In 1861 at the tender age of 8 Mark Leach was working as a cotton spinner at a mill in Rossendale, Lancashire. His father and 12 year old brother also worked in Rossendale cotton mills, perhaps all at the same mill. Why am I telling you this? Mark is my Great Great Grandfather.
The family had moved to Rossendale from Allerton, which is now part of Bradford in West Yorkshire. Presumably they had moved to Rossendale to find work there. This however did not turn out well for them. In 1861 supplies of raw cotton to the UK were drastically reduced due to a naval blockade preventing trade from America during the American civil war. Prior to this the vast majority of cotton spun in the UK was imported from American plantations, where it was grown by African American slaves. Because of the interruption in supply, which lasted several years, many working class families in the cotton spinning areas fell into destitution. I’m fairly sure that’s why my ancestors returned to Yorkshire. The 1871 census finds them once more working in Bradford.
It is a matter of great pride for modern descendants of British working class cotton workers that despite the extreme hardship they experienced due to the cotton famine, British cotton workers expressed solidarity with America’s slaves. This can be seen from correspondence between their union representatives and Abraham Lincoln. For details see the Wikipedia page about the cotton famine.
