They were underground galleries explored in the 18th and 19th centuries to supply the nascent English industry. Extracting about 100 million tons of coal per year, England exchanged human effort for locomotives, looms and spinning machines, driving the Industrial Revolution. Coal mines are not only a consequence of the Machine Age but also a cause. In the first deposits, water pumps were used to remove the water that accumulated. “This rudimentary technology was adapted by the Scotsman James Watt for looms, creating his steam engine, which triggered the revolution”, says José Jobson de Andrade Arruda, specialist in economic history, from Unicamp.
1) Animal strength
Despite supplying the machines of the Industrial Revolution, the mines had little technology. Ponies and mules, short and sturdy animals, pulled small wagons full of coal and moved elevators. A medium-sized mine had about 50 animals working
2) Explosive charge
To open tunnels and extract coal from the ground, miners used dynamite – created thanks to the Chinese invention of gunpowder, which arrived in Europe in the 16th century. Wooden beams supported galleries just over 1 m high. The total depth of a mine reached 400 m
3) Buried alive
Humidity, heat and gases generated by burning lamps made the environment unbearable, putting the lives of miners at risk. In addition, errors in the dosage of dynamite or problems in the structure that supported the walls often turned the mine into a tomb.
4) The hole is lower
The ditch through which the elevator and the hose from the pump that removed excess water passed served as a spatial reference. For him, the main galleries converged, equipped with rails for the transport of mineral coal extracted
5) Violent awakening
As in most factories in the 18th century, corporal punishment was frequent. The function of the whip was not to punish, but to keep the worker awake during the long hours, which reached 14 hours a day.
6) Surviving in hell
The deeper the miners went into the earth, the more the thermometer rose. From a depth of 300 m, the temperature rose by 1°C every 33 m. The intoxicated air in the galleries caused an inflammation in the lungs that became known as the “black disease”.
7) Child labor
Deep tunnels were more difficult to open. In that case, a small hole was made and a child, between 5 and 7 years old, was placed to dig it. To collect the extracted coal, the little employee carried a cart tied to the foot