Samuel Slater

Samuel Slater Hero or Traitor, Industrial Revolution, Richard Arkwright, cotton spinning, cotton mill, farther of American manufacturing, Slater's Mill, illegal emigration, factory methods, apprenticeship, indenture Slaterville, child labour, DVD, film, history

Samuel Slater was an apprentice employed by Jedidiah Strutt in Milford and Belper when he absconded to the USA in 1789, in defiance of a British Government ban. He knew the processes of cotton spinning and its machinery and soon after arriving in New England, Slater with financial backing set up cotton mills in competition with those of his homeland.

“Samuel Slater – Hero or Traitor?” is a film about a man dubbed by President Andrew Jackson the ‘Father of American Manufactures’, but who is virtually unknown in the land of his birth. 

Born in Belper, Derbyshire in 1768, Samuel Slater was apprenticed at the age of fourteen and a half to Jedidiah Strutt (formerly a partner with Richard Arkwright and Samuel Need in the cotton spinning trade). Employed by Strutt in his mills at Milford and Belper, Slater learned the art of cotton spinning and gained knowledge of machinery and mill construction. 

In 1789, he absconded to the USA, disguised as a farm laborer. This was to evade a law banning the emigration of those who might have information useful to Britain's commercial rivals.

Not long after his arrival in Pawtucket, New England, Samuel set up a cotton mill, in partnership with Almy and Brown. (Samuel’s contribution to the partnership was knowledge not cash). As a result, he became known as ‘Slater the Traitor’ amongst cotton trade workers of the Belper area, who feared losing their livelihood to foreign competitors 

Maypole Promotions first presented the idea of a film about Samuel Slater at a public meeting in Belper, early in 2005. The project included researching, writing, acting, designing, costume and prop making, music, and film production, with nearly 200 people of all ages and experience involved. The re-creation of 18th century Derbyshire was a tough challenge on a low budget, and many volunteers have helped to produce a fantastic 25-minute film, most of it shot in the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site.

A team of local researchers pooled information from many sources to bring to light the history of the Slater family, their daily lives and their work in the Derwent Valley during the latter part of the 18th century, in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. A book documenting this historical research will be published in 2006.

Maypole Promotions is a community group based in Milford, with a long and successful record of producing excellent arts projects including a Millennium Snapshot Exhibition, the Milford ‘Milestones’ book, and annual May Day Celebrations with Well Dressings.  

This exciting film project has been made possible through the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency with a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative. 

Maypole Promotions is a not-for-profit group based in Milford whose purpose is to promote cultural and community events in Milford and surrounding area. It has previously developed a number of successful Arts projects including a Millennium Snapshot Exhibition, 50 years of Milford Memories in the ‘Milestones’ book and our annual May Day Celebrations with Well Dressings.  

This exciting project has been made possible through the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency with a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative.

The aim of the project is to involve the local community in the production of a short film about his early life. Research and writing workshops will produce a script which will then be used for workshops in film design and production. Filming will involve workshop participants and volunteers at all stages. A DVD will be produced as well as an exhibition recording the life of the project.

Most of the film was shot in the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site

History

Milford Mill in 1787.

Samuel Slater was born in Belper and apprenticed to Jedidiah Strutt (a partner in Cotton Spinning with Richard Arkwright). In 1789 when Samuel sailed from England, the UK government had made it illegal to export industrial knowledge from the Cotton Factory system in Britain; he disguised himself as a farm laborer. He was able to accurately memorize the details of machinery and mill construction and eventually built the first successful cotton mill in the USA.

A team of local researchers pooled information from many sources to create the history of the Slater family, their daily lives and work both on Slater's farm and especially in the cotton mills of the Derwent valley during the latter part of the 18th century.

A Book documenting the historical research will be published in 2006 

1702  Death of William III (William and Mary).
          Accession of Queen Anne.

1704  Isaac Newton (England) publishes Opticks, his collection 
          of papers relating to light, color, and optics.

1710  Abraham Darby pioneers the use of coke for the mass
          production of Iron.
          Edmund Halley (England) establishes that the positions 
          of the stars in the night sky are changing over time. 
          He also devises a theory about the orbits of comets, including
          his namesake, Halley's Comet.

1714  Death of Queen Ann Accession of King George I

1715  Becker develops and uses first diving suit

1720  Le Blon develops colour printing.
          Fahrenheit Temperature scale developed.

1721  Thomas Lombe and his brother John build a silk mill 
          in Derby with technology stolen from Italy.

1726  Jedidiah Strutt born.

1728  James Bradley confirms that the speed of light is finite 
          and determines it to be 183,000 miles per second.

1727  Death of George I Accession of King George II

1729  Stephen Gray's discovery of the conduction of electricity.

1732  Richard Arkwright born.

1739  Dick Turpin executed.

1742  Celsius temperature scale developed.

1747  Henry Cavendish starts measuring the conductivity 
          of different materials

1751 Benjamin Huntsman produces steel in bulk.

1753  Benjamin Franklin invented the lightening rod, he
          demonstrates lightning is electricity.

1756  Start of the "Seven Years War" with France. 
          Timber from the Blackstone Valley America transported 
          to England for shipbuilding.

1759  Harrison develops first practical chronometer for 
          measuring longitude accurately.

1767  Survey of the Mason-Dixon line completed.

1769  Richard Arkwright patents a water-operated spinning 
          frame, a key invention of the Industrial Revolution.
          James Watt patents his steam engine.

1770  Cugnot builds first successful steam carriage

1771  Arkwright's first water powered spinning-mill opens 
          at Cromford.

1774  British Parliament makes emigration of cotton workers illegal.
          The element Oxygen discovered by Joseph Priestley and 
          independently by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. 

1775  British Parliament proclaims that Massachusetts is in revolt, 
          and the first shots are fired at Lexington: the American
          revolution is under way.

1776  John Slater born.
          Belper Mill founded. (1775/1776?)
          First submarine built and used by Bushnell.
          Abigail Adams write to her husband John asking that he 
          and the other men who were at work on the Declaration 
          of Independence "remember the ladies." Nevertheless, the
          Declaration reads, "all men are created equal."

1778  Milford Mill started
          Bramah invents the valve-and-siphon flushing system, 
          "the basis of all future toilet plumbing".

1781  Jedidiah Strutt re-marries to Ann Cantrell (of Belper).

1782  William Alcock Slater dies.

1787  First automated assembly line, Delaware; USA.

1789  Samuel Slater emigrates to the USA.
          George Washington inaugurated as  first U.S. President.
          French revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille.

1792  Richard Arkwright dies.

1793  France declares war on Great Britain (Napoleon).

1794  Robert Street patents first practical internal combustion engine
          Patent No 1983.
          Edward Stone proposes the bark of the willow--salicylic 
          acid--as a medicine: the source of aspirin.

1797  Jedidiah Strutt dies.
          Garnerin makes 1000m parachute decent.

1805  In partnership with his brother John, Samuel Slater builds 
          a cotton mill in the Blackstone Valley USA. 
          Humphry Davy suggests using Nitrous Oxide as an anesthetic.
          Jacquard uses punch cards on his power loom.

1807  John Dalton's theory of atoms was published by Thomas
          Thomson in the 3rd edition of his System of Chemistry 

1816  Niepce used paper treated with light sensitive chemicals to 
          print a photograph in a camera obsecura.

1817  The Pentrich Rebellion.

1820  Death of George III. Accession of King George IV.
          Florence Nightingale born,

1821  First electric motor developed by Faraday.

1830  Death of George IV. Accession King William IV 

1823-1832  Babbage develops first (mechanical) computer.
          Ada Lovelace writes first computer program.

1835  Samuel Slater dies in the USA.

1837  Death of William IV. Accession of Queen Victoria.
          Morse develops electrical telegraph and Morse code.

1843  John Slater dies in the USA.

1845  President Samuel Jackson dies.