Concetti Chiave
- The Victorian era, known as "the age of Machinery," saw rapid industrialization driven by technological advances, with iron and steel industries taking the lead.
- Industrialization spurred significant migration from rural areas to industrial hubs in the North and Midlands, causing urban population surges.
- Industrialization negatively impacted poorer classes, with long working hours and hazardous conditions in factories, leading to organized labor movements.
- The Chartist Movement sought political reform through "the People's Charter," advocating for workers' rights, though it faced repeated rejections in Parliament.
- Urbanization led to poor living conditions, with inadequate sanitation and housing, contributing to widespread disease and social issues like delinquency.
The Age of the Machine
The Victorian Age was also called “the age of Machinery” because the technological improvements accelerated the industrialization.
Textile industries continued to expanded but iron and steel became the principal industries.
The cutting of new canals and the building of new roads and railways that made transport easier.
The most important ports were Liverpool, Bristol and London.
Industrial Expansion and Migration
The industrialization caused a migration of people from the countryside to the industrial areas in search of jobs. The most industrialised areas (North and Midlands) were created in this period and in few years the population of London and others industrial cities doubled.
Britain became a champion of free trade. The Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace in London illustrated her pre-eminence among European nations. Britain was looked as a world centre for industry, commerce and banking.
Negative Effects of Industrialization
The effects of industrialisation were very negative for the poorer classes.
Men, women and children worked in factories, sometime 14 or 16 hours a day and were pay very low.
Women worked in brickyards, in potteries and match factories where lead and sulphur poisoning damged their health. Children worked in textile mills and mines.
The conditions of work, high food prices and economic depression caused discontent among the labourers and they began to organise into working-class movements.
Reform Movements and Chartism
Their discontent was voice in 1838 by the Chartist, a group of workers who presented to Parliament “the Peolple’s Charter” supporting a reform. It was rejected.
The Chartist Movement continued to expand and in 1848 the document was again presented and rejected.
Conditions get better after the Corn Laws in 1846 with a decrease in the price of bread. This bring a better production and prosperity to farmers.
The two Reform Bills of 1884 and 1888 extended the vote to agricultural workers and miners.
Class System Revolution
In the 19th century there was a revolution in the class system. When Queen Victoria became queen, the nation was divided into three classes:
- The aristocracy: landowners who had power in Parliament;
- The middle class: bakers, financiers, merchants, manufactures…
- The working class: factory workers and rural labourers.
The abyss between rich and poor was deep and the Prime Minister wrote in 1845 “the two nations”.
Consequences of Urbanization
Urbanisation had terrible consequence:
- Terrible conditions: houses hadn’t lavatories, sewers, piped water;
- Workers couldn’t pay low rents and lived in damp and airless cellars;
- Typhus and cholera were very popular;
- The spread of delinquency and prostitution;
Industrialisation and technological progress advanced the position of middle classes.
Class distinction became more based on wealth than on hereditary title. The respectable position was also reflected in the houses they lived in. There was a lot of decorations in buildings and ornaments inside the Victorian house.
Domande da interrogazione
- Why was the Victorian Age referred to as "the age of Machinery"?
- How did industrialization impact the working class, and what movements emerged as a result?
The Victorian Age earned the title "the age of Machinery" due to significant technological advancements that accelerated industrialization, with iron and steel industries becoming predominant alongside the expansion of textile industries.
The working class faced harsh conditions, with long hours and low pay, leading to discontent and the formation of working-class movements like the Chartist Movement, which sought reforms through "the People’s Charter," although initially rejected by Parliament.
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