ABSTRACT
Organisations of labouring men to secure higher wages and better working conditions long pre-dated the Industrial Revolution. Craft societies had been the sturdy, load-bearing branches of eighteenth-century unionism; growing economic diversity in the early industrial age sapped their vitality. Many such unions withered away, leaving their members bereft of support and liable to drop into the ever-expanding 'dishonourable' or 'unrespectable' sections of their trade. Craft societies had long incorporated insurance and benefit principles which friendly societies fostered, rendering the distinction between unions and friendly societies usefully imprecise. Some combinations flourished as orthodox labour organisations in the guise of friendly societies. Most unions remained small and local until the 1870s, though some national organisations succeeded and have received a disproportionate share of historical attention. Membership figures are not available, but a significantly increased membership is certain in the 1850s and 1860s.
