The
Victorian era of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
was the period of
Queen Victoria'sVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the
British peopleThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories, and their descendants. In a historical context, the term refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the...
, as profits gained from the overseas
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
, as well as from industrial improvements at home, allowed an educated
middle classThe middle class are any class in the middle of a social schema. In Weberian socio-economic terms they are the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socioeconomically between the working class and upper class. In Marxist terms, middle class commonly refers to either the...
to develop. Some scholars would extend the beginning of the period—as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political games that have come to be associated with the Victorians—back five years to the passage of the
Reform Act 1832The Representation of the People Act 1832, commonly known as the Reform Act 1832, was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of the United Kingdom...
.
The era was preceded by the
Georgian periodThe Georgian era is a period of British history, normally defined as including the reigns of the kings George I, George II, George III and George IV, i.e. covering the period from 1714 to 1830,...
and succeeded by the Edwardian period. The latter half of the Victorian era roughly coincided with the first portion of the
Belle ÉpoqueThe Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I...
era of
continental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas. Notably, in British and Irish English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel...
and the
Gilded AgeIn American history, the Gilded Age refers to substantial growth in population in the United States and extravagant displays of wealth and excess of America's upper-class during the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, in the late 19th century...
of the United States.
The era is often characterized as a long period of peace, known as the
Pax BritannicaPax Britannica was the period of relative peace in Europe when the British Empire controlled most of the key naval trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power. It refers to a period of British imperialism after the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, which led to a period of overseas British expansionism...
, and economic,
colonialColonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole...
, and industrial consolidation, temporarily disrupted by the
Crimean WarThe Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the other. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, although Britain was at war every year during this time. Towards the end of the century, the policies of
New ImperialismNew Imperialism refers to the colonial expansion adopted by Europe's powers and, later, Japan and the United States, during the 19th and early 20th centuries; expansion approximately took place from the Franco-Prussian War to World War I...
led to increasing colonial conflicts and eventually the
Anglo-Zanzibar WarThe Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted approximately 38 minutes
and is the shortest war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on...
and the
Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual
political reformA reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society rather than rapid or fundamental changes. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements.Reformists' ideas are often...
and the widening of the
voting franchiseSuffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. It is also called political franchise or simply the franchise. Suffrage may apply to elections, but also extends to initiatives and referendums...
.
The population of England had almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901.
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
’s population decreased rapidly, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901. At the same time around 15 million emigrants left the United Kingdom in the Victorian era and settled mostly in the United States, Canada and Australia.
During the early part of the era, the House of Commons was headed by the two parties, the Whigs and the Tories. From the late 1850s onwards, the Whigs became the
LiberalsThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
; the Tories became the
ConservativesThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
. These parties were led by many prominent statesmen including
Lord MelbourneWilliam Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister , and was a mentor of Queen Victoria...
, Sir
Robert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
,
Lord DerbyEdward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, KG, PC was an English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and to date the longest serving leader of the Conservative Party...
, Lord Palmerston, William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury. The unsolved problems relating to Irish Home Rule played a great part in politics in the later Victorian era, particularly in view of Gladstone's determination to achieve a political settlement. Indeed these issues would eventually lead to the
Easter RisingThe Easter Rising , was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic...
of 1916 and the subsequent
domino effectThe domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...
that would play a large part in the fall of the empire.
The reign of Victoria was the longest in British history, and is foreseeably likely to be exceeded only if the present monarch (
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
) remains on the throne to 2017.
Culture
Gothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began in the 1740s in England. Its popularity grew rapidly in the early nineteenth century, when increasingly serious and learned admirers of neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval forms in contrast to the classical styles prevalent at the...
became increasingly significant in the period, leading to the
Battle of the StylesThe Battle of the Styles is a term used to refer to the conflict between supporters of the Gothic style and the Classical style in architecture. In Britain this led to public debates between Decimus Burton and Augustus Pugin. In France it led to controversy over the work of Viollet-le-Duc...
between Gothic and
ClassicalClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
ideals.
Charles BarrySir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens.-Training:Born in Bridge Street, Westminster, he was the son...
's architecture for the new
Palace of WestminsterThe Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, is the seat of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, which had been badly damaged in an
1834 fireThe Palace of Westminster has suffered two major fires since it became home to Parliament in the 16th century. The first fire in 1834 destroyed virtually everything but Westminster Hall; the second, caused by German bombing during the London Blitz of World War II, only caused partial damage.The...
, built in the
medieval styleMedieval architecture is a term used to represent various forms of architecture popular in Medieval Europe.-Secular and religious architecture:...
of Westminster Hall, the surviving part of the building. It constructed a narrative of cultural continuity, set in opposition to the violent disjunctions of
Revolutionary FranceThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
, a comparison common to the period, as expressed in
Thomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.
Coming from a strict Calvinist family,...
's
The French Revolution: A HistoryThe French Revolution: A History was written by the Scottish essayist, philosopher, and historian Thomas Carlyle. The three-volume work, first published in 1837 , charts the course of the French Revolution from 1789 to the height of the Reign of Terror and culminates in 1795...
and
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
'
A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With 200 million copies sold, it is the most printed original English book, the most printed and among the most famous works of fiction.It depicts the plight of the French...
. Gothic was also supported by the critic
John RuskinJohn Ruskin was an English art critic and social thinker, also remembered as an author, poet and artist. His essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian and Edwardian eras....
, who argued that it epitomised communal and inclusive social values, as opposed to Classicism, which he considered to epitomise mechanical standardisation.
The middle of the 19th century saw
The Great ExhibitionThe Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, England, from 1 May to 15...
of 1851, the first World's Fair, and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was
the Crystal PalaceDesigned by Joseph Paxton, the Great Exhibition building was long, with an interior height of .After the exhibition, the building was moved to a new park in a high, healthy and affluent area of London called Sydenham Hill, an area not much changed today from the well-heeled suburb full of large...
, 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
Modern architectureModern architecture is art with similar characteristics, primarily the simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. The first variants were conceived early in the 20th century...
. The
emergence of photographyThe word photography derives from the Greek words 'photos' - meaning light and 'graphein' - to write. The word was popularised by Sir John Herschel in 1839.Modern photography began in the 1820s with the first permanent photographs....
, which was showcased at the Great Exhibition, resulted in significant changes in Victorian art with Queen Victoria being the first British Monarch to be photographed.
John Everett MillaisSir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:...
was influenced by photography (notably in his portrait of Ruskin) as were other
Pre-RaphaeliteThe Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
artists. It later became associated with the
ImpressionisticImpressionism was a 19th-century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence in the 1870s and 1880s...
and
Social RealistSocial Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
techniques that would dominate the later years of the period in the work of artists such as
Walter SickertWalter Richard Sickert was a German-born English Impressionist painter and a member of the Camden Town Group. Sickert was a cosmopolitan and eccentric who favoured ordinary people and urban scenes as his subjects....
and
Frank HollFrank Holl , English painter, was born in London, and was educated chiefly at University College School.He was a grandson of William Holl, an engraver of note, and the son of Francis Holl, ARA, another engraver, whose profession he originally intended to follow...
.
Events
1832: Passage of the first
Reform ActIn the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters. It is most commonly used for laws passed to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the British House of Commons...
.
1837: Accession of Queen Victoria to the throne.
1840:
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
becomes a British colony, through the
Treaty of WaitangiThe Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on February 6, 1840, by representatives of the British Crown, and various Māori chiefs from the northern North Island of New Zealand. The Treaty established a British governor in New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other...
.
1840: Queen Victoria marries
Prince Albert-Royalty:*Albert, Prince Consort , consort of Queen Victoria*Edward VII of the United Kingdom , his son, known previously as Prince Albert, or Bertie*Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale , his son...
1840: Birth of the Queen's first child
Victoria, Princess RoyalThe Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child and daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor...
1841: Birth of Prince Albert Edward
1842:
Massacre of Elphinstone's ArmyThe Massacre of Elphinstone's Army was a victory of Afghan forces, led by Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammad Khan, over a combined British and British Raj force, led by William Elphinstone, in January 1842. After the British troops captured Kabul in 1839, an Afghan uprising forced the occupying...
by the
AfghansThe Demographics of Afghanistan are a mix of ethnic and linguistic groups. The population of Afg28,150,000
...
in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
results in the death or incarceration of 16,500 soldiers and civilians.
The Mines Act of 1842 banned women/children from working in
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
,
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
,
leadLead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...
and
tinTin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead, like the two possible oxidation states +2 and +4...
miningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
.
The Illustrated London News was first published.
1843: Birth of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom
1844: Birth of Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
1845: The Irish famine begins. Within 5 years it would become the UK's worst human disaster, 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
Corn LawsThe Corn Laws were import tariffs designed to support domestic British corn prices against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The tariffs were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846...
.
1846: Birth of
Princess Helena of the United KingdomThe Princess Helena was a member of the British Royal Family, the third daughter and fifth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.Helena was educated by private tutors chosen by her father and his close friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar...
1848: Death of around 2,000 people a week in a
choleraCholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through eating food or drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae from other cholera patients...
epidemicDefining an epidemic can be subjective, depending in part on what is "expected". An epidemic may be restricted to one locale , more general or even global...
.
1848: Birth of
Princess Louise, Duchess of ArgyllThe Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various...
1850: Restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Britain.
1850: Birth of
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and StrathearnPrince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who, between 1911 and 1916, served as the Governor General of Canada...
1851:
The Great ExhibitionThe Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, England, from 1 May to 15...
(the first World's Fair) was held at the Crystal Palace, with great success and international attention. The
Victorian gold rushThe Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
. In ten years the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n population nearly tripled.
1853: Birth of
Prince Leopold, Duke of AlbanyThe Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany was a member of the British Royal Family, a son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Leopold was later created the Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence and Baron Arklow...
1854:
Crimean WarThe Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire on one side and an alliance of the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia on the other. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
: The United Kingdom declared war on
RussiaThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
1857: The
Indian MutinyThe Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May, 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon erupted into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, a widespread revolt in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
against the rule of the
British East India CompanyEast India Company was a historical English company, founded in 1600, and chartered with the monopoly of trading with Southeast Asia, East Asia, and India...
, was sparked by
sepoyA sepoy was a native of India, a soldier allied to a European power, usually the United Kingdom. Specifically, it was the term used in the British Indian Army, and earlier in the East India Company, for an infantry private , and is still so used in the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and...
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
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority...
, the East India Company was abolished in August 1858 and India came under the direct rule of the British crown, beginning the period of the
British RajThe British Raj was the British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; it can also refer to the period of dominion, and even the region under the rule...
.
1857: Birth of
Princess Beatrice of the United KingdomThe Princess Beatrice was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
1858: The
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
, Lord Palmerston, responded to the
OrsiniFelice Orsini was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the Carbonari who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.-Early:Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, then part of the Papal States....
plot against
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
emperor
Napoleon IIINapoleon III , Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, was the first President of the French Republic and the last monarch of France. He was also Napoleon I's nephew. Made president by popular vote in 1848, Napoleon III ascended to the throne on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon...
, the bombs for which were purchased in
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, by attempting to make such acts a
felonyA felony is a serious crime in the United States and previously other common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
, but the resulting uproar forced him to resign.
1859:
Charles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist who realised and presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection...
published
On the Origin of Species, which led to
various reactionsThe immediate reaction to Darwin's theory followed closely on his publication of On the Origin of Species, and Charles Darwin’s book sparked off international debate, though the heat of controversy was less than that over earlier works such as Vestiges of Creation...
.
1861: Death of Prince Albert; Queen Victoria refused to go out in public for many years, and when she did she wore a widow's
bonnetBonnet, derived from the same word in Old French, where it originally indicated a type of material, has been and is used for various kinds of headgear for both sexes, which have in common only the absence of a brim...
instead of the crown.
1866: An angry crowd in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, protesting against
John RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
's resignation as Prime Minister, was barred from
Hyde ParkHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
by the police; they tore down iron
railingGuard rail, sometimes referred to as guide rail or railing, is a system designed to keep people or vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limits areas...
s and trampled on
flower bedA garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form is known as a residential garden. Western gardens are almost universally...
s. Disturbances like this convinced Derby and Disraeli of the need for further parliamentary reform.
1867: The
Constitution Act, 1867The Constitution Act, 1867 , constitutes a major part of Canada's Constitution...
passes and
British North AmericaBritish North America consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783....
becomes
Dominion of CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
1875: Britain purchased
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
's shares in the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
as the
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
n nation was forced to raise money to pay off its debts.
1878: Treaty of Berlin (1878).
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
becomes a
Crown colonyA Crown colony was a type of colonial administration of the British Empire.Crown colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by the Crown...
.
1882:
British troopsThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
began the occupation of Egypt by taking the Suez Canal, in order to secure the vital
trade routeA trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...
and passage to India, and the country became a
protectorateA protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...
.
1884: The
Fabian SocietyThe Fabian Society is a British intellectual socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up...
was founded in London by a group of middle class intellectuals, including
QuakerThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
Edward R. PeaseEdward Reynolds Pease was an English writer and a founding member of the Fabian Society.Pease, the sixth of fifteen children, was born near Bristol, the son of devout Quakers, Thomas Pease and Susanna Ann Fry sister of Edward Fry, the judge...
,
Havelock EllisHenry Havelock Ellis was a British sexologist, physician, and social reformer.- Early life :Ellis, son of Edward Peppen Ellis and Susannah Mary Wheatley, was born in Croydon, then a small town south of London. His father was a sea captain, his mother the daughter of a sea captain, and many other...
, and
E. NesbitEdith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
, to promote
socialismSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
.
1886: Prime Minister William Gladstone and the Liberal Party tries passing the First Irish Home Rule Bill, but the bill is rejected by the House of Commons.
1888: The
serial killerA serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Often, a sexual element is involved with the killings...
known as
Jack the RipperJack the Ripper was a pseudonym given to an unidentified serial killer active in the largely impoverished districts in and around Whitechapel, London, in late 1888. The name originated in a letter by someone claiming to be the murderer that was sent to the London Central News Agency and...
murdered and mutilated five (and possibly more)
prostitutesProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
on the streets of London.
1870 - 1891: Under the
Elementary Education Act 1870The Elementary Education Act 1870 commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children aged between 5 and 12 in England and Wales...
, basic
State EducationState school is an expression used in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom to distinguish schools provided by the government from privately run schools.- United Kingdom :...
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, began the Edwardian era, another time of great change.
Entertainment
Popular forms of entertainment varied by
social classSocial classes are the hierarchical arrangements of people in society as economic or cultural groups. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political economists and social historians...
. Victorian Britain, like the periods before it, was interested in
theatreTheatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion...
and
the artsThe arts is a broad subdivision of culture, composed of many expressive disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts...
, and
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
,
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
, and
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
were widely attended. There were, however, other forms of entertainment.
GamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period....
at cards in establishments popularly called
casinoA casino is a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships and other tourist attractions...
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,
drinkingAn alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits....
, and prostitution.
Brass bandsA British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
and 'The
BandstandA bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, or pier, designed to accommodate musical bands performing outdoor concerts...
' 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
British weatherThe climate of the United Kingdom is classified as a mid-latitude oceanic climate , with warm summers, cool winters and plentiful precipitation throughout the year...
. It was common to hear the sound of a brass band whilst strolling through
parklandsAn urban park, also known as a municipal park or a public park or open space , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of and visitors to the municipality...
. At this time musical recording was still very much a novelty.
Another form of entertainment involved 'spectacles' where paranormal events, such as
hypnotismHypnosis is a mental state or set of attitudes usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be...
, communication with the dead (by way of
mediumshipMediumship is supposedly a form of communication with spirits.It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Louisiana Voodoo, Shambala and Umbanda...
or channelling),
ghostA ghost has been defined as the disembodied spirit or soul of a deceased person, although in popular usage the term refers only to the apparition of such a person...
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.
Technology and engineering
A great engineering feat in the Victorian Era was the
sewage system in LondonThe London sewerage system is part of the water infrastructure serving London. The modern system was developed during the late 19th century, but as London has grown the system has been expanded and needs further investment.-History:...
. It was designed by
Joseph BazalgetteSir Joseph William Bazalgette, CB was one of the great English civil engineers of the 19th century. As the chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London, which helped relieve the city from cholera epidemics,...
in 1858. He proposed to build of
sewer systemSewage collection and disposal systems transport sewage through cities and other inhabited areas to sewage treatment plants in order to protect public health and prevent disease. Sewage is treated in order to control water pollution before discharge to surface waters.-Collection:A sewage system may...
linked with over of street
sewerA sanitary sewer is a type of underground carriage system, , for transporting sewage from houses or industry to treatment or disposal...
s. Many problems were encountered but the
sewersA sanitary sewer is a type of underground carriage system, , for transporting sewage from houses or industry to treatment or disposal...
were completed. After this, Bazalgette designed the
Thames EmbankmentThe Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
which housed sewers,
water pipeWater pipes are pipes or tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride , ductile iron, polyethylene, or copper, that carry pressurized and treated fresh water to buildings , as well as inside the building....
s and the
London UndergroundThe London Underground, Underground or Tube is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. The first section opened in 1863, and was the first underground railway system in the world, and, starting in...
. During the same period London's
water supplyWater supply is the process of self-provision or provision by third parties in the water industry, commonly a public utility, of water resources of various qualities to different users. Irrigation is covered separately.- Global access to water:...
network was expanded and improved, and a
gasNatural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills...
networkCross-links are bonds that link one polymer chain to another. They can be covalent bonds or ionic bonds. "Polymer chains" can refer to synthetic polymers or natural polymers . When the term "cross-linking" is used in the synthetic polymer science field, it usually refers to the use of...
for
lightingGas lighting refers to a technology used to produce light from a gaseous fuel including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, or ethylene....
and
heatingA gas heater is a device used to heat a room or outdoor area by burning natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.The first gas heater made use of the same principles of the Bunsen burner invented in the previous year. It was first commercialized by the English company Pettit and Smith in 1856. The...
was introduced in the 1880s.
During the Victorian era,
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
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
natural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards the observational than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research that is published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, Natural history is the systematic...
. 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.
PhotographyPhotography is the process, activity and art of creating still or moving pictures by recording radiation on a sensitive medium, such as a photographic film, or an electronic sensor...
was realized in 1829 by
Louis DaguerreLouis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and chemist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography.- Biography :...
in France and
William Fox TalbotWilliam Henry Fox Talbot was the inventor of the negative / positive photographic process, the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was also a noted photographer who made major contributions to the development of photography as an artistic medium...
in the UK. By 1900, hand-held cameras were available.
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
streetsA street light, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road, which is turned on or lit at a certain time every night. Modern lamps may also have light-sensitive photocells to turn them on at dusk, off at dawn, or activate automatically...
. The invention of the
incandescentIncandescence is the emission of light from a hot body due to its temperature. The term derives from the verb incandesce, to glow white....
gas
mantleAn incandescent gas mantle, gas mantle, or Welsbach mantle is a device for generating bright white light when heated by a flame. The name refers to its original heat source, existing gas lights which filled the streets of Europe and North America in the late 19th century, mantle referring to the...
in the 1890s greatly improved light output and ensured its survival as late as the 1960s. Hundreds of
gasworksA Gasworks or Gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. Coal gas was introduced to Great Britain in the 1790s as an Illuminating gas by the Scottish inventor William Murdoch.- Early Gasworks :...
were constructed in cities and towns across the country. In 1882, incandescent
electric lightMost of the industrialized world is lit by electric lights, which are used both at night and to provide additional light during the daytime. These lights are normally powered by the electric grid, but some run on local generators, and emergency generators serve as backups in hospitals and other...
s were introduced to London streets, although it took many years before they were installed everywhere.
Health and medicine
Medicine progressed during Queen Victoria's reign.
Although
nitrous oxideNitrous oxide, commonly known as happy gas or laughing gas, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula N
2O. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a pleasant, slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
, or laughing gas, had been proposed as an anaesthetic as far back as 1799 by
Humphry DavySir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine. He invented the Davy lamp,...
, it wasn't until 1846 when an American Dentist named
William MortonWilliam Morton may refer to:* William T.G. Morton , American dentist, the first to use ether anesthesia* William Morton , American boxer* William Morton , Scottish cricketer...
started using
etherEther is a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
on his patients that anaesthetics became common in the medical profession. In 1847
chloroformChloroform is the organic compound with formula CHCl
3. This colourless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane. It is also considered somewhat hazardous...
was introduced as an anaesthetic by
James Young SimpsonSir James Young Simpson was a Scottish doctor and an important figure in the history of medicine. Simpson discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and successfully introduced it for general medical use....
. Chloroform was favored by doctors and hospital staff because it's much less flammable than ether, but critics complained that it could cause the patient to have a heart attack. Chloroform gained in popularity in England and German after Dr. John Snow gave Queen Victoria chloroform for the birth of her eighth child (Prince Leopold). By 1920, chloroform was used in 80 to 95% of all narcoses performed in UK and German-speaking countries.
Anaesthetics made painless dentistry possible. At the same time the European diet grew a great deal sweeter as the use of sugar became more widespread. As a result, more and more people were having teeth pulled and needed replacements. This gave rise to "Waterloo Teeth", which were real human teeth set into hand-carved chunks of ivory from hippopotamus or walrus jaws. The teeth were obtained from executed criminals, victims of battlefields, from grave-robbers, and were even bought directly from the desperately impoverished.
Medicine also benefited from the introduction of antiseptics by Joseph Lister in 1867 in the form of Carbolic acid (
phenolPhenol, also known as carbolic acid, is a toxic, white crystalline solid. Its chemical formula is C6H5OH and its structure is that of a hydroxyl group bonded to a phenyl ring, making it an aromatic compound.-Phenols:...
). He instructed the hospital staff to wear gloves and wash their hands, instruments, and dressings with a phenol solution and, in 1869, he invented a machine that would spray carbolic acid in the operating theatre during surgery.
Poverty
19th century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid
urbanizationUrbanization is the physical growth of urban areas from rural areas as a result of population immigration to an existing urban area. Effects include change in density and administration services. While the exact definition and population size of urbanized areas varies amongdifferent countries,...
stimulated by the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in the United Kingdom. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe, North...
. 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
slumA slum, as defined by the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the proportion of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
housing developed.
Kellow Chesney- Personal Information :Kellow Chesney , in Whimple, Devonshire, England; son of Kellow, a soldier, and Vera Moule Chesney; married Anne M.H...
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)
Child labour
The Victorian era became notorious for the employment of young children in factories and mines and as
chimney sweepA chimney sweep is a person who cleans chimneys for a living.-History:The occupation of chimney sweep is considered to be one of the oldest in the world, as chimneys have been around since ancient times, though it is only in the last two hundred years that the chimney has grown large enough to hold...
s. 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 debtors' prison. 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
Sunday school"Sunday school" is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-Development:The first Sunday school may have been that opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham...
).
The children of the poor were expected to help towards the family budget, often working long hours in dangerous jobs for low wages. 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
coal minesDue to its abundance, coal has been mined in various parts of the world throughout history and continues to be an important economic activity today. Compared to wood fuels, coal yields a higher amount of energy per mass and could be obtained in areas where wood is not readily available...
, 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. Some children undertook work as apprentices to respectable trades, such as building, or as
domestic servantsA domestic worker is someone who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
(there were over 120,000 domestic servants in London in the mid
18th centuryThe 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system.However, Western historians sometimes specifically define the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work...
). 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
prostituteProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
s (the majority of prostitutes in London were between 15 and 22 years of age).
"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
"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.
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)
Children as young as three were put to work. In coal mines children began work at the age of 5 and generally died before the age of 25. Many children (and adults) worked 16 hour days. As early as 1802 and 1819,
Factory ActsThe Factory Acts were a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to limit the number of hours worked by women and children first in the textile industry, then later in all industries....
were passed to limit the working hours of
workhouseUnder the Poor Law systems of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland a workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest reference to a workhouse dates to 1652 in Exeter. There is, however, some written...
children in factories and
cotton millA cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
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
Royal CommissionIn states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. They have been held in states such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia...
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
textile industryThe textile industry is a term used for industries primarily concerned with the design or manufacture of clothing as well as the distribution and use of textiles.-Cotton stage:...
, and further agitation led to another act in 1847 limiting both adults and children to 10 hour working days.
Prostitution
Beginning in the late
1840s-Technology:*First use of general anesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long.*The first electrical telegraph sent by Samuel Morse on May 24, 1844 from Baltimore to Washington, D.C..-War, peace and politics:...
, 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- Industry :* Distinction between coats and jackets begins to blur* Production of steel revolutionized by invention of the Bessemer process* Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time* First transpacific telegraph cable laid...
vary widely (in his landmark study,
Prostitution,
William ActonWilliam Acton was a British medical doctor and book writer. He was known for his books on masturbation.-Biography:Acton was a native of...
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
United Kingdom Census 1851The United Kingdom Census of 1851 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of March 30 1851, and was the second of the UK censuses to include details of household members...
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
socio-economicSocioeconomics or socio-economics is the study of the relationship between economic activity and social life. The field is often considered multidisciplinary, using theories and methods from sociology, economics, history, psychology, and many others. It has emerged as a separate field of study in...
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.
While the Magdalene Asylums had been "reforming" prostitutes since the mid-
18th centuryThe 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system.However, Western historians sometimes specifically define the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work...
, 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
sexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract. The two entities may be of opposite sexes or not, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
out of
wedlockMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
) became a staple feature of mid-
Victorian literatureVictorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria and corresponds to the Victorian era. It forms a link and transition between the writers of the romantic period and the very different literature of the 20th century.The 19th century saw the novel become the...
and politics. In the writings of
Henry MayhewHenry Mayhew was an English social researcher, journalist, playwright and advocate of reform. He was one of the two founders of the satirical and humorous magazine Punch, and the magazine's joint-editor, with Mark Lemon, in its early days...
,
Charles BoothCharles Booth was an English philanthropist and social researcher. He is most famed for his innovative work on documenting working class life in London at the end of the 19th century, work that along with that of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree influenced government intervention against poverty in the...
, and others, prostitution began to be seen as a
social problemSocial issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a society and are considered to be problems, controversies related to moral values, or both....
.
When
ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
passed the first of the
Contagious Diseases ActsThe Contagious Diseases Acts were passed by the UK Parliament in 1864, 1867, and 1869. The initial Act of 1864 was passed after concern over the high levels of venereal disease in the armed forces: during the 1860s, one in three sick cases in the military was venereal in origin...
in 1864 (which allowed the local constabulary to force any woman suspected of
venereal diseaseA sexually transmitted disease , also known as sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans or animals by means of sexual contact, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
to submit to its inspection),
Josephine ButlerJosephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
's crusade to repeal the CD Acts yoked the anti-prostitution cause with the emergent
feminist movementThe Suffrage movement is a series of campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights , domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. The goals of the movement vary from country to country, e.g...
. Butler attacked the long-established
double standardThe term double standard, coined in the early 1950s, refers to any set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another...
of
sexual moralitySexual ethics refers to those aspects of ethics that deal with issues arising from all aspects of sexuality and human sexual behavior...
.
Prostitutes were often presented as victims in
sentimental literatureThe sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is an 18th century literary genre which celebrates the emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility...
such as
Thomas HoodThomas Hood was a British humorist and poet. His son, Tom Hood, became a well known playwright and editor.-Early life:...
's poem
The Bridge of Sighs"The Bridge of Sighs" is a famous poem of 1844 by Thomas Hood concerning the suicide of a homeless young woman who threw herself from Waterloo Bridge in London....
,
Elizabeth GaskellElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. She is perhaps best known for her biography of Charlotte Brontë...
's novel
Mary BartonMary Barton is the first novel by English author Elizabeth Gaskell, published in 1848. The story is set in the English city of Manchester during the 1830s and 1840s and deals heavily with the difficulties faced by the Victorian lower class.-Plot summary:...
, and Dickens' novel
Oliver TwistOliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is Charles Dickens' second novel. It is about a boy named Oliver Twist, who escapes from an workhouse and meets a gang of pickpocketers in London...
. The emphasis on the purity of women found in such works as
Coventry PatmoreCoventry Kersey Dighton Patmore was an English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage.-Youth:...
's
The Angel in the HouseThe Angel in the House is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, first published in 1854 and expanded up until 1862. Although largely ignored upon publication, it became enormously popular during the later nineteenth century and its influence continued well into the twentieth...
led to the portrayal of the prostitute and fallen woman as soiled, corrupted, and in need of cleansing.
This emphasis on female purity was allied to the stress on the
homemakingA homemaker handles household responsibilities as his or her main daily activity. While not an occupation in the traditional sense, as it is not usually undertaken for monetary remuneration, a homemaker may work full-time to maintain the home environment...
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.
DivorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
legislation introduced in 1857 allowed for a man to divorce his wife for
adulteryAdultery is referred to as extramarital sex, philandery, or infidelity, but does not include fornication. The term "adultery" for many people carries a moral or religious association, while the term "extramarital sex" is morally or judgmentally neutral....
, but a woman could only divorce if adultery were 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
commoditiesA commodity is some good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk. In other words, copper is copper. The price of copper is universal,...
consumed and thrown away like refuse when they were used up. Moral reform movements attempted to close down
brothelA brothel, also known as a bordello, cathouse, whorehouse, sporting house and various other euphemisms, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sexual intercourse with clients.-Legality:Today, brothels are illegal in the vast...
s, something that has sometimes been argued to have been a factor in the concentration of street-prostitution in
WhitechapelWhitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and Commercial Road on the south...
, in the
East End of LondonThe East End of London, known vernacularly as the East End, is the area of London, England, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames, although it is not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries...
, by the
1880sThe 1880s was the decade that spanned between the years 1880 and 1889. They occurred at the core period of the Second Industrial Revolution. Most Western countries experienced a large economic boom, due to the mass production of railroads and other more convenient methods of travel...
.
See also
- Social history of England
- Horror Victorianorum
Horror Victorianorum is a term devised by the philosopher David Stove to refer to irrational distaste for, or condemnation of, Victorian culture, art and design. The term was used in Stove's book The Plato Cult as part of his argument against Karl Popper and other philosophers whom he...
- Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by the dictionary of human geography, is “the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” Imperialism, in many ways, is described...
- Neo-Victorian
Neo-Victorian is an aesthetic movement which amalgamates Victorian and Edwardian æsthetic sensibilities with modern principles and technologies...
- Victorian America
While the Victorian Era is a name for the period from 1837 to 1901 in the United Kingdom, American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England from roughly 1875 to 1910 after the Civil War...
- Women in the Victorian era
The status of women in the Victorian era is often seen as an illustration of the striking discrepancy between England's national power and wealth and what many, then and now, consider its appalling social conditions. Women were seen as pure and clean...
Further reading
- Altick, Richard Daniel
Richard Daniel Altick was an American literary scholar, known for his pioneering contributions to Victorian Studies, as well as for championing both the joys and the rigorous methods of literary research.-Life:...
. 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.
- Gay, Peter
Peter Gay , is a Jewish American historian of the social history of ideas, born as Peter Joachim Fröhlich in Berlin, where he was educated at the Goethe-Gymnasium. After witnessing Kristallnacht in 1938, he fled Nazi Germany in 1939. His family initially booked passage on the SS St...
, 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.
- Wilson, A. N.
Andrew Norman Wilson , is an English writer, known for his critical biographies, novels and works of popular and cultural history. He is also a columnist for the London Evening Standard and was an occasional contributor to the Daily Mail,Times Literary Supplement, New Statesman, The Spectator and...
The Victorians. Arrow Books: 2002. ISBN 0-09-945186-7
External links