LECTURE 1 VICTORIAN ENGLAND THE AGE AND THE FRAME OF MIND I.

The Age In broad lines, what is conventionally designated as the Victorian Age/the Victorian Era in the political, socio-economic and cultural history o !reat "ritain was a time o great change and development in nearly every sphere o human li e - rom advances in medical, scienti ic and technological #nowledge to changes in population growth and mentalities$ %hen we thin# o this speci ic period, words li#e stability, progress, prosperity, re orm, and Imperialism come to mind$ The "ritish had grounds or some satis action because the evidence o great economic growth and technical progress seemed to be abundant$ &t the same time, however, 'ictorian England recorded widespread poverty, teeming, miserable slums and poor wor#ing conditions in many industries as well$ Queen Victoria (1 !" #1$%1& 'ictoria became (ueen o England at the age o 1), in 1)*+, when her uncle, ,ing %illiam I', passed away, and she died on -anuary ..nd o 1/01, a ter a reign o 1* years$ 2he was the irst English monarch to see her name given to the period o her reign whilst still living - she ruled England during a long period o prosperity or the "ritish people, since the pro its gained rom the overseas "ritish Empire, as well as rom ma3or industrial improvements at home, allowed the development o a large, educated middle class$ &mong the many events that made 'ictoria4s reign seem undoubtedly di erent rom the earlier stages o "ritish history, two are especially worthy o attention$ The irst is the French Revolution 51+)/-1+/*61)178, and the second is the Industrial Revolution that began around 1+)0 and accelerated all through the 'ictorian &ge$ The French Re'o(ution. It is undeniable that 'ictorians lived through historic times 9 the Revolution in :rance had overthrown an ancient eudal aristocracy in the name o democratic ideals$ In England there was much early enthusiasm on the part o artists and intellectuals or the Revolution4s ;liberty, e<uality, and raternity= claim$ The

LECTURE 1 revolutionaries4 purpose was to annihilate an undemocratic and corrupt system and to put in place more democratic institutions$ "y late 1+/., however, the Reign o Terror 5R>gime de la terreur8 had begun$ The newly- ormed :rench government, #nown as the :rench -acobins, were determined to puri y their country and did so by means o the guillotine$ "y 1+/*, :rance and England were at war - and the situation lasted on and o till 1)17$ "y the late 1+/04s ?apoleon "onaparte had become :irst Consul, and he declared himsel Emperor in 1)0@$ The inal con rontation between the :rench and the "ritish armies too# place at %aterloo, in 1)17, and it ended with ?apoleon4s de eat at %aterloo and inal eAile$ & ter 1)17, the "ritish Tories, who had conducted the war against :rance, wanting no mani estations o revolutionism in a post-war !reat "ritain 5whose economy had been badly hit by the war8, introduced repressive legislation to diminish dissent by ;the lower ordersB 5 or instance, reedom o speech and assembly were limited8$ The #ing remained popular, but there were serious socio-economic troubles that were mar#ing the age$ In act, there are several historians who place the beginnings o what we call ;the 'ictorian CeriodB right bac# to 1)17, the end o the %ar$ The arguments or such an association are connected to the act that there really was no going bac# to the stable aristocratic order prior to the revolutionD new developments were in process, and the eApectation o change that gave birth to the :rench Revolution itsel continued into the new century, becoming a constant o the 'ictorian &ge$ The In)u*tria( Re'o(ution$ The second great event that mar#ed the 'ictorian Era$ Its beginnings could be traced bac# to the late eighteenth century, around 1+)0$ Trade had long been important in Europe, and the commercial classes had obtained rom the monarchy the right to control their own property$ They also re<uired a broader mar#et or their goods along with more and more raw materials with which to ma#e them$ That broader mar#et came into being partly through oreign eAploration and con<uest in India, & rica, and the &mericas$ Copulation growth in Europe itsel also encouraged an increase in the siEe o the mar#et as well as more labour or the wor# orce$ 2o an increasingly important commercial class, bigger mar#ets, and eApanded population made the Industrial Revolution possible$

LECTURE 1 The Industrial Revolution occurred in "ritain irst since the "ritish economy was power ul - there was capital to invest, and some o the people already had a high standard o living compared to those in Continental Europe$ The ood supply was impressive than#s to arming, London was already a great commercial centre and, by 1+)0, England, with its huge naval power, its successive oreign eApansions, and its business-oriented commercial class, was ready to revolutioniEe its means and modes o production to meet the greater demand or goods that was to come with eApanded mar#ets$ EAports also lourished during this period 5cotton teAtiles -@0F o "ritish eAports by 1)178$ Gther developments which made the revolution ta#e o were coal power and, above all, steam power 5-ames %att and Hatthew "oulton, 1+1/8$ &s steam power gradually replaced water as the source or industrial production, it became possible to locate large actories conveniently in large urban compleAes in the north o England, and great industrial towns li#e Hanchester begin to trans orm English li e and landscape$ The coming o the railroads rom the 1)*04s-@04s, which networ#ed commercial centers and greatly increased the speed o production and sale o commodities while at the same time amounting to a new investment and manu acturing opportunity, and the e ect is stunningI people4s mentalities and ways o living were changing at an eAciting speed but also anAiety-provo#ing$ The Effects of Industrialization Industrial and economic trans ormation brought with them intensely elt social trans ormation, tooI urbaniEation meant employment or some, unemployment or othersan eAample o this act be rural handloom weavers thrown out o wor# by the new cottonwor#ing devices$ Thus, there was a human cost o urbaniEationI the early industrial city was no paradise - in its rawest orm, industrial production was carried on at great ris# to the wor#ers 5men, women, and children8 and with great harm to their <uality o li e$ %ages were eAtremely low, hours very long 9 1@ a day, or even more$ Employers o ten pre erred to hire women and children, who wor#ed or even less then men$ :amilies lived in horribly crowded, unsanitary housing$ "e ore the re ormist wave in the 1)*04s, there was little tal# o =labor laws= to protect those whose toil made the augmentation o capital possible$ Horeover, li e was rather precarious in other ways since the #inds o

LECTURE 1 sanitary #nowledge and measures we ta#e or granted in the twenty- irst century simply did not eAist through much o the 'ictorian Ceriod$ Gutbrea#s o typhus and cholera due to unsanitary water were a act o li e, even or those above the lowest levels o society, and the same was true o in ant mortality$ &s a result o concentration and discontent, a sense o ;class consciousnessB began to in iltrate "ritish li e and discourse -poor people were no longer so inclined as ormerly to respect their betters, while the new actory owners o ten saw their employees as little more than chattel or cogs in the pro it-engendering machine$ Colitics - The +riti*h EM,IRE Juring 'ictoria4s reign, !reat "ritain was not 3ust a power ul island nation$ It was the centre o a global empire that encouraged "ritish contact with a wide variety o other cultures$ "y the end o the nineteenth century, approAimately one-<uarter o the earth4s land sur ace was part o the "ritish Empire, and more than @00 million people were governed by !reat "ritain$ &n incomplete list o "ritish colonies in 1/01 would comprise &ustralia, "ritish !uiana 5now !uyana8, "runei, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, !ambia, the !old Coast 5!hana8, Kong ,ong, "ritish India 5now "angladesh, India, Hyanmar, Ca#istan, 2ri Lan#a8, Ireland, ,enya, Halawi, the Halay 2tates 5Halaysia8, Halta, Hauritius, ?ew Lealand, ?igeria, 2ierra Leone, 2ingapore, 2outh & rica, Rhodesia 5Limbabwe8, and Trinidad and Tobago$ (ueen 'ictoria4s Empire was a truly heterogeneous entity, governed by heterogeneous practices$ It included Crown Colonies li#e -amaica, and protectorates li#e Uganda, which had granted only partial sovereignty to "ritain$ Ireland was an internal colony whose demands or home rule were alternately entertained and discounted$ India had started the century under the control o the East India Company, but was directly ruled rom "ritain a ter the 1)7+ Indian Hutiny 5the irst Indian war o independence8, and 'ictoria was crowned Empress o India in 1)++$ Colonies li#e Canada and &ustralia with substantial European populations had become virtually sel -governing by the end o the century and were increasingly considered near-e<ual partners in the imperial pro3ect$ "y contrast, colonies and protectorates with large indigenous populations, i$e$ 2ierra Leone, would not gain autonomy until the twentieth century$

LECTURE 1 The distinction between imperialism and colonialism is di icult to pin down, because the two activities can seem indistinguishable at times$ Roughly spea#ing, imperialism involves the claiming and eAploiting o territories outside o ones own national boundaries or a variety o motives$ :or instance, !reat "ritain seiEed territories in order to increase its own holdings and enhance its prestige, to secure trade routes, to obtain raw materials such as sugar, spices, tea, tin, and rubber, and to procure a mar#et or its own goods$ Colonialism involves the settling o those territories and the trans ormation - the 'ictorians would have said re ormation - o the social structure, culture, government, and economy o the people ound there$ MMM I the irst political coordinate o the 'ictorian Era was the eApansion o the empire 5"ritish 'ictorians were interested in geographical eAploration, by the opening up o & rica and &sia to the %est, yet were troubled by the intractable Irish situation and humiliated by the ailures o the "oer %ar8, the second important coordinate is the birth and spread o political movements, most notably socialism and liberalism$ The Victorian Era an) the In)u*tria( Re'o(ution "y the beginning o the 'ictorian period, the Industrial Revolution had created pro ound economic and social changes$ :or the most part, nineteenth century amilies were large and patriarchal$ They encouraged hard wor#, respectability, social de erence and religious con ormity$ %hile this view o nineteenth century li e was valid, it was re<uently challenged by contemporaries$ %omen were o ten portrayed as either Hadonnas or whores, yet increasing educational and employment opportunities gave many a role outside the amily$ Juring the 'ictorian heyday, wor# and play eApanded dramatically$ The national railway networ# stimulated travel and leisure opportunities or all, so that by the 1)+0s, visits to seaside resorts, race meetings and ootball matches could be en3oyed by many o this now largely urban society$ Increasing literacy stimulated growth in popular 3ournalism and the ascendancy o the novel as the most power ul popular icon$

LECTURE 1 The progress o scienti ic thought led to signi icant changes in medicine during the nineteenth century, with increased specialisation and developments in surgery and hospital building$ There were notable medical brea#throughs in anaesthetics - amously publicised by (ueen 'ictoria ta#ing chloro orm or the birth o her son in 1)7* - and in antiseptics, pioneered by -oseph Lister 51).+-1/1.8$ The publicNs aith in institutions was evident not only in the growth o hospitals but was also seen in the erection o specialised wor#houses and asylums or the most vulnerable members o society$