Cottage industry
A production system in which workers make goods in homes or small workshops, often using materials and orders supplied by merchants.
Putting-out system: A production arrangement in which merchants distribute materials to dispersed workers and collect their finished goods. Merchants organized much cottage production by supplying materials and collecting output.
Medieval European economy: The interconnected systems of agriculture, trade, craft production, and exchange in medieval Europe. Cottage production developed within economies where households combined farming with craft work.
Handloom weaving: The production of cloth on a manually operated loom. Weaving was a widespread household occupation in cottage industries.
Industrial Revolution: The major transition to mechanized production, factory labor, and new energy sources beginning in the eighteenth century. Factory industrialization reshaped and displaced many forms of cottage production.
Guild: An association of craftspeople or merchants that regulated a trade, training, standards, and access to work. Guilds organized craft production through formal membership rather than merchant-led household networks.
Domestic system: A system of production in which household workers make goods at home, often alongside farming or other work. Household labor and home-based production are central features of cottage industry.
Putting-out system in the wool trade: The distribution of wool-processing tasks to household workers by merchants in the European cloth trade. The wool trade provides a prominent example of merchants coordinating dispersed production.
Spinning: The process of twisting fibers into yarn or thread. Spinning was often performed in homes as part of textile production.
Spinning jenny: A multi-spindle spinning machine invented by James Hargreaves in the 1760s. Its increased yarn output disrupted the balance between household spinning and weaving.
Artisan: A skilled craft worker who makes goods by hand or with specialized tools. Artisans could work independently, while cottage workers often depended on merchant orders.