英國十九世紀初的工廠改革運動與憲章運動的關係

British Factory Movement and Chartist Movement in the Early 19th Century

本文為探討西元 1832 年前後英國的工廠改革運動的發展，及分析英國勞工階級如何將對1832 年改革不滿的情緒轉移至追求政治改革的熱衷，進而成為憲章運動之奠基的背景。英國於十九世紀初期，面臨工業革命後社會的巨大改變，尤其是工廠制度的產生，棉織、毛織工廠在英國各地快速的建立起來，大量的勞工聚集到各地工廠工作，此時各地工廠普遍存在諸多弊端，如雇用童工、工作時間長、工資卻十分微薄等。有心之士自十八世紀末已開始要求英國政府立法保護勞工，並呼籲工廠僱主改善上述弊端，善待勞工。儘管英國政府於西元1802 年、1819 年及1825 年通過三次工廠法，但實則仍未能真正改善勞工境遇。西元1830年的「工廠改革運動」在獲得英國各地勞工的熱烈支持下展開，英國政府遂於西元1832 年通過改革法案及西元1833 年通過新工廠法，惜仍未能解決勞工的痛苦，更遑論工廠弊端的扼制。因此，英國勞工階級轉向支持西元1838 年發起的「憲章運動」，冀以政治改革的手段，促進經濟與社會改革的目的，以改善自身的遭遇。

This research aims to explore the developments of British factory movement in the early 19th century. From the mid-18th century to the early 19th century, after the industry revolution, England has encountered repeatedly dramatic changes both economically and the socially. Factories, having been established one after another in industrial areas, confronted with a myriad of problems: the child labors, long working times, low wages, etc. From the late 18th century, the factory reformers struggled to improve the economic and social conditions of the industrial workers. In the early 1830s, British working classes involved in the factory movement and Chartist Movement. Chartist Movement, in particular, was the first working-class movement, which was determined politically to improve the economic and social conditions of the working classes. The effect and the influence of these two movements, as a result, are the second aim of this paper.