Birmingham 1850: When Children Poured Molten Metal This is the story of Birmingham, England, at the height of the Industrial Revolution—when the city was the “workshop of the world” and one in three workers was a child. Meet William, age 10. He works twelve-hour shifts in a brass foundry, pouring molten metal at 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit. He earns three shillings a week (about $15 today). Without his income, his family can’t afford both rent and food. Burns are routine. Lost fingers common. If you’re injured and can’t work, there’s no compensation, no safety net—you simply don’t eat. This wasn’t considered abuse. It was normal. Birmingham was producing the guns, railways, and steam engines that built the British Empire, and it was doing it with children’s hands. William’s father worked the same foundry. He died at 39, his lungs scarred from breathing metal fumes for two decades. They called it “founder’s ague.” We’d call it poisoning. But something changed. Workers started organizing in...