Since the mid-nineteenth century the textile industry has played an important role in the labour, business, economic, and architectural history of Central and Eastern Canada. It was among the first Canadian businesses to employ large numbers of women and youths in a factory setting. The industry provided a training ground for many Canadian businessmen who learned both the opportunities and the hazards of investment in manufacturing. It also provided many often-contradictory lessons for businessmen, economists, politicians, and labour leaders who opposed or supported government fostering of industrial development through tariff protection, subsidies, and legislation. And in many communities the mills themselves, massive and enduring, helped to define the community in the same way that churches and public buildings did. This study examines the major themes in the industry’s history and discusses some of the surviving mills. Illustrations. Tables.
…and a good lecture on the economic history of the British textile industry