Concetti Chiave
- During Queen Victoria's reign, workers faced poor living conditions and organized protests, with Chartism emerging as a key movement advocating for workers' rights.
- The Victorian era saw significant technological advancements, with the rapid development of railways, steamships, and a new sewage system in London, showcased during the 1851 Great International Exhibition.
- Social reforms in the Victorian era included the Mines Act, Trade Union Act, and several Reform Bills, which improved workers' rights and expanded voting rights to male workers.
- The Victorian society was marked by contradictions, balancing strict moral codes with underlying social issues like poverty and gender roles, and was influenced by Marxist theories and utilitarian philosophy.
- Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" challenged Victorian Christian beliefs by proposing evolution as a natural process, contrasting with the era's moral and social codes.
What were the workers' struggles during Victoria's reign?
Victoria became Queen of England in 1837.
Workers lived in slums in terrible hygienic conditions. They often organized demonstrations and protests against the owners of the factories.
The Chartism were the most important workers’ movement. They wrote a People’s Charter in which they asked for more rights for workers.
The Poor Law, in 1834 established that workers had to live in workhouses, where the destitute could find accommodation, a bit of food and a lot of work to do.
Protectionism was abolished in favor of free trade, that is the selling of goods with no taxes on the products bought from a foreign country.
Technological advancements and exhibitions
These years were marked by developments in medicine, engineering and technology:
-Railways developed quickly.
-Steamships carried goods, raw materials and people.
-A sewage system was designed and introduced in London.
-New sanitary measures were adopted.
-Gas lighting was introduced in London.
The Great International Exhibition of London took place at Crystal Palace in 1851 and it showed Britain as the world’s leading power. It was opened by Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, who was interested in science and technology.
Victorian social reforms
During these years a few social reforms were introduced:
-The Mines Act (1862): it forbade the employment of women and children in mines.
-The Second Reform Bill (1867): it granted the right to vote to town workers.
-The Emancipation of religious sects (1871): it allowed Catholic people to work in the government.
-The Trade Union Act (1875): it made the activities of trade union workers legal.
-The Third Reform Bill (1884): it gave the right to vote to all male workers.
Victorian society and its contradictions
The Victorian compromise was the attempt to find a solution to the deep gap between the rich and the poor.
Marx and Engels’s revolutionary theories were linked to the terrible living and working conditions of workers. They influenced English socialists in the last years of Victoria’s rule. In 1848 the Communist Manifesto was published.
According to the utilitarian philosophy, best represented by Jeremy Bentham, the value of a thing was determined by its utility, and an action was right if it brought about the greatest happiness forict cultural rules were created and people were supposed to follow them. For example, the upper and middle classes refu the greatest number of people.
The Victorian society was full of contradictions: stressed the word “leg”. On the other hand, they were the main cause that led many poor women to prostitution. They were obsessed with order. Identity was important and it depended on gender, class and race. Both men and women had their own places to stay. As to men, their place was the outside world; as for women, they had to stay at home and if they had to go out, they needed to be accompanied by a man in order to be protected.
In contrast with Victorian moral and social codes, in “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” Darwin affirmed that man was the result of gradual evolution. So, this theory refused the Christian belief according to which man had been created by God.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the living conditions and struggles faced by workers during Queen Victoria's reign?
- What social reforms were introduced during the Victorian era?
Workers lived in slums with terrible hygienic conditions and often organized protests against factory owners. The Chartism movement was significant, advocating for workers' rights through the People’s Charter. The Poor Law of 1834 forced workers into workhouses for basic accommodation and food.
Key reforms included the Mines Act (1862) prohibiting women and children in mines, the Second Reform Bill (1867) granting voting rights to town workers, the Emancipation of religious sects (1871), the Trade Union Act (1875) legalizing trade union activities, and the Third Reform Bill (1884) extending voting rights to all male workers.
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