British Coal Mines Of The 1800s
In the British coal mines of the 1800’s, jobs for women and children were harsh and unfavorable due to dangerous environments, long hours, and extremely heavy physical demand on the workers. The mines were fraught with opportunities to be hurt, as evidenced by the words of Robert North and the article “Women in the British Mines.” North shared how, while dragging buckets of coal using a girdle and chain, the straps cut into the children deeply enough that blood would run down, and that any who complained would be physically beaten. “Women in the British Mines” reported that hurriers (employees who dragged and carried coal out of the mines) were often at risk of being hit with containers of coal weighing two hundred pounds if the straps of