The Victorian Age

Developments during the Victorian Period Rapid growth of cities, including London, indicating a shift from owning and working the land to a modern urban economy based on trade and manufacturing The development of steam power, as used in railways, ships, looms, printing presses, farmer’s combines Inventions such as the telegraph, intercontinental cable, photography, and anesthetics Universal compulsory education

Steam Power

Results of the Victorian Era Because England was the first country to become industrialized, its transformation was an especially painful one A host of social and economic problems resulted from rapid and unregulated industrialization England also experienced an enormous increase in wealth Colonialism – by 1890, one-fourth of the earth’s surface was controlled by England, and one in four people was a subject of Queen Victoria. Through colonies, Britain sought wealth, markets for manufactured goods, sources for raw materials, and world power.

Queen Victoria Victoria became queen in 1837after William IV died and she reigned until 1901 Victoria identified with the qualities associated with the time period: earnestness, moral responsibility, and domestic propriety Developments in photography helped to make Queen Victoria an icon Queen Victoria once stated that the mission of the Empire was “to protect the poor natives and advance civilization.”

Queen Victoria

Colonialism How is this picture of Queen Victoria handing the African tribal leader a book (perhaps the Bible?) a symbol/metaphor for colonialism?

Three Phases of the Victorian Period Early Victorian ( ) Railway construction transformed England’s landscape, supported its commerce, and shortened the distance between cities. The Reform Bill extended the right to vote to all males owning property worth 10 pounds or more, which broke up the monopoly of power by landowners Economic and social difficulties were so severe that the time period is known as the Time of Troubles. Economic crashes and failed crops led to unemployment, desperate poverty and rioting.

Slums and Working-class Housing

Mid-Victorian Period ( ) Overall, this phase was a time of prosperity. The Factory Acts in Parliament restricted child labor and limited hours of employment Technological progress and prosperity led to enormous expansion throughout the globe. Between , 2,466,000 emigrants left Britain for British colonies. This investment of people, money and technology created the British Empire. It was said that during this time period, the sun never set on the British Empire. Discoveries in geology, astronomy, and biology caused debate about religious belief.

The Late Period ( ) The wealth of England’s empire provided the foundation on which its economy was built. The final decades saw the apex of British imperialism, yet the cost of the empire became increasingly apparent in rebellions, massacres, and bungled wars, such as the Indian Mutiny in 1857, the Jamaica Rebellion in 1865, the massacre of troops in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1885, the Boer War in South Africa at the end of the century, and the “Irish Question” in the 1880s, when Home Rule for Ireland became a hot topic of debate.

Literary History Though no longer the radical movement it once was, romanticism continued to influence Victorian writing. A new movement called realism took hold. Realism sought to capture everyday life as it really was lived. Realism focused on the effects of the Industrial Revolution, often bringing social problems to public attention.

Literary History cont’d Later in the century, new ideas in the natural and social sciences prompted the style known as psychological realism, which focused not on external realities but on the inner realities of the mind and naturalism, an offshoot of realism that viewed nature and society as forces indifferent to human suffering.

Literature during the Victorian Era Because literacy increased significantly during this period, the increase of newspapers, periodicals, and books increased exponentially during the Victorian Period. The novel was the dominant form in Victorian literature. First published in serial form, novels subsequently appeared in three-volume editions. Charles Dickens, George Eliot, the Bronte sisters, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Joseph Conrad are well-known Victorian novelists.

Works Cited All text is taken from The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors. Ed. Abrams, et al. All pictures (except the colonialization portrait of Queen Victoria) come from The Victorian Web website, The colonialization picture of Queen Victoria is scanned from a postcard purchased at the National Portrait Gallery, London.