What is the putting-out system?

The putting-out system was a form of production in which merchants supplied raw materials to rural households, who manufactured goods—such as spun yarn or woven cloth—in their own homes and were paid by the piece. It was the typical organization of proto-industrial rural manufacture before the factory.

Is the proto-industrialization thesis still accepted?

The concept remains useful for describing the growth of rural industry, but its stronger claim—that proto-industrialization was a necessary stage leading to factory industrialization—has been heavily criticized, since many proto-industrial regions deindustrialized rather than mechanizing. Historians now treat it as one of several possible paths.

Proto-Industrialization

This topic examines proto-industrialization—the expansion of rural, market-oriented domestic manufacture that preceded the factory system and its proposed role in the transition to industrial economies.

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Definition

The historical phase of expanding rural, market-oriented domestic manufacture, and the thesis that this 'industrialization before industrialization' helped prepare the way for the factory system.

Scope

This topic covers the phase of rural cottage industry, often organized through the putting-out system, in which peasant households produced goods for distant markets alongside agriculture. It examines the proto-industrialization thesis—that such rural industry helped accumulate capital, skills, labour, and demographic patterns conducive to full industrialization—together with the demographic, social, and regional dimensions of the model and the substantial criticisms it has attracted. The treatment is descriptive and analytical.

Core questions

What was rural cottage industry and how was it organized?
Did proto-industrialization help cause or precede full industrialization?
How did rural industry affect demographic and social patterns?
Why have parts of the proto-industrialization thesis been criticized?

Key theories

The proto-industrialization thesis: Mendels's argument that a phase of expanding rural, export-oriented handicraft manufacture constituted a 'first phase' of industrialization, generating capital, labour, and market experience.
Rural industry and the genesis of capitalism: Kriedte, Medick, and Schlumbohm's elaboration of proto-industrialization into a broader account linking rural industry to demographic behaviour, household economies, and the development of capitalism.

History

The concept of proto-industrialization was introduced by Franklin Mendels in 1972 and developed into an influential model by Peter Kriedte, Hans Medick, and Jürgen Schlumbohm. It generated a large comparative literature in the 1980s and 1990s. Critics, including Sheilagh Ogilvie, questioned whether rural industry reliably led to factory industrialization—many proto-industrial regions deindustrialized—prompting a more nuanced view of the model's claims.

Debates

Did proto-industrialization lead to industrialization?: Scholars debate whether rural cottage industry was genuinely a stage on the road to factory industrialization, as Mendels proposed, given that many proto-industrial regions failed to industrialize and instead declined, leading critics to question the model's causal claims.

Key figures

Franklin Mendels
Peter Kriedte
Hans Medick
Jürgen Schlumbohm
Sheilagh Ogilvie

Seminal works

mendels1972
kriedte1981
ogilvie1996
deVriesvanderwoude1997

Frequently asked questions

What is the putting-out system?: The putting-out system was a form of production in which merchants supplied raw materials to rural households, who manufactured goods—such as spun yarn or woven cloth—in their own homes and were paid by the piece. It was the typical organization of proto-industrial rural manufacture before the factory.
Is the proto-industrialization thesis still accepted?: The concept remains useful for describing the growth of rural industry, but its stronger claim—that proto-industrialization was a necessary stage leading to factory industrialization—has been heavily criticized, since many proto-industrial regions deindustrialized rather than mechanizing. Historians now treat it as one of several possible paths.