From agrarian state to industrial state

Around 1800, most people in Switzerland lived from agriculture. In the 19th century, Switzerland changed from an agrarian state into an industrial state. Industrialisation means: goods are made with machines in factories instead of by hand. The basis was an invention from England: the steam engine. In the 18th century, James Watt improved it so that it could drive machines in factories. This started industrialisation in Europe in the 19th century.

At first, the textile industry was the most important. In 1802, the first large mechanical cotton spinning mill opened near Winterthur. In Switzerland, factories often ran on water power. Later came the machine industry, chemicals and watches. Switzerland had no colonies of its own. But Swiss companies bought raw materials such as cotton from the colonies of other countries. This helped Switzerland to become an industrial nation.

Many children also worked in the factories, often 12 to 14 hours a day. That is why they could not go to school. In 1877, the people accepted the federal Factory Act. It banned factory work for children under 14 and limited the working day to 11 hours.

Even so, many people remained poor. In the 19th century, crop failures, hunger and unemployment drove many Swiss people abroad, mainly to North and South America. Switzerland was then a country of emigration. Today it is the other way round: many people immigrate to Switzerland because there is work here.

Memory aid: Thread before steel: in Switzerland, industry began with textiles.