Victorian Age - History and Society

Victorian Age - History and Society

This flourishing period lasted form 1837 to 1901, it corresponds to the reign of Queen Victoria, Britain emerged as the main centre of European and International economy. Conventionally, it can be divided into three phases:
1. Early Victorian Period (1832-1848), characterized by intense industrialisation and social conflicts;
2. Mid Victorian Period (1848-1870), focused on prosperity and the undeniably fundamental roll of the middle class;
3. Late Victorian Period (1870-1901), where a clear decline is noticeable;
The parliament was distinguished by the alternation of Whigs as the liberals and the Tories as the conservatives. They both contributed to the improvement of the working class conditions: women and children were forbidden in mines and the working hours were reduced. The Reform bill of 1832 allowed the middle class to be represented in the parliament, the reform bill of 1867 provided the right to vote to lower classes and recognised trade unions, the reform bill of 1884 gave the right to vote to rural working classes. However, life conditions did not change at all, they were forced to live in slums where hygiene and privacy were optional, when families became destitute, they were moved in working houses. The British empire kept expanding and covered more than a quarter of the Earth, its colonies were useful because they brought new job opportunities, new markets and new raw materials. Britain appeared to fell the right to invade violently whatever area, often causing tensions such as the war of Crimea. The Victorian society was characterized by:

• Morality, the royal family was en emblem of fair virtues portrayed throughout respectful behaviour like courtesy, comity and intellectual narrowness. The middle class was instead displayed for their respectability through carriage, servants stable jobs, charity and faith in the church.
• Religious feeling, the theories exposed by Darwin in "The origin of the species" and "Descent of man" where he states that God was not the one who created Earth, had everyone shocked and overturned.
• Acts and progress, Britain adopted the laissez-faire, in which material success was regarded as a moral rectitude, a sign from God. Hence, the progress played an important role on one hand with the cotton and wool industry, the improvement of means of transport and penny post. On the other hand a lot more importance was given to the arts such ad photography, but also electricity and the great exhibition in the Crystal Palace.