Smithsonian Magazine: Hundreds of Newly Found Poems Reveal the Devastation of the U.K.’s ‘Cotton Famine’. “During the first half of the 20th century, factories in Lancashire spun threads and churned out vast quantities of woven cloths using raw cotton imported from the United States. The output was such that the English county earned the moniker ‘workshop of the world.’ But after the American Civil War broke out in 1861, and the Northern army blockaded Southern ports, cotton supplies were unable to reach England. Lancashire cotton mills were forced to close, and thousands of workers were left without a source of income. After they were abruptly plunged into poverty, some workers turned to poetry to convey the devastation of the so-called ‘Lancashire Cotton Famine.'” 99% sure that’s an error in the first paragraph, and it should be first half of the 19th century.