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{{Short description|Queen Victoria's reign}} | |||
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|+ style="padding-top:0.5em; font-size:100%;"| '''Victorian Era''' | |||
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|colspan=2 align=center| ], after whom the era is named. | |||
{{Infobox historical era | |||
'''1837—1901''' | |||
|name = Victorian era | |||
|- http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSLC48222220080912?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews | |||
|start = 1837 | |||
! Preceded by | |||
|end = 1901 | |||
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|image = Queen Victoria - Winterhalter 1859.jpg | |||
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|caption = Painting of ] by ] (1859) | |||
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{{History of the United Kingdom}} | |||
{{Periods in English History}} | {{Periods in English History}} | ||
{{History of Scotland}} | |||
{{stack end}} | |||
In the ] and the ], the '''Victorian era''' was the reign of ], from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ] and preceded the ], and its later half overlaps with the first part of the '']'' era of continental Europe. | |||
The '''Victorian Era''' of the ] was the period of ] reign from June 1837 to January 1901.<ref>Swisher, Clarice, ed. ''Victorian England''. San Diego, CA : Greenhaven Press, 2000. </ref> This was a long period of prosperity for the ], as profits gained from the overseas ], as well as from industrial improvements at home, allowed a large, educated ] to develop. Some scholars would extend the beginning of the period—as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political concerns that have come to be associated with the Victorians—back five years to the passage of the ]. | |||
Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The ] caused mass death in ] early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other ]s. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world. | |||
The era was preceded by the ] and succeeded by the ]. The latter half of the Victorian era roughly coincided with the first portion of the '']'' era of ]. | |||
Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The ] gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on certain groups' liberty. Prosperity rose during the period, but debilitating ] persisted. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in ] for the first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, ] housing and disease remained a severe problem. | |||
The era is often characterized as a long period of peace, known as the '']'', and economic, ], and industrial consolidation, temporarily disrupted by the ], although Britain was at war every year during this time. Towards the end of the century, the policies of ] led to increasing colonial conflicts and eventually the ] and the ]. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual ] and the widening of the ]. | |||
The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. Great Britain's population increased rapidly, while Ireland's fell sharply. | |||
The ] had almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901.<ref>, statistics.gov.uk</ref> ]’s population decreased rapidly, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901.<ref></ref> | |||
==Terminology and periodisation== | |||
In the early part of the era the ] was dominated by the two parties, the ] and the ]. From the late 1850s onwards the Whigs became the ] even as the Tories became known as the ]. These parties were led by many prominent statesmen including ], Sir ], ], ], ], ] and ]. The unsolved problems relating to ] played a great part in politics in the later Victorian era, particularly in view of Gladstone's determination to achieve a political settlement. | |||
{{see also|Periodisation}} | |||
In the strictest sense, the Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as ], from her accession on 20 June 1837—after the death of her uncle, ]—until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, ]. Her reign lasted 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian' was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era.{{sfn|Plunkett|2012|page=2}} The era can also be understood in a more extensive sense—the 'long Victorian era'—as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from the periods adjacent to it,{{NoteTag|This is the term used for the period covered by Patrick Leary's international academic mailing-list ''VICTORIA 19th-century British culture & society''.}} in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession—typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the ], which introduced a wide-ranging change to the ] of ].{{NoteTag|A Scottish Reform Act and Irish Reform Act were passed separately.}} Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of the label 'Victorian', though there have also been defences of it.<ref name="hewitt20062">{{cite journal |last1=Hewitt |first1=Martin |date=Spring 2006 |title=Why the Notion of Victorian Britain Does Make Sense |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/article/204106 |url-status=live |journal=Victorian Studies |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=395–438 |doi=10.2979/VIC.2006.48.3.395 |s2cid=143482564 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030004144/http://muse.jhu.edu/article/204106 |archive-date=30 October 2017 |access-date=23 May 2017 | issn = 0042-5222 }}</ref> | |||
==Culture== | |||
{{See also|Victorianism|Victorian architecture|Victorian decorative arts|Victorian fashion|Victorian working class leisure|Victorian working class leisure}} | |||
] became increasingly significant in the period, leading to the ] between Gothic and ] ideals. ]'s architecture for the new ], which had been badly damaged in an ], built in the ] of ], the surviving part of the building. It constructed a narrative of cultural continuity, set in opposition to the violent disjunctions of ], a comparison common to the period, as expressed in ]'s '']'' and ]' '']''. Gothic was also supported by the critic ], who argued that it epitomised communal and inclusive social values, as opposed to Classicism, which he considered to epitomise mechanical standardisation. | |||
] was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sadleir |first=Michael |title=Trollope |year=1945 |pages=17}}</ref> He distinguished early Victorianism—the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sadleir |first=Michael |title=Trollope |year=1945 |pages=18–19}}</ref>—and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of ] and ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sadleir |first=Michael |title=Trollope |year=1945 |pages=13 and 32}}</ref> from the Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw the latter period as characterised by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic ]ry, and complacency<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael |first=Sadleir |title=Trollope |year=1945 |pages=25–30}}</ref>—what ] called the 'mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Trevelyan |first=George Macaulay |title=History of England |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co |year=1926 |pages=650 |oclc=433219629}}</ref> | |||
The middle of the 19th century saw ] of 1851, the first ], and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was ], an enormous, modular glass and iron structure - the first of its kind. It was condemned by Ruskin as the very model of mechanical dehumanisation in design, but later came to be presented as the prototype of ]. The ], which was showcased at the Great Exhibition, resulted in significant changes in Victorian art. ] was influenced by photography (notably in his portrait of Ruskin) as were other ] artists. It later became associated with the ] and ] techniques that would dominate the later years of the period in the work of artists such as ] and ]. | |||
==Politics, diplomacy and war== | |||
==Events== | |||
{{main|Political and diplomatic history of the Victorian era|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} | |||
;1832 : Passage of the first ].<ref name="greenhavenpress">Swisher, Clarice, ed. ''Victorian England''. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. pgs 248-250</ref> | |||
], a candidate at the ] in ] (now known as Ceredigion), explaining to supporters how to vote.]] | |||
;1837 : Accession of Queen Victoria to the throne.<ref name="greenhavenpress"/> | |||
The ],{{NoteTag|A Scottish Reform Act and Irish Reform Act were passed separately.}} which made various changes to the electoral system including expanding the franchise, had been passed in 1832.<ref name= "greenhavenpress2">{{Cite book |last=Swisher |first=Clarice |title= Victorian England |publisher=San Diego: Greenhaven Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780737702217 |pages=248–250}}</ref> The franchise was expanded again by the ]{{NoteTag|See ] and ] for equivalent reforms made in those jurisdictions}} in 1867.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anstey |first=Thomas Chisholm |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OrEDAAAAQAAJ&dq=passed+parliament+date+%22The+Representation+of+the+People+Act+1867,+30+&pg=PA169 |title=Notes Upon "the Representation of the People Act, '1867.'" (30 & 31 Vict. C. 102.): With Appendices Concerning the Antient Rights, the Rights Conferred by the 2 & 3 Will. IV C. 45, Population, Rental, Rating, and the Operation of the Repealed Enactments as to Compound Householders |date=1867 |publisher= W. Ridgway |language=en |access-date= 11 May 2023 |archive-date=11 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511230919/https://books.google.com/books?id=OrEDAAAAQAAJ&dq=passed+parliament+date+%22The+Representation+of+the+People+Act+1867,+30+&+31+Vict.+c.+102%22&pg=PA169 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ] in 1884 introduced a general principle of one vote per household. All these acts and others simplified the electoral system and reduced corruption. Historian Bruce L Kinzer describes these reforms as putting the United Kingdom on the path towards becoming a democracy. The traditional aristocratic ruling class attempted to maintain as much influence as possible while gradually allowing the middle- and working-classes a role in politics. However, all women and a large minority of men remained outside the system into the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinzer |first=Bruce L |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=253–255 |chapter=Elections and the Franchise}}</ref> | |||
;1840 : ] becomes a British colony, through the ]. | |||
: | |||
;1842 : ] by the ] in ] results in the death or incarceration of 16,500 soldiers and civilians.<ref></ref> | |||
Cities were given greater political autonomy and the ] was legalised.<ref name="NatGeo-20072">{{Cite book |last=National Geographic |title=Essential Visual History of the World |publisher=National Geographic Society |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4262-0091-5 |pages=290–292}}</ref> From 1845 to 1852, the ] caused mass starvation, disease and death in Ireland, sparking large-scale emigration.<ref name="kinealyxv2">{{Cite book |last=Kinealy |first=Christine |title=This Great Calamity |publisher=Gill & Macmillan |year=1994 |isbn= 9781570981401 |page=xv}}</ref> The ] were repealed in response to this.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lusztig |first1=Michael |date=July 1995 |title=Solving Peel's Puzzle: Repeal of the Corn Laws and Institutional Preservation |journal= Comparative Politics |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=393–408 |doi= 10.2307/422226 |jstor=422226}}</ref> Across the British Empire, reform included rapid expansion, the complete abolition of slavery in the African possessions and the end of ]. Restrictions on colonial trade were loosened and responsible (i.e. semi-autonomous) government was introduced in some territories.<ref name="Rose-194022">{{Cite journal |author=Livingston Schuyler |first= Robert |date=September 1941 |title= The Cambridge History of the British Empire. Volume II: The Growth of the New Empire, 1783-1870 |journal= Political Science Quarterly |volume=56 |issue=3 |page=449 |doi= 10.2307/2143685 |issn=0032-3195 |jstor=2143685}}</ref><ref name="Benians-19592">{{Cite book |last= Benians |first=E. A. |title=The Cambridge History of the British Empire Vol. iii: The Empire – Commonwealth 1870–1919 |year=1959 |isbn=978-0521045124 |pages=1–16|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref>] during the ] of 1879 by ] (1880)]] | |||
;1842 : The ] banned women and children from working in ], ], ] and ] ].<ref name="greenhavenpress"/> | |||
;1842 : ] was first published.<ref></ref> | |||
;1845 : The ] begins. Within 5 years it would become the UK's ], with starvation and emigration reducing the population of Ireland itself by over 50%. The famine permanently changed Ireland’s demographics and became a rallying point for nationalist sentiment that pervaded British politics for much of the following century. | |||
;1846: Repeal of the ].<ref name="greenhavenpress"/> | |||
;1848 : Death of around 2,000 people a week in a ] ]. | |||
;1850 : Restoration of the ] hierarchy in Britain. | |||
;1851 : The Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) was held at the Crystal Palace<ref name="greenhavenpress"/>, with great success and international attention. | |||
;1854 : Crimean War: The United Kingdom declared war on ]. | |||
;1857 : The ], a widespread revolt in ] against the rule of the ], was sparked by '']s'' (native Indian soldiers) in the Company's army. The rebellion, involving not just sepoys but many sectors of the Indian population as well, was largely quashed within a year. In response to the ], the East India Company was abolished in August 1858 and India came under the direct rule of the ], beginning the period of the ]. | |||
;1858 : The ], Lord Palmerston, responded to the ] plot against ] emperor ], the bombs for which were purchased in ], by attempting to make such acts a ], but the resulting uproar forced him to resign. | |||
;1859 : ] published '']'', which led to ].<ref name="greenhavenpress"/> | |||
;1861 : Death of ]<ref name="greenhavenpress"/>; Queen Victoria refused to go out in public for many years, and when she did she wore a widow's ] instead of the crown. | |||
;1866 : An angry crowd in ], protesting against ]'s resignation as Prime Minister, was barred from ] by the ]; they tore down iron ]s and trampled on ]s. Disturbances like this convinced Derby and Disraeli of the need for further parliamentary reform. | |||
;1867 : The ] passes and ] becomes ]. | |||
;1875 : Britain purchased ]'s shares in the ]<ref name="greenhavenpress"/> as the ]n nation was forced to raise money to pay off its ]s. | |||
;1878 : ]. ] becomes a ]. | |||
;1882 : ] began the ] by taking the Suez Canal, in order to secure the vital ] and the passage to India, and the country became a ]. | |||
;1884 : The ] was founded in London by a group of middle class intellectuals, including ] ], ], and ], to promote ]. | |||
;1888 : The ] known as ] murdered and mutilated five (and possibly more) ] on the streets of London.<ref name="greenhavenpress"/> | |||
;1870 - 1891 : Under the ] basic ] became free for every child under the age of 10. | |||
;1901 : The death of the much-loved Victoria saw the end of this era, and the ascension of her eldest son, Edward, saw the beginning of the Edwardian Era, another time of great change. | |||
Throughout most of the 19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Sandiford |first=Keith A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher= Routledge |year=2011 |isbn= 9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=307–309 |chapter=Foreign relations}}</ref> The period from ], known as the ], was a time of relatively peaceful relations between the world's ]s. This is particularly true of Britain's interactions with the others.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Holland |first=Rose, John |title=The Cambridge history of the British empire: volume II: the growth of the new empire, 1783-1870 |date=1940 |pages= x–vi |oclc=81942369}}</ref> The only war in which the British Empire fought against another major power was the ], from 1853 to 1856.<ref name="taylor60-612">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=A. J. P. |url= https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13016 |title=The Struggle for Mastery in Europe: 1848–1918 |date= 1954 |publisher= Oxford University Press | location = Mumbai |pages=60–61}}</ref><ref name="Rose-194022" /> There were various revolts and violent conflicts within the British Empire,<ref name="Rose-194022" /><ref name="Benians-19592" /> and Britain participated in wars against minor powers.<ref name="swisher248-502">{{Cite book |last=Swisher |first= Clarice |url= https://archive.org/details/victorianengland00swis/page/n5/mode/2up |title=Victorian England |publisher= Greenhaven Press |year=2000 |isbn= 9780737702217 |pages=248–250}}</ref><ref name="Rose-194022" /><ref name="Benians-19592" /> It also took part in the diplomatic struggles of the ]<ref name= "swisher248-502" /> and the ].<ref name= "Rose-194022" /><ref name="Benians-19592" /> | |||
==Entertainment== | |||
Popular forms of entertainment varied by ]. Victorian Britain, like the periods before it, was interested in ] and ], and ], ], and ] were widely attended. There were, however, other forms of entertainment. ] at cards in establishments popularly called ]s was wildly popular during the period: so much so that evangelical and reform movements specifically targeted such establishments in their efforts to stop gambling, ], and prostitution. | |||
In 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin ]. The couple had nine children, who themselves married into various royal families, and the queen thus became known as the 'grandmother of Europe'.<ref name="BBC Teach2">{{Cite web |title=Queen Victoria: The woman who redefined Britain's monarchy |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ks3-gcse-history-queen-victoria-monarchy/z73rnrd |access-date=12 October 2020 |website=BBC Teach |archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127013659/https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ks3-gcse-history-queen-victoria-monarchy/z73rnrd |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NatGeo-20072" /> In 1861, Albert died.<ref name= "swisher248-502" /> Victoria went into mourning and withdrew from public life for ten years.<ref name= "NatGeo-20072" /> In 1871, with ] sentiments growing in Britain, she began to return to public life. In her later years, her popularity soared as she became a symbol of the British Empire. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901.<ref name="BBC Teach2" /> | |||
] and 'The ]' became popular in the Victorian era. The band stand was a simple construction that not only created an ornamental focal point, but also served acoustic requirements whilst providing shelter from the changeable ]. It was common to hear the sound of a brass band whilst strolling through ]. At this time musical recording was still very much a novelty. | |||
==Society and culture== | |||
Another form of entertainment involved 'spectacles' where paranormal events, such as ], communication with the dead (by way of ] or channelling), ] conjuring and the like, were carried out to the delight of crowds and participants. Such activities were more popular at this time than in other periods of recent Western history. | |||
{{Main|Society and culture of the Victorian era}} | |||
===Family life=== | |||
The Victorian era saw a rapidly growing ] who became an important cultural influence, to a significant extent replacing the ] as British society's dominant class.<ref name="houghton12">{{Cite book |last=Houghton |first=Walter E. |date=2008 |title=The Victorian Frame of Mind |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |doi=10.12987/9780300194289|isbn=9780300194289 |s2cid=246119772 }}</ref><ref name="On the interactions of evangelicalism and utilitarianism see Élie Halévy2">{{Cite book |last=Halévy |first=Élie |title=A history of the English people ... |publisher=T. F. Unwin |date=1924 |pages=585–595 |oclc=1295721374}}</ref> A distinctive middle-class lifestyle developed that influenced what society valued as a whole.<ref name="houghton12" />''<ref name="Wohl-19782">{{cite book |last=Wohl |first=Anthony S. |title=The Victorian family: structure and stresses |publisher=Croom Helm |year=1978 |isbn=9780856644382 |location=London}}<br /><br />: ''Cited in'': {{cite book |last=Summerscale |first=Kate |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780747582151 |title=The suspicions of Mr. Whicher or the murder at Road Hill House |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2008 |isbn=9780747596486 |location=London |pages= |author-link=Kate Summerscale |url-access=registration |ref=none}} (novel)</ref>'' Increased importance was placed on the value of the family, and the idea that marriage should be based on romantic love gained popularity.<ref name="K2">{{Cite book |last=Theodore. |first=Hoppen, K. |title=The Mid-Victorian Generation 1846-1886 |date=30 June 2000 |isbn=978-0-19-254397-4 |pages=316 |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=1016061494}}</ref><ref name="Boston-20192">{{Cite web |last=Boston |first=Michelle |date=12 February 2019 |title=Five Victorian paintings that break tradition in their celebration of love |url=https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/2948/five-victorian-paintings-break-tradition/ |access-date=18 December 2020 |website=USC Dornsife |publisher=University of Southern California |archive-date=10 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210193513/https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/2948/five-victorian-paintings-break-tradition/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A clear separation was established between the home and the workplace, which had often not been the case before.''<ref name="Wohl-19782" />'' The home was seen as a private environment,''<ref name="Wohl-19782" />'' where housewives provided their husbands with a respite from the troubles of the outside world.<ref name="K2" /> Within this ideal, women were expected to focus on domestic matters and to rely on men as breadwinners.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robyn Ryle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHHz_p-j9hMC&pg=PA342 |title=Questioning gender: a sociological exploration |publisher=SAGE/Pine Forge Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4129-6594-1 |location=Thousand Oaks, Calif. |pages=342–343}}</ref><ref name="Susan Rubinow Gorsky2">{{Cite book |last=Rubinow. |first=Gorsky, Susan |title=Femininity to feminism: women and literature in the Nineteenth century |date=1992 |publisher=Twayne Publishers |isbn=0-8057-8978-2 |oclc=802891481}}</ref> Women had limited legal rights in most areas of life, and a ] movement developed.<ref name="Susan Rubinow Gorsky2" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=F. Elizabeth |year=2004 |title="Angel of the House" in Adams, ed. |journal=Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era |volume=1 |issue= |pages=40–41}}</ref> Parental authority was seen as important, but children were given ] for the first time towards the end of the period.<ref name="Bilston-20192">{{Cite web |last=Bilston |first=Barbara |date=4 July 2010 |title=A history of child protection |url=https://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/childhood-youth/working-young-people/history-child-protection |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=Open University |language=en |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202903/https://www.open.edu/openlearn/body-mind/childhood-youth/working-young-people/history-child-protection |url-status=live }}</ref> Access to education increased rapidly during the 19th century. State-funded schools were established in England and Wales for the first time. Education became compulsory for pre-teenaged children in England, Scotland and Wales. Literacy rates increased rapidly, and had become nearly universal by the end of the century.<ref name="Lloyd-20072">{{Cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Amy |date=2007 |title=Education, Literacy and the Reading Public |url=https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/intl-gps/intl-gps-essays/full-ghn-contextual-essays/ghn_essay_bln_lloyd3_website.pdf |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=27 January 2022 |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520183852/https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/intl-gps/intl-gps-essays/full-ghn-contextual-essays/ghn_essay_bln_lloyd3_website.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The 1870 Education Act |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/ |website=UK Parliament}}</ref> Private education for wealthier children, boys and more gradually girls, became more formalised over the course of the century.<ref name="Lloyd-20072" /> | |||
===Religion and social issues=== | |||
The growing middle class and strong ] placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits,{{NoteTag|Avoiding addictions such as ] and excessive ]}} ] and self-criticism.<ref name="On the interactions of evangelicalism and utilitarianism see Élie Halévy2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=G. M. |title=Victorian England: Portrait of an Age |year=1936 |pages=1–6}}</ref> As well as personal improvement, importance was given to social reform.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Briggs |first=Asa |title=The Age of Improvement 1783–1867 |year=1957 |pages=236–285}}</ref> ] was another philosophy that saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roach |first=John |date=1957 |title=Liberalism and the Victorian Intelligentsia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3020631 |journal=The Cambridge Historical Journal |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=58–81 |doi=10.1017/S1474691300000056 |jstor=3020631 |issn=1474-6913 |access-date=2 September 2020 |archive-date=2 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902130752/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3020631/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=G. M. |title=Victorian England: Portrait of an Age |pages=10–12}}</ref> An alliance formed between these two ideological strands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halevy |first=Elie |url= |title=A History Of The English People In 1815 |date=1924 |pages=585–95}}</ref> The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality, and political reform in order to establish a democracy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Llewellyn |title=The Age of Reform, 1815–1870 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1962 |edition=2nd |pages=28, 78–90, 446, 456, 464–465}}</ref> The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the ] (part of the evangelical movement) in England and Wales with the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bebbington |first=D. W. |title=The Nonconformist Conscience: Chapel and Politics, 1870–1914 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin, 1982 |year=1982}}</ref> This continued until the ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Glaser |first1=John F. |year=1958 |title=English Nonconformity and the Decline of Liberalism |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=352–363 |doi=10.2307/1849549 |jstor=1849549}}</ref> The ] played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wykes |first1=David L. |year=2005 |title=Introduction: Parliament and Dissent from the Restoration to the Twentieth Century |journal=Parliamentary History |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.1111/j.1750-0206.2005.tb00399.x}}</ref> | |||
Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the ] of the ].<ref name="Owen Chadwick2">{{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Owen |title=The Victorian church |publisher=A. & C. Black |year=1966 |isbn=978-0334024095 |volume=1 |pages=7–9, 47–48}}</ref> Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851,{{NoteTag|They were a clear majority in Wales. Scotland and Ireland had separate religious cultures.}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Dale A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=546–547 |chapter=Nonconformism}}</ref> and gradually the legal discrimination that had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Machin |first=G. I. T. |year=1979 |title=Resistance to Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, 1828 |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=115–139 |doi=10.1017/s0018246x00016708 |s2cid=154680968 |issn=0018-246X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=R. W. |year=1966 |title=The Strategy of "Dissent" in the Repeal Campaign, 1820–1828 |journal=The Journal of Modern History |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=374–393 |doi=10.1086/239951 |jstor=1876681 |s2cid=154716174}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anderson |first=Olive |author-link=Olive Anderson|year=1974 |title=Gladstone's Abolition of Compulsory Church Rates: a Minor Political Myth and its Historiographical Career |journal=The Journal of Ecclesiastical History |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=185–198 |doi=10.1017/s0022046900045735 |s2cid=159668040 |issn=0022-0469}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bowen |first=Desmond |year=1979 |title=''Conscience of the Victorian State'', edited by Peter Marsh |journal=Canadian Journal of History |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=318–320 |doi=10.3138/cjh.14.2.318 |issn=0008-4107}}</ref> Legal restrictions on ]s were also largely ]. The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to ] and ].<ref name="Owen Chadwick2" /> Secularism and doubts about the accuracy of the ] grew among people with higher levels of education.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coleridge's Religion |url=https://victorianweb.org/previctorian/stc/religion1.html |access-date=2022-08-10 |website=victorianweb.org |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330103435/https://victorianweb.org/previctorian/stc/religion1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Owen |title=The Victorian Church |year=1966 |volume=1: 1829–1859 |pages=487–489}}</ref> gained appeal among academics in the south.<ref name="Lewis-200732">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Christopher |title=Heat and Thermodynamics: A Historical Perspective |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33332-3 |location=United States of America |chapter=Chapter 5: Energy and Entropy: The Birth of Thermodynamics}}</ref> Historians refer to a 'Victorian Crisis of Faith', a period when religious views had to readjust to accommodate new scientific knowledge and criticism of the Bible.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eisen |first=Sydney |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-10974-6_2 |title=Victorian Faith in Crisis: Essays on Continuity and Change in Nineteenth-Century Religious Belief |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=1990 |isbn=9781349109746 |editor-last1=Helmstadter |editor-first1=Richard J. |pages=2–9 |chapter=The Victorian Crisis of Faith and the Faith That was Lost |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-10974-6_2 |editor-last2=Lightman |editor-first2=Bernard |access-date=18 October 2022 |archive-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019085106/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-10974-6_2 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==Technology and engineering== | |||
===Popular culture=== | |||
] in ]]] | |||
A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period, including novels,<ref name="British Library2">{{Cite web |title=Aspects of the Victorian book: the novel |url=http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/victorian/pu_novel.html |access-date=October 23, 2020 |website=British Library |archive-date=24 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524101310/http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/victorian/pu_novel.html |url-status=live }}</ref> women's magazines,<ref name="BritLib-20202">{{Cite web |title=Aspects of the Victorian book: Magazines for Women |url=http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/victorian/pu_magaz.html |access-date=23 October 2020 |website=British Library |archive-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203044916/http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/victorian/pu_magaz.html |url-status=live }}</ref> children's literature,<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGillis |first=Roderick |date=6 May 2016 |title=Children's Literature - Victorian Literature |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199799558/obo-9780199799558-0088.xml |access-date=28 October 2020 |website=Oxford Bibliographies |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031081053/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199799558/obo-9780199799558-0088.xml |url-status=live }}</ref> and newspapers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weiner |first=Joel H. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=628–630 |chapter=Press, Popular}}</ref> Much literature, including ]s, was distributed on the street.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Ruth |date=15 May 2014 |title=Street literature |url=https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/street-literature |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422020111/https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/street-literature |archive-date=22 April 2022 |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=British Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Ruth |date=15 May 2014 |title=Chapbooks |url=https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/chapbooks |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422024529/https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/chapbooks |archive-date=22 April 2022 |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=British Library}}</ref> Music was also very popular, with genres such as ], ], ]s, ]s, ] and ] having mass appeal. What is now called ] was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Sally |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |pages=518–520 |chapter=Music}}</ref> ] became an increasingly accessible and popular part of everyday life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Photocollages Reveal Wit and Whimsy of the Victorian Era in Metropolitan Museum Exhibition Opening February 2 |url= https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2010/photocollages-reveal-wit-and-whimsy-of-the-victorian-era-in-metropolitan-museum-exhibition-opening-february-2 |access-date=18 November 2024 |website=]|date=27 January 2010}}</ref> Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=William J. |title=The state of British sport history |publisher=Journal of Sport History |year=1983 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=53–66}}</ref> They became important to male identity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maguire |first1=Joe |year=1986 |title=Images of manliness and competing ways of living in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain |journal=International Journal of the History of Sport |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=265–287 |doi=10.1080/02649378608713604}}</ref> Examples included ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandiford |first=Keith A. P. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=199–200 |chapter=Cricket}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Seiler |first=Robert M. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=728–729 |chapter=Soccer}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandiford |first=Keith A. P. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=685 |chapter=Rugby football}}</ref> ]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blouet |first=Olwyn M. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=791 |chapter=Tennis}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richard |first=Maxwell |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=74–75 |chapter=Bicycle}}</ref> The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with the Victorian view of femininity, but their involvement did increase as the period progressed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kathleen E. |first=McGrone |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=750–752 |chapter=Sport and Games, Women}}</ref> For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as ] could be done in the home while ] to rural locations such as the ] and ] were increasingly practical.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scheuerle H. |first=William |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=17–19 |chapter=Amusements and Recreation: Middle class}}</ref> The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by ]. Trips to resorts such as ] were increasingly popular towards the end of period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Waters |first=Chris |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=19–20 |chapter=Amusements and Recreation: Working class}}</ref> Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours, but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels, creating more time for leisure.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Bernard A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=878–879 |chapter=Working hours}}</ref> | |||
A great engineering feat in the Victorian Era was the ]. It was designed by ] in 1858. He proposed to build {{convert|82|mi|abbr=on}} of ] linked with over {{convert|1000|mi|abbr=on}} of street ]s. Many problems were encountered but the ] were completed. After this, Bazalgette designed the ] which housed sewers, ]s and the ]. During the same period London's ] network was expanded and improved, and a ] ] for ] and ] was introduced in the 1880s. | |||
<gallery widths="200" mode="packed"> | |||
During the Victorian era, ] grew into the discipline it is today. In addition to the increasing professionalism of university science, many Victorian gentlemen devoted their time to the study of ]. This study of natural history was most powerfully advanced by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution first published in his book ''On the Origin of Species'' in 1859. | |||
File:NiddMuseum1 Victorian Parlour.jpg|Recreation of a Victorian ] at ], Yorkshire | |||
] ] in 1871]] | |||
File:Halfpenny dinners for poor children in East London. Wellcome L0001135.jpg|Cheap meals for poor children in ] (1870) | |||
] was realized in 1829 by ] in France and ] in the UK. By 1900, hand-held cameras were available. | |||
File:The Leisure Hour. 1855. George-Hardy.jpg|''Leisure Hours'' (1855), depiction of a man resting by ] | |||
</gallery> | |||
==Economy, industry, and trade== | |||
Although initially developed in the early years of the 19th century, gas lighting became widespread during the Victorian era in industry, homes, public buildings and the ]. The invention of the ] gas ] in the 1890s greatly improved light output and ensured its survival as late as the 1960s. Hundreds of ] were constructed in cities and towns across the country. In 1882, incandescent ]s were introduced to London streets, although it took many years before they were installed everywhere. | |||
{{further|Economy, industry, and trade of the Victorian era|Industrial Revolution|Second Industrial Revolution}} | |||
], ] in '']'' (1861)]] | |||
==Poverty== | |||
] life in Victorian ], ]]] | |||
19th century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid ] stimulated by the ]. The large numbers of skilled and unskilled people looking for work kept wages down to barely subsistence level. Available housing was scarce and expensive, resulting in overcrowding. These problems were magnified in London, where the population grew at record rates. Large houses were turned into flats and tenements, and as landlords failed to maintain these dwellings ] housing developed. Kellow Chesney described the situation as follows: "Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the, metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room." (The Victorian Underworld)<ref name="dan">Barbara Daniels, </ref> | |||
Before the Industrial Revolution, daily life had changed little for hundreds of years. The 19th century saw rapid technological development with a wide range of new inventions. This led Great Britain to become the foremost industrial and trading nation of the time.<ref name="Atterbury-2011">{{Cite web |last=Atterbury |first=Paul |date=17 February 2011 |title=Victorian Technology |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_technology_01.shtml |access-date=13 October 2020 |website=BBC History |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232436/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_technology_01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era (1850–1870) as Britain's 'Golden Years',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=Bernard |title=Britannia's Burden: The Political Evolution of Modern Britain 1851–1890 |year=1994 |chapter=Chapter 3}}</ref><ref name="Hobsbawn-1995">{{Cite book |last=Hobsbawn |first=Eric |title=The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991 |publisher=Abacus |year=1995 |isbn=9780349106717 |chapter=Chapter Nine: The Golden Years |author-link=Eric Hobsbawm}}</ref> with ] per person increasing by half. This prosperity was driven by increased industrialisation, especially in textiles and machinery, along with exports to the empire and elsewhere.<ref name="F">{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=F. M. L. |title=Rise of Respectable Society: A Social History of Victorian Britain, 1830–1900 |year=1988 |pages=211–214}}</ref> The positive economic conditions, as well as a fashion among employers for providing welfare services to their workers, led to relative social stability.<ref name="F" /><ref name="Porter">{{Cite book |last1=Porter |first1=K |title=The Mid-Victorian Generation: 1846–1886 |last2=Hoppen |first2=Theodore |pages=9–11 |chapter=Chapters 1 to 3}}</ref> The ] movement for working-class men to be given the right to vote, which had been prominent in the early Victorian period, dissipated.<ref name="F" /> Government involvement in the economy was limited.<ref name="Porter" /> Only in the ], around a century later, did the country experience substantial economic growth again.<ref name="Hobsbawn-1995" /> But whilst industry was well developed, education and the arts were mediocre.<ref name="Porter" /> Wage rates continued to improve in the later 19th century: real wages (after taking inflation into account) were 65 per cent higher in 1901 compared to 1871. Much of the money was saved, as the number of depositors in savings banks rose from 430,000 in 1831 to 5.2 million in 1887, and their deposits from £14 million to over £90 million.<ref name="J">{{Cite book |last=Marriott |first=J. A. R. |title=Modern England: 1885–1945 |year=1948 |edition=4th |pages=166}}</ref> | |||
==Child labour== | |||
===Child labour=== | |||
] tub in ]. From official report of the parliamentary commission in the mid 19th century.<ref name="ashley"> Laura Del Col, West Virginia University</ref>]] | |||
]) pulling a coal tub was originally published in the Children's Employment Commission (Mines) 1842 report.]] | |||
The Victorian era became notorious for ] in factories and mines and as ]s.<ref>Laura Del Col, West Virginia University, </ref> Child labour, often brought about by economic hardship, played an important role in the Industrial Revolution from its outset: Charles Dickens for example worked at the age of 12 in a blacking factory, with his family in a ]. In 1840 only about 20 percent of the children in London had any schooling. By 1860 about half of the children between 5 and 15 were in school (including ]).<ref name="cody"/> | |||
Children had always played a role in economic life but ] became especially intense during the Victorian era. Children were put to work in a wide range of occupations, but particularly associated with this period are factories. Employing children had advantages, as they were cheap, had limited ability to resist harsh working conditions, and could enter spaces too small for adults. Some accounts exist of happy upbringings involving child labour, but conditions were generally poor. Pay was low, punishments severe, work was dangerous and disrupted children's development (often leaving them too tired to play even in their free time). Early labour could do lifelong harm; even in the 1960s and '70s, the elderly people of industrial towns were noted for their often unusually short stature, deformed physiques, and diseases associated with unhealthy working conditions.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=W. John |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=136–137 |chapter=Child Labor}}</ref> Reformers wanted the children in school; in 1840 only about 20 per cent of the children in London had any schooling.<ref name="cody">{{Cite web |title=Child Labor |url=https://victorianweb.org/history/hist8.html |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=victorianweb.org |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123112325/https://victorianweb.org/history/hist8.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 1850s, around half of the children in England and Wales were in school (not including ]).<ref name="Lloyd-2007">{{Cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Amy |date=2007 |title=Education, Literacy and the Reading Public |url=https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/intl-gps/intl-gps-essays/full-ghn-contextual-essays/ghn_essay_bln_lloyd3_website.pdf |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=27 January 2022 |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520183852/https://www.gale.com/binaries/content/assets/gale-us-en/primary-sources/intl-gps/intl-gps-essays/full-ghn-contextual-essays/ghn_essay_bln_lloyd3_website.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> From the 1833 Factory Act onwards, attempts were made to get child labourers into part time education, though this was often difficult to achieve.<ref name="May-1994">{{Cite book |last=May |first=Trevor |title=The Victorian Schoolroom |publisher=Shire Publications |year=1994 |location=Great Britain |pages=3, 29 |language=EN}}</ref> Only in the 1870s and 1880s did children begin to be compelled into school.<ref name="Lloyd-2007" /> Work continued to inhibit children's schooling into the early 20th century.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
== Housing and public health == | |||
The children of the poor were expected to help towards the family budget, often working long hours in dangerous jobs for low wages.<ref name="dan"/> Agile boys were employed by the chimney sweeps; small children were employed to scramble under machinery to retrieve cotton bobbins; and children were also employed to work in ], crawling through tunnels too narrow and low for adults. Children also worked as errand boys, crossing sweepers, or shoe blacks, or selling matches, flowers and other cheap goods.<ref name="dan"/> Some children undertook work as apprentices to respectable trades, such as building, or as ] (there were over 120,000 domestic servants in London in the mid 18th century). Working hours were long: builders might work 64 hours a week in summer and 52 in winter, while domestic servants worked 80 hour weeks. Many young people worked as ]s (the majority of prostitutes in London were between 15 and 22 years of age).<ref name="cody"/> | |||
{{Further|Economy, industry, and trade of the Victorian era|Mathematics, science, technology and engineering of the Victorian era|Demographics of the Victorian era}} | |||
19th-century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution.<ref name="J2">{{Cite book |last=Marriott |first=J. A. R. |title=Modern England: 1885–1945 |year=1948 |edition=4th |pages=166}}</ref> In the ], more than three out of every four people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to one in five a century earlier.<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Chapman Sharpe |first=William |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=162–164 |chapter=Cities}}</ref> Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in the West."<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Soloway |first=Richard A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=617–618 |chapter=Population and demographics}}</ref> The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as ] and London.<ref name=":32" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Theerman |first=Paul |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=9780415669726 |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=237–238 |chapter=Edinburgh}}</ref> Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kemp |first1=P. |year=1982 |title=Housing landlordism in late nineteenth-century Britain |journal=Environment and Planning A |volume=14 |issue=11 |pages=1437–1447 |doi=10.1068/a141437 |bibcode=1982EnPlA..14.1437K |s2cid=154957991}}</ref> Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least the 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in ] in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Bernard A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=622–625 |chapter=Poverty}}</ref> Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. ] wrote of the situation:<ref name="dan2">{{Cite web |title=Poverty and Families in the Victorian Era |url=http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/poverty.html |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=www.hiddenlives.org.uk |language=en |archive-date=6 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206083852/http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/articles/poverty.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
{{Blockquote|text=Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room}} | |||
<blockquote> | |||
"Mother bides at home, she is troubled with bad breath, and is sair weak in her body from early labour. I am wrought with sister and brother, it is very sore work; cannot say how many rakes or journeys I make from pit's bottom to wall face and back, thinks about 30 or 25 on the average; the distance varies from 100 to 250 fathom. I carry about 1 cwt. and a quarter on my back; have to stoop much and creep through water, which is frequently up to the calves of my legs." (Isabella Read, 12 years old, coal-bearer, testimony gathered by Ashley's Mines Commission 1842<ref name="ashley"/> | |||
</blockquote> | |||
Hunger and poor diet was a common aspect of life across the UK in the Victorian period, especially in the 1840s, but the mass starvation seen in the ] in Ireland was unique.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Ruth |title=How to be a Victorian |publisher=Penguin. |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-241-95834-6 |chapter=Chapter 6: Breakfast: Hunger}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> Levels of poverty fell significantly during the 19th century from as much as two thirds of the population in 1800 to less than a third by 1901. However, 1890s studies suggested that almost 10% of the urban population lived in a state of desperation lacking the food necessary to maintain basic physical functions. Attitudes towards the poor were often unsympathetic and they were frequently blamed for their situation. In that spirit, the ] had been deliberately designed to punish them and would remain the basis for welfare provision into the 20th century. While many people were prone to vices, not least alcoholism, historian Bernard A. Cook argues that the main reason for 19th century poverty was that typical wages for much of the population were simply too low. Barely enough to provide a subsistence living in good times, let alone save up for bad.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
<blockquote> | |||
"My father has been dead about a year; my mother is living and has ten children, five lads and five lasses; the oldest is about thirty, the youngest is four; three lasses go to mill; all the lads are colliers, two getters and three hurriers; one lives at home and does nothing; mother does nought but look after home. | |||
Improvements were made over time to housing along with the management of sewage and water eventually giving the UK the most advanced system of public health protection anywhere in the world.<ref name="Robinson-201152">{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Bruce |date=17 February 2011 |title=Victorian Medicine – From Fluke to Theory |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_medicine_01.shtml |access-date=13 October 2020 |website=BBC History |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108110941/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/victorian_medicine_01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> The quality and safety of household lighting improved over the period with ]s becoming the norm in the early 1860s, ] in the 1890s and ]s beginning to appear in the homes of the richest by the end of the period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Loomis |first=Abigail A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=452–453 |chapter=Lighting}}</ref> Medicine advanced rapidly during the 19th century and ] was developed for the first time. Doctors became more specialised and the number of hospitals grew.<ref name="Robinson-201152" /> The overall number of deaths fell by about 20%. The life expectancy of women increased from around 42 to 55 and 40 to 56 for men.{{NoteTag|These life expectancy figures are rounded to the nearest whole.}}<ref name=":02" /> In spite of this, the ] fell only marginally, from 20.8 per thousand in 1850 to 18.2 by the end of the century. Urbanisation aided the spread of diseases and squalid living conditions in many places exacerbated the problem.<ref name="Robinson-201152" /> The population of England, Scotland and Wales grew rapidly during the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jefferies |first=Julie |year=2005 |title=The UK population: past, present and future |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20060215211500/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fom2005/01_FOPM_Population.pdf |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk |pages=3 to 4 |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429012738/https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20060215211500/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/fom2005/01_FOPM_Population.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Various factors are considered contributary to this, including a rising ] (though it was falling by the end of the period),<ref name=":02" /> the lack of a catastrophic pandemic or famine in the island of Great Britain during the 19th century for the first time in history,<ref name="victorian_mortality22">{{cite journal |last=Szreter |first=Simon |year=1988 |title=The importance of social intervention in Britain's mortality decline c.1850–1914: A re-interpretation of the role of public health |journal=Social History of Medicine |volume=1 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.1093/shm/1.1.1 |s2cid=34704101}} {{Subscription required}}</ref> improved nutrition,<ref name="victorian_mortality22" /> and a lower overall mortality rate.<ref name="victorian_mortality22" /> Ireland's population shrank significantly, mostly due to emigration and the Great Famine.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ireland – Population Summary |url=http://homepage.tinet.ie/~cronews/geog/census/popcosum.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728111229/http://homepage.tinet.ie/~cronews/geog/census/popcosum.html |archive-date=28 July 2011 |access-date=10 August 2010 |publisher=Homepage.tinet.ie}}</ref> | |||
All my sisters have been hurriers, but three went to the mill. Alice went because her legs swelled from hurrying in cold water when she was hot. I never went to day-school; I go to Sunday-school, but I cannot read or write; I go to pit at five o'clock in the morning and come out at five in the evening; I get my breakfast of porridge and milk first; I take my dinner with me, a cake, and eat it as I go; I do not stop or rest any time for the purpose; I get nothing else until I get home, and then have potatoes and meat, not every day meat. I hurry in the clothes I have now got on, trousers and ragged jacket; the bald place upon my head is made by thrusting the corves; my legs have never swelled, but sisters' did when they went to mill; I hurry the corves a mile and more under ground and back; they weigh 300 cwt.; I hurry 11 a-day; I wear a belt and chain at the workings, to get the corves out;" (Patience Kershaw, 17 years old, coal-bearer, testimony gathered by Ashley's Mines Commission 1842)<ref name="ashley"/> | |||
</blockquote> | |||
<gallery widths="180" heights="200" mode="packed"> | |||
Children as young as three were put to work. In coal mines children began work at the age of five and generally died before the age of 25. Many children (and adults) worked 16 hour days. As early as 1802 and 1819 ] were passed to limit the working hours of ] children in factories and ]s to 12 hours per day. These acts were largely ineffective and after radical agitation, by for example the "Short Time Committees" in 1831, a ] recommended in 1833 that children aged 11-18 should work a maximum of 12 hours per day, children aged 9-11 a maximum of eight hours, and children under the age of nine should no longer be permitted to work. This act, however, only applied to the ], and further agitation led to another act in 1847 limiting both adults and children to 10 hour working days.<ref name="cody"> David Cody, Hartwick College </ref> | |||
File:Slum in Glasgow, 1871.jpg|Slum area in ] (1871) | |||
File:Llanfyllin Workhouse - geograph.org.uk - 3098623.jpg|Buildings originally built as ] ], a state-funded home for the destitute which operated from 1838 to 1930.<ref name="Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire - Workhouse">{{cite web|title=Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire|url=http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Llanfyllin/|access-date=30 May 2023|archive-date=7 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507044551/https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Llanfyllin/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="A Victorian prison for the poor">{{cite web|title=Llanfyllin and district – The Union Workhouse – A Victorian prison for the poor|url=http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/llanfyllin/workmenu.shtml|publisher=Victorian Powys|access-date=30 May 2023|archive-date=25 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425161039/http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/llanfyllin/workmenu.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
File:-Vignetted portrait, woman holding a baby- MET DP113912.jpg|Photograph of a mother and baby by ] ({{Circa|1850s or 60s}}) | |||
</gallery> | |||
== |
==Knowledge== | ||
===Science=== | |||
{{See also|Victorian morality|Women in the Victorian era}} | |||
{{Main|Mathematics, science, technology and engineering of the Victorian era}} | |||
Beginning in the late 1840s, major news organizations, clergymen and single women became increasingly concerned about prostitution, which came to be known as "The Great Social Evil." Although estimates of the number of prostitutes in London by the 1850s vary widely (in his landmark study, ''Prostitution'', ] reported that the police estimated there were 8,600 in London alone in 1857), it is enough to say that the number of women working the streets became increasingly difficult to ignore. When the ] publicly revealed a 4% demographic imbalance in favour of women (i.e. 4% more women than men), the problem of prostitution began to shift from a moral/religious cause to a ] one. The 1851 census showed that the population of Great Britain was roughly 18 million; this meant that roughly 750,000 women would remain unmarried simply because there were not enough men. These women came to be referred to as "superfluous women" or "redundant women," and many essays were published discussing what, precisely, ought to be done with them. | |||
] delivering a ] ({{Circa|1855}})]] | |||
The professionalisation of scientific study began in parts of Europe following the ] but was slow to reach Britain. ] coined the term 'scientist' in 1833 to refer to those who studied what was generally then known as natural philosophy, but it took a while to catch on. Having been previously dominated by amateurs with a separate income, the ] admitted only professionals from 1847 onwards.<ref name=":4" /> The British biologist ] indicated in 1852 that it remained difficult to earn a living as a scientist alone.<ref name="Lewis-200732"/> Scientific knowledge and debates such as that about ]'s '']'' (1859), which sought to explain biological evolution by natural selection, gained a high profile in the public consciousness. Simplified (and at times inaccurate) ] was increasingly distributed through a variety of publications which caused tension with the professionals.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Yeo |first=Richard R. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=694–696 |chapter=Science}}</ref> There were significant advances in various fields of research, including ],<ref name="Katz-2009a">{{Cite book |last=Katz |first=Victor |title=A History of Mathematics: An Introduction |publisher=Addison-Wesley |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-321-38700-4 |pages=824–830 |chapter=Chapter 23: Probability and Statistics in the Nineteenth Century}}</ref> ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kline |first=Morris |title=Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1972 |isbn=0-19-506136-5 |location=United States of America |pages=696–7 |chapter=28.7: Systems of Partial Differential Equations}}</ref> ],<ref name="Lewis-2007-1">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Christoper |title=Heat and Thermodynamics: A Historical Perspective |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33332-3 |location=United States of America |chapter=Chapter 7: Black Bodies, Free Energy, and Absolute Zero}}</ref> ],<ref name="Lewis-200732"/> ],<ref name="Baigrie-2007a">{{Cite book |last=Baigrie |first=Brian |title=Electricity and Magnetism: A Historical Perspective |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33358-3 |location=United States of America |chapter=Chapter 8: Forces and Fields}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Katz |first=Victor |title=A History of Mathematics: An Introduction |publisher=Addison-Wesley |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-321-38700-4 |pages=738–9 |chapter=21.3: Symbolic Algebra}}</ref> | |||
While the ]s had been "reforming" prostitutes since the mid-18th century, the years between 1848 and 1870 saw a veritable explosion in the number of institutions working to "reclaim" these "fallen women" from the streets and retrain them for entry into respectable society—usually for work as domestic servants. The theme of prostitution and the "fallen woman" (an umbrella term used to describe any women who had ] out of ]) became a staple feature of mid-] and politics. In the writings of ], ] and others, prostitution began to be seen as a ]. | |||
===Industry=== | |||
]Known as the 'workshop of the world', Britain was uniquely advanced in technology in the mid-19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buchanan |first=R. A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=784–787 |chapter=Technology and invention}}</ref> Engineering, having developed into a profession in the 18th century, gained new profile and prestige in this period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Buchanan |first=R. A. |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=265–267 |chapter=Engineering}}</ref> The Victorian era saw methods of communication and transportation develop significantly. In 1837, ] and ] invented the first ]. This system, which used electrical currents to transmit coded messages, quickly spread across Britain, appearing in every town and post office. A worldwide network developed towards the end of the century. In 1876, ] patented the ]. A little over a decade later, 26,000 telephones were in service in Britain. Multiple switchboards were installed in every major town and city.<ref name="Atterbury-2011" /> ] developed early radio broadcasting at the end of the period.<ref name="Baigrie-2007b">{{Cite book |last=Baigrie |first=Brian |title=Electricity and Magnetism: A Historical Perspective |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33358-3 |location=United States of America |chapter=Chapter 10: Electromagnetic Waves}}</ref> The railways were important economically in the Victorian era, allowing goods, raw materials, and people to be moved around, stimulating trade and industry. They were also a major employer and industry in their own right.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ranlett |first=John |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=663–665 |chapter=Railways}}</ref> | |||
== Moral standards == | |||
When ] passed the first of the ] in 1864 (which allowed the local constabulary to force any woman suspected of ] to submit to its inspection), ]'s crusade to repeal the CD Acts yoked the anti-prostitution cause with the emergent ]. Butler attacked the long-established ] of ]. | |||
{{further|Victorian morality|Women in the Victorian era}} | |||
] | |||
Prostitutes were often presented as victims in ] such ]'s poem '']'', ]'s novel '']'' and Dickens' novel '']''. The emphasis on the purity of women found in such works as ]'s '']'' led to the portrayal of the prostitute and fallen woman as soiled, corrupted, and in need of cleansing. | |||
Expected standards of personal conduct changed in around the first half of the 19th century, with good manners and self-restraint becoming much more common.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Perkin |first=Harold |title=The Origins of Modern English Society |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |year=1969 |isbn=9780710045676 |pages=280}}</ref> Historians have suggested various contributing factors, such as Britain's ] during the early 19th century, meaning that the distracting temptations of sinful behaviour had to be avoided in order to focus on the war effort, and the evangelical movement's push for moral improvement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Briggs |first=Asa |title=The Age of Improvement: 1783–1867 |publisher=Longman |year=1959 |isbn=9780582482043 |pages=66–74, 286–87, 436}}</ref> There is evidence that the expected standards of moral behaviour were reflected in action as well as rhetoric across all classes of society.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradley |first=Ian C. |title=The Call to Seriousness: The Evangelical Impact on the Victorians |publisher=Lion Hudson Limited |year=2006 |isbn=9780224011624 |pages=106–109}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Probert |first=Rebecca |date=September 2012 |title=Living in Sin |work=BBC History Magazine}}</ref> For instance, an analysis suggested that less than 5% of working class couples cohabited before marriage.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
This emphasis on female purity was allied to the stress on the ] role of women, who helped to create a space free from the pollution and corruption of the city. In this respect the prostitute came to have symbolic significance as the embodiment of the violation of that divide. The double standard remained in force. ] legislation introduced in 1857 allowed for a man to divorce his wife for ], but a woman could only divorce if adultery was accompanied by cruelty. The anonymity of the city led to a large increase in prostitution and unsanctioned sexual relationships. Dickens and other writers associated prostitution with the mechanisation and industrialisation of modern life, portraying prostitutes as human ] consumed and thrown away like refuse when they were used up. Moral reform movements attempted to close down ]s, something that has sometimes been argued to have been a factor in the concentration of street-prostitution in ], in the ], by the 1880s. | |||
Historian ] argued that the change in moral standards led by the middle of the 19th century to 'diminished cruelty to animals, criminals, lunatics, and children (in that order)'.<ref name=":1" /> Legal restrictions were placed on cruelty to animals.<ref>{{cite web |title=London Police Act 1839, Great Britain Parliament. Section XXXI, XXXIV, XXXV, XLII |url=http://www.animalrightshistory.org/animal-rights-law/victorian-legislation/1839-uk-act-london-police.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424093224/http://www.animalrightshistory.org/animal-rights-law/victorian-legislation/1839-uk-act-london-police.htm |archive-date=24 April 2011 |access-date=23 January 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=McMullan |first=M. B. |date=1998-05-01 |title=The Day the Dogs Died in London |url=https://doi.org/10.1179/ldn.1998.23.1.32 |journal=The London Journal |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=32–40 |doi=10.1179/ldn.1998.23.1.32 |issn=0305-8034 |access-date=31 March 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604043828/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/ldn.1998.23.1.32 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rep">{{citation |editor-last=Rothfels |editor-first=Nigel |title=Representing Animals |page=12 |year=2002 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-34154-9}}. Chapter: 'A Left-handed Blow: Writing the History of Animals' by Erica Fudge</ref> Restrictions were placed on the working hours of child labourers in the 1830s and 1840s.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Cooper, Anthony Ashley, seventh Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885) |chapter-url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.001.0001/odnb-9780192683120-e-6210 |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |year=2018 |language=en |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.6210 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kelly |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMhwAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA548 |title=Business Law |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=9781317935124 |page=548 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> Further interventions took place throughout the century to increase the level of child protection.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Litzenberger |first=C. J. |title=The Human Tradition in Modern Britain |author2=Eileen Groth Lyon |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7425-3735-4 |pages=142–143}}</ref> Use of the ] also decreased.<ref name=":1" /> Crime rates fell significantly in the second half of the 19th century. Sociologist ] linked this change to attempts to morally educate the population, especially at ]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Christie |title=The Loss of Virtue: Moral Confusion and Social Disorder in Britain and America |year=1992 |isbn=978-0907631507 |editor-last=Anderson |editor-first=Digby |pages=5, 10 |chapter=Moralization and Demoralization: A Moral Explanation for Changes in Crime|publisher=Social Affairs Unit }}</ref> | |||
===Sexual behavior=== | |||
Contrary to popular belief, Victorian society understood that both men and women enjoyed ].<ref name="draznin2001">{{cite book |author=Draznin, Yaffa Claire |title=Victorian London's Middle-Class Housewife: What She Did All Day (#179) |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-313-31399-8 |series=Contributions in Women's Studies |location=Westport, Connecticut |pages=95–96}}</ref> Chastity was expected of women, whilst attitudes to male sexual behaviour were more relaxed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Ruth |title=How to be a Victorian |publisher=] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-241-95834-6 |chapter=Chapter 15: Behind the bedroom door}}</ref> The development of police forces led to a rise in prosecutions for illegal ] in the middle of the 19th century.<ref>Sean Brady, ''Masculinity and Male Homosexuality in Britain, 1861–1913'' (2005).</ref> Male sexuality became a favourite subject of medical researchers' study.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crozier |first=I. |date=2007-08-05 |title=Nineteenth-Century British Psychiatric Writing about Homosexuality before Havelock Ellis: The Missing Story |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrm046 |journal=Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=65–102 |doi=10.1093/jhmas/jrm046 |pmid=18184695 |issn=0022-5045}}</ref> For the first time, all male homosexual acts were outlawed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=F. B. |date=1976 |title=Labouchere's amendment to the Criminal Law Amendment bill |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10314617608595545 |journal=Historical Studies |volume=17 |issue=67 |pages=165–173 |doi=10.1080/10314617608595545 |issn=0018-2559}}</ref> Concern about sexual exploitation of adolescent girls increased during the period, especially following the ], which contributed to the increasing of the age of consent ].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Anna |title=Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=9780415669726 |editor-last=Mitchell |editor-first=Sally |pages=642–645 |chapter=Prostitution}}</ref> | |||
At a time when job options for women were limited and generally low-paying, some women, particularly those without familial support, took to prostitution to support themselves. Attitudes in public life and among the general population to prostitution varied. Evidence about prostitutes' situation also varies. One contemporary study argues that the trade was a short-term stepping stone to a different lifestyle for many women, while another, more recent study argues they were subject to physical abuse, financial exploitation, state persecution, and difficult working conditions. Due to worries about ], especially among soldiers, women suspected of prostitution were for a period between the 1860s and 1880s subject to spot compulsory examinations for ], and detainment if they were found to be infected. This caused a great deal of resentment among women in general due to the principle underlying the checks, that women had to be controlled in order to be safe for sexual use by men, and the checks were opposed by some of the earliest feminist campaigning.<ref name=":5" /> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
* ] | * ] | ||
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== Notes == | ||
<references group="note"/> | |||
* ]. ''Victorian People and Ideas: A Companion for the Modern Reader of Victorian Literature''. W.W. Norton & Company: 1974. ISBN 0-393-09376-X. | |||
* Burton, Antoinette (editor). ''Politics and Empire in Victorian Britain: A Reader''. Palgrave Macmillan: 2001. ISBN 0-312-29335-6. | |||
* ], ''The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud'', 5 volumes, Oxford University Press, 1984-1989 | |||
* Janowski, Diane, ''Victorian Pride - Forgotten Songs of America'', 6 volumes, New York History Review Press, 2007-2008. | |||
* Flanders, Judith. ''Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England''. W.W. Norton & Company: 2004. ISBN 0-393-05209-5. | |||
* Mitchell, Sally. ''Daily Life in Victorian England''. Greenwood Press: 1996. ISBN 0-313-29467-4. | |||
* ] ''The Victorians''. Arrow Books: 2002. ISBN 0-09-945186-7 | |||
==References== | == References == | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
<references/> | |||
== Further reading == | |||
==External links== | |||
{{Main|Bibliography of the Victorian era}} | |||
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* {{Commons category-inline|Victorian era}} | |||
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* An exploration of vagrancy and streetwalkers in late Victorian London | |||
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{{Queen Victoria}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 23:35, 8 December 2024
Queen Victoria's reign
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In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.
Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK, including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world.
Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on certain groups' liberty. Prosperity rose during the period, but debilitating undernutrition persisted. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in Great Britain for the first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, slum housing and disease remained a severe problem.
The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. Great Britain's population increased rapidly, while Ireland's fell sharply.
Terminology and periodisation
See also: PeriodisationIn the strictest sense, the Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from her accession on 20 June 1837—after the death of her uncle, William IV—until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII. Her reign lasted 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian' was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era. The era can also be understood in a more extensive sense—the 'long Victorian era'—as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from the periods adjacent to it, in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession—typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the Reform Act 1832, which introduced a wide-ranging change to the electoral system of England and Wales. Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of the label 'Victorian', though there have also been defences of it.
Michael Sadleir was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one". He distinguished early Victorianism—the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850—and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of aestheticism and imperialism, from the Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw the latter period as characterised by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic prudery, and complacency—what G. M. Trevelyan called the 'mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity'.
Politics, diplomacy and war
Main articles: Political and diplomatic history of the Victorian era and United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandThe Reform Act, which made various changes to the electoral system including expanding the franchise, had been passed in 1832. The franchise was expanded again by the Second Reform Act in 1867. The Third Reform Act in 1884 introduced a general principle of one vote per household. All these acts and others simplified the electoral system and reduced corruption. Historian Bruce L Kinzer describes these reforms as putting the United Kingdom on the path towards becoming a democracy. The traditional aristocratic ruling class attempted to maintain as much influence as possible while gradually allowing the middle- and working-classes a role in politics. However, all women and a large minority of men remained outside the system into the early 20th century.
Cities were given greater political autonomy and the labour movement was legalised. From 1845 to 1852, the Potato Famine caused mass starvation, disease and death in Ireland, sparking large-scale emigration. The Corn Laws were repealed in response to this. Across the British Empire, reform included rapid expansion, the complete abolition of slavery in the African possessions and the end of transportation of convicts to Australia. Restrictions on colonial trade were loosened and responsible (i.e. semi-autonomous) government was introduced in some territories.
Throughout most of the 19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world. The period from 1815 to 1914, known as the Pax Britannica, was a time of relatively peaceful relations between the world's great powers. This is particularly true of Britain's interactions with the others. The only war in which the British Empire fought against another major power was the Crimean War, from 1853 to 1856. There were various revolts and violent conflicts within the British Empire, and Britain participated in wars against minor powers. It also took part in the diplomatic struggles of the Great Game and the Scramble for Africa.
In 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had nine children, who themselves married into various royal families, and the queen thus became known as the 'grandmother of Europe'. In 1861, Albert died. Victoria went into mourning and withdrew from public life for ten years. In 1871, with republican sentiments growing in Britain, she began to return to public life. In her later years, her popularity soared as she became a symbol of the British Empire. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901.
Society and culture
Main article: Society and culture of the Victorian eraFamily life
The Victorian era saw a rapidly growing middle class who became an important cultural influence, to a significant extent replacing the aristocracy as British society's dominant class. A distinctive middle-class lifestyle developed that influenced what society valued as a whole. Increased importance was placed on the value of the family, and the idea that marriage should be based on romantic love gained popularity. A clear separation was established between the home and the workplace, which had often not been the case before. The home was seen as a private environment, where housewives provided their husbands with a respite from the troubles of the outside world. Within this ideal, women were expected to focus on domestic matters and to rely on men as breadwinners. Women had limited legal rights in most areas of life, and a feminist movement developed. Parental authority was seen as important, but children were given legal protections against abuse and neglect for the first time towards the end of the period. Access to education increased rapidly during the 19th century. State-funded schools were established in England and Wales for the first time. Education became compulsory for pre-teenaged children in England, Scotland and Wales. Literacy rates increased rapidly, and had become nearly universal by the end of the century. Private education for wealthier children, boys and more gradually girls, became more formalised over the course of the century.
Religion and social issues
The growing middle class and strong evangelical movement placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits, child discipline and self-criticism. As well as personal improvement, importance was given to social reform. Utilitarianism was another philosophy that saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress. An alliance formed between these two ideological strands. The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality, and political reform in order to establish a democracy. The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the nonconformists (part of the evangelical movement) in England and Wales with the Liberal Party. This continued until the First World War. The Presbyterians played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland.
Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the disestablishment of the Church of England. Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851, and gradually the legal discrimination that had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed. Legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were also largely removed. The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to conversions and immigration from Ireland. Secularism and doubts about the accuracy of the Old Testament grew among people with higher levels of education. Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal) gained appeal among academics in the south. Historians refer to a 'Victorian Crisis of Faith', a period when religious views had to readjust to accommodate new scientific knowledge and criticism of the Bible.
Popular culture
A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period, including novels, women's magazines, children's literature, and newspapers. Much literature, including chapbooks, was distributed on the street. Music was also very popular, with genres such as folk music, broadsides, music halls, brass bands, theater music and choral music having mass appeal. What is now called classical music was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support. Photography became an increasingly accessible and popular part of everyday life. Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era. They became important to male identity. Examples included cricket, football, rugby, tennis and cycling. The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with the Victorian view of femininity, but their involvement did increase as the period progressed. For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as table games could be done in the home while domestic holidays to rural locations such as the Lake District and Scottish Highlands were increasingly practical. The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by philanthropy. Trips to resorts such as Blackpool were increasingly popular towards the end of period. Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours, but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels, creating more time for leisure.
- Recreation of a Victorian parlour at Nidderdale Museum, Yorkshire
- Cheap meals for poor children in East London (1870)
- Leisure Hours (1855), depiction of a man resting by George Hardy
Economy, industry, and trade
Further information: Economy, industry, and trade of the Victorian era; Industrial Revolution; and Second Industrial RevolutionBefore the Industrial Revolution, daily life had changed little for hundreds of years. The 19th century saw rapid technological development with a wide range of new inventions. This led Great Britain to become the foremost industrial and trading nation of the time. Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era (1850–1870) as Britain's 'Golden Years', with national income per person increasing by half. This prosperity was driven by increased industrialisation, especially in textiles and machinery, along with exports to the empire and elsewhere. The positive economic conditions, as well as a fashion among employers for providing welfare services to their workers, led to relative social stability. The Chartist movement for working-class men to be given the right to vote, which had been prominent in the early Victorian period, dissipated. Government involvement in the economy was limited. Only in the post-World War II period, around a century later, did the country experience substantial economic growth again. But whilst industry was well developed, education and the arts were mediocre. Wage rates continued to improve in the later 19th century: real wages (after taking inflation into account) were 65 per cent higher in 1901 compared to 1871. Much of the money was saved, as the number of depositors in savings banks rose from 430,000 in 1831 to 5.2 million in 1887, and their deposits from £14 million to over £90 million.
Child labour
Children had always played a role in economic life but exploitation of their labour became especially intense during the Victorian era. Children were put to work in a wide range of occupations, but particularly associated with this period are factories. Employing children had advantages, as they were cheap, had limited ability to resist harsh working conditions, and could enter spaces too small for adults. Some accounts exist of happy upbringings involving child labour, but conditions were generally poor. Pay was low, punishments severe, work was dangerous and disrupted children's development (often leaving them too tired to play even in their free time). Early labour could do lifelong harm; even in the 1960s and '70s, the elderly people of industrial towns were noted for their often unusually short stature, deformed physiques, and diseases associated with unhealthy working conditions. Reformers wanted the children in school; in 1840 only about 20 per cent of the children in London had any schooling. By the 1850s, around half of the children in England and Wales were in school (not including Sunday school). From the 1833 Factory Act onwards, attempts were made to get child labourers into part time education, though this was often difficult to achieve. Only in the 1870s and 1880s did children begin to be compelled into school. Work continued to inhibit children's schooling into the early 20th century.
Housing and public health
Further information: Economy, industry, and trade of the Victorian era; Mathematics, science, technology and engineering of the Victorian era; and Demographics of the Victorian era19th-century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. In the 1901 census, more than three out of every four people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to one in five a century earlier. Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in the West." The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as Edinburgh and London. Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants. Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least the 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in Liverpool in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20. Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. Kellow Chesney wrote of the situation:
Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room
Hunger and poor diet was a common aspect of life across the UK in the Victorian period, especially in the 1840s, but the mass starvation seen in the Great Famine in Ireland was unique. Levels of poverty fell significantly during the 19th century from as much as two thirds of the population in 1800 to less than a third by 1901. However, 1890s studies suggested that almost 10% of the urban population lived in a state of desperation lacking the food necessary to maintain basic physical functions. Attitudes towards the poor were often unsympathetic and they were frequently blamed for their situation. In that spirit, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 had been deliberately designed to punish them and would remain the basis for welfare provision into the 20th century. While many people were prone to vices, not least alcoholism, historian Bernard A. Cook argues that the main reason for 19th century poverty was that typical wages for much of the population were simply too low. Barely enough to provide a subsistence living in good times, let alone save up for bad.
Improvements were made over time to housing along with the management of sewage and water eventually giving the UK the most advanced system of public health protection anywhere in the world. The quality and safety of household lighting improved over the period with oil lamps becoming the norm in the early 1860s, gas lighting in the 1890s and electric lights beginning to appear in the homes of the richest by the end of the period. Medicine advanced rapidly during the 19th century and germ theory was developed for the first time. Doctors became more specialised and the number of hospitals grew. The overall number of deaths fell by about 20%. The life expectancy of women increased from around 42 to 55 and 40 to 56 for men. In spite of this, the mortality rate fell only marginally, from 20.8 per thousand in 1850 to 18.2 by the end of the century. Urbanisation aided the spread of diseases and squalid living conditions in many places exacerbated the problem. The population of England, Scotland and Wales grew rapidly during the 19th century. Various factors are considered contributary to this, including a rising fertility rate (though it was falling by the end of the period), the lack of a catastrophic pandemic or famine in the island of Great Britain during the 19th century for the first time in history, improved nutrition, and a lower overall mortality rate. Ireland's population shrank significantly, mostly due to emigration and the Great Famine.
- Slum area in Glasgow (1871)
- Buildings originally built as Llanfyllin workhouse, a state-funded home for the destitute which operated from 1838 to 1930.
- Photograph of a mother and baby by Alfred Capel-Cure (c. 1850s or 60s)
Knowledge
Science
Main article: Mathematics, science, technology and engineering of the Victorian eraThe professionalisation of scientific study began in parts of Europe following the French Revolution but was slow to reach Britain. William Whewell coined the term 'scientist' in 1833 to refer to those who studied what was generally then known as natural philosophy, but it took a while to catch on. Having been previously dominated by amateurs with a separate income, the Royal Society admitted only professionals from 1847 onwards. The British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley indicated in 1852 that it remained difficult to earn a living as a scientist alone. Scientific knowledge and debates such as that about Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859), which sought to explain biological evolution by natural selection, gained a high profile in the public consciousness. Simplified (and at times inaccurate) popular science was increasingly distributed through a variety of publications which caused tension with the professionals. There were significant advances in various fields of research, including statistics, elasticity, refrigeration, natural history, electromagnetism, and logic.
Industry
Known as the 'workshop of the world', Britain was uniquely advanced in technology in the mid-19th century. Engineering, having developed into a profession in the 18th century, gained new profile and prestige in this period. The Victorian era saw methods of communication and transportation develop significantly. In 1837, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone invented the first telegraph system. This system, which used electrical currents to transmit coded messages, quickly spread across Britain, appearing in every town and post office. A worldwide network developed towards the end of the century. In 1876, an American patented the telephone. A little over a decade later, 26,000 telephones were in service in Britain. Multiple switchboards were installed in every major town and city. Guglielmo Marconi developed early radio broadcasting at the end of the period. The railways were important economically in the Victorian era, allowing goods, raw materials, and people to be moved around, stimulating trade and industry. They were also a major employer and industry in their own right.
Moral standards
Further information: Victorian morality and Women in the Victorian eraExpected standards of personal conduct changed in around the first half of the 19th century, with good manners and self-restraint becoming much more common. Historians have suggested various contributing factors, such as Britain's major conflicts with France during the early 19th century, meaning that the distracting temptations of sinful behaviour had to be avoided in order to focus on the war effort, and the evangelical movement's push for moral improvement. There is evidence that the expected standards of moral behaviour were reflected in action as well as rhetoric across all classes of society. For instance, an analysis suggested that less than 5% of working class couples cohabited before marriage.
Historian Harold Perkin argued that the change in moral standards led by the middle of the 19th century to 'diminished cruelty to animals, criminals, lunatics, and children (in that order)'. Legal restrictions were placed on cruelty to animals. Restrictions were placed on the working hours of child labourers in the 1830s and 1840s. Further interventions took place throughout the century to increase the level of child protection. Use of the death penalty also decreased. Crime rates fell significantly in the second half of the 19th century. Sociologist Christie Davies linked this change to attempts to morally educate the population, especially at Sunday schools.
Sexual behavior
Contrary to popular belief, Victorian society understood that both men and women enjoyed copulation. Chastity was expected of women, whilst attitudes to male sexual behaviour were more relaxed. The development of police forces led to a rise in prosecutions for illegal sodomy in the middle of the 19th century. Male sexuality became a favourite subject of medical researchers' study. For the first time, all male homosexual acts were outlawed. Concern about sexual exploitation of adolescent girls increased during the period, especially following the white slavery scandal, which contributed to the increasing of the age of consent from 13 to 16.
At a time when job options for women were limited and generally low-paying, some women, particularly those without familial support, took to prostitution to support themselves. Attitudes in public life and among the general population to prostitution varied. Evidence about prostitutes' situation also varies. One contemporary study argues that the trade was a short-term stepping stone to a different lifestyle for many women, while another, more recent study argues they were subject to physical abuse, financial exploitation, state persecution, and difficult working conditions. Due to worries about venereal disease, especially among soldiers, women suspected of prostitution were for a period between the 1860s and 1880s subject to spot compulsory examinations for sexually transmitted infections, and detainment if they were found to be infected. This caused a great deal of resentment among women in general due to the principle underlying the checks, that women had to be controlled in order to be safe for sexual use by men, and the checks were opposed by some of the earliest feminist campaigning.
See also
- 19th-century London
- Political and diplomatic history of the Victorian era
- Society and culture of the Victorian era
- Theatre in the Victorian era
- Victorian burlesque
- Victorian erotica
- Victorian fashion
- Victorian house
- Victorian jewellery
- Victorian masculinity
- Victorian painting
- Victorian Turkish baths
- Women in the Victorian era
Notes
- This is the term used for the period covered by Patrick Leary's international academic mailing-list VICTORIA 19th-century British culture & society.
- A Scottish Reform Act and Irish Reform Act were passed separately.
- A Scottish Reform Act and Irish Reform Act were passed separately.
- See Representation of the People (Ireland) Act 1868 and Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 for equivalent reforms made in those jurisdictions
- Avoiding addictions such as alcoholism and excessive gambling
- They were a clear majority in Wales. Scotland and Ireland had separate religious cultures.
- These life expectancy figures are rounded to the nearest whole.
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Further reading
Main article: Bibliography of the Victorian eraExternal links
- Quotations related to Victorian era at Wikiquote
- Media related to Victorian era at Wikimedia Commons
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Economic expansions and recessions in the United States and Commonwealth of Nations countries | |
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Commercial revolution (1000–1760) |
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1st Industrial Revolution (1760–1840) |
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Early Victorian Britain/ Civil War-era United States (1840–1870) |
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Gilded Age/ 2nd Industrial Revolution (1870–1914) |
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Interwar period (1918–1939) |
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Post–WWII expansion (1945–1973) |
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Great Inflation (1973–1982) | |
Great Moderation/ Great Regression (1982–2007) | |
Information Age (2007–present) |