CANAL MANIA (UK) : 1790-1810

Canal Mania

 was the period of intense canal building in England and Wales between the 1790s
and 1810s.
The modern canal network came into being because the Industrial Revolution (which
began in Britain during the mid-18th century) demanded an economic and reliable way to
transport goods and commodities in large quantities. Roads simply could not handle such
weights and the vehicles needed did not exist. Canals were the answer to moving heavy
objects.
Canals were man made rivers which were deep enough to cope with barges which were
capable of moving nearly 40 tonnes of weight. This was far more than a pack of mules
could carry or a horse and carriage.
The man associated with early canals was the Duke of Bridgewater who was Francis
Egerton. He owned coal mines in Lancashire but he needed to get the coal to the big
market of Manchester which was nearly six miles away. The Duke gave the task of
designing and building the canal to James Brindley- an engineer who was at this time
never built a canal before. As such the duke was taking a great risk and he even borrowed
£25,000 to pay for the project which was a vast sum of money.
It took two years to build the canal which was completed in 1761. The canal had a series of
tunnels which were linked directly to coal mines. The canal was a huge success as it made
the duke a lot money and the price of coal fell in Manchester by 50% therefore making it
cheaper and the cheaper it was the more was sold. Brindley gained fame and more work,
other people saw the success of Bridgewater Canal and decided to do likewise thus
opening up Britain even more with a series of canals.

BUBBLES
In the 1790s so called “canal-mania” took place when the people invested their money
into every canal project. By 1840, there were nearly 4,500 miles of canals in Britain. For
each canal an Act of parliament was necessary to authorise construction, and as people
saw the high incomes achieved from canal tolls, canal proposals came to be put forwarded
by investors interested in profiting from dividends.
In further development, there was an out-and-out speculation, in which people would try
to buy shares in an newly floated company simply to sell them on for an immediate profit,
regardless whether the canal was even profitable, or even built. During the period of
“canal mania”, huge sums were invested in canal building. The canal system expanded
nearly 4,000 miles(over 6,400 km) in length. The great manufacturing cities of
Manchester and Birmingham were major economic drivers for the ‘canal mania’ which
reached its peak in 1793, and both benefited from a network of canals, most of which
survive. Canals were the essential for the distribution of coal throughout Manchester and
the rest of the UK. Had the canals not have connected vast quantities of coal with foreign
raw materials; Manchester may not have become the industrial centre of northern
England.

CRASHES
Yet within years their great days were over. Why?
 Different builders build different size canals so that different canal barges were
needed. One canal barge might not be able to use a canal built by another
engineer.
 Better roads had lead to better horse drawn carriages being developed. These were
a lot faster than barges and passengers used these in preference to canals.
 Railway competition.

GRADUAL DECLINE
Railway competition
Railways began to threaten canals, as they could not only carry more than canals but
could transport people and goods far more quickly. Most of the investment that had
previously gone into canal building was diverted into railway building. Canal companies
were unable to compete against the speed of the new railways. This put an end to the
huge profits that canal companies had enjoyed before the coming of the new railways. By
the 1850s the railway become well established and the amount of cargo carried on the
canals had fallen nearly by two-thirds, lost mostly to railway competition. In many cases
struggling canal companies were bought out by railway companies. Sometimes it was a
tactical move to gain ground in their competitor’s territory, but sometimes canal
companies were bought out either to close them down and remove competition or to
build a railway on the line of the canal.

PREPARED BY:
BARBO, CHARLITA MAE A.