Question

Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines?

Answer 1

Some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labour over machines because:

• Machines were costly, ineffective, difficult to repair, and needed huge capital investments.
  
• Labour was available at low wages at that period of time.
• In seasonal industries only seasonal labour was required.
• Market demands of variety of designs and colour and specific type could not be fulfilled by machine-made clothes. Intricate designs and colours could be done by human-skills only.
• In Victorian age, the aristocrats and other upper class people preferred articles made by hand only.