs in drainage, road construction, stone-breaking, street paving, and the like, in order to receive local government assistance. Then the factory owners