VICTORIAN LONDON (19 th century)

QUEEN VICTORIA ( ) Was crowned queen of England in 1837 at the age of 18 Married Prince Albert of Germany in 1840 Often publicly displayed their family life with their nine children Many political and social reforms occurred during her reign as queen The term “Victorian England” resulted from her ethics and personal tastes which were reflected in middle class life

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ( ) England changed from an agricultural society to an industrial society with the development of: –Steam-powered machinery –Textile machinery –Mining machinery –Improved canals, roadways, and railways

EFFECTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Positive: –Increased employment opportunities in mills and factories – More middle class businessmen becoming rich vs. upper class nobility wealth Negative: –Child labor –Dirty working and living conditions –Long working hours

LONDON’S POPULATION EXPLOSION One million people in 1800 More than two million people by 1850 Thousands of people came from the countryside looking for work in the city Many row houses, alleys and streets were being built to accommodate the increasing population The city was in an upheaval

LONDON STREETS Streets were crowded, noisy and very dirty Vendors selling items such as pies, coffee, fish, vegetables, clothing, birds, flowers, etc. Street musicians and performers Horse-drawn cabs, omnibuses and carriages People walking to work, shopping, socializing

LONDON STREETS, cont. Street sweepers Soot everywhere from chimneys belching coal smoke Raw sewage in the gutters and Thames River Pick-pockets, vagabonds, beggars and drunks Streets lit at night by feeble gas lights

WORKING LONDON Rich businessmen (such as Ebenezer Scrooge) owned companies and traded stocks at the Royal Exchange They employed poorly paid clerks (such as Bob Cratchit) and expected them to work long hours, six days a week A typical clerical worker was paid about $130 a year (Cratchit made half of that) Factory owners employed people that worked twelve hours a day, six days a week. Many were children because there were no child labor laws. Because of the presence of many wealthy people, there was a great need for domestic workers (servants). These workers often lived in their masters’ homes and were paid next to nothing.

HOUSING Rich: –Lived in large townhouses with servants –Many lived in fashionable areas of the city near the business district (such as Scrooge) In-between: –Lived in areas with moderately-sized rented houses (the Cratchits lived in Camden Town) –Areas were shabby, dingy and damp, but still better than the poorer part of town Poor: –Lived in small row houses, shacks or tenements on the east side of the city along the river –Often crammed eight to ten people in a room –Workhouses – boarding house/prison for debtors (whole families lived here) –Many lived and died in the streets (including children)