|
1837—1901
The Victorian era of the United Kingdom refers to Queen Victoria's
rule which began in June 1837 and concluded in January 1901. Under the rule of Queen Victoria, the British people enjoyed
a long period of prosperity. Profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements at home,
allowed a large, educated middle class to develop. Some scholars would extend the beginning of the period—as defined
by a variety of sensibilities and political concerns that have come to be associated with the Victorians—back five years
to the passage of Reform Act 1832.
The era was preceded by the Regency era and succeeded by the Edwardian period. The latter half of the Victorian
era roughly coincided with the first portion of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe and other non-English speaking
countries.
The
period is often characterized as a long period of peace, known as Pax Britannica, and economic, colonial, and industrial
consolidation, temporarily disrupted by the Crimean War, although Britain was at war every year during this period. Towards
the end of the century, the policies of New Imperialism led to increasing colonial conflicts and eventually the Anglo-Zanzibar
War and the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of gradual
political reform and the widening of the franchise.
In the early part of the era the House of Commons was dominated
by the two parties, the Whigs and the Tories. From the late 1850s onwards the Whigs became the Liberals even as the Tories
became known as the Conservatives. Many prominent statesmen led one or other of the parties, including Lord Melbourne, Sir
Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Salisbury. The unsolved problems relating
to Irish Home Rule played a great part in politics in the later Victorian era, particularly in view of Gladstone's determination
to achieve a political settlement.
This
inescapable sense of newness resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities.
Gothic Revival architecture became increasingly significant in the period, leading to the Battle of the Styles between Gothic
and Classical ideals. Charles Barry's architecture for the new Palace of Westminster, which had been badly damaged in an 1834
fire, built on the medieval style of Westminster Hall, the surviving part of the building. It constructed a narrative of cultural
continuity, set in opposition to the violent disjunctions of Revolutionary France, a comparison common to the period, as expressed
in Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution: A History and Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Gothic was also
supported by the critic John Ruskin, who argued that it epitomized communal and inclusive social values, as opposed to Classicism,
which he considered to epitomize mechanical standardization.
The middle of the century saw The Great Exhibition of 1851,
the first World's Fair and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was the Crystal Palace, an enormous,
modular glass and iron structure—the first of its kind. It was condemned by Ruskin as the very model of mechanical dehumanization
in design, but later came to be presented as the prototype of Modern architecture. The emergence of photography, which was
showcased at the Great Exhibition, resulted in significant changes in Victorian art. John Everett Millais was influenced by
photography (notably in his portrait of Ruskin) as were other Pre-Raphaelite artists. It later became associated with the
Impressionistic and Social Realist techniques that would dominate the later years of the period in the work of artists such
as Walter Sickert and Frank Holl.
January 6: The Epiphany.
March 25: The Annunciation.
The Three months after Easter: The Party season.
May 24: The Birthday of Queen Victoria, 1819.
May-June: The Picnic season.
June 24: Midsummer.
August: The End of season.
September 29: St. Michael's festival.
December 25: Christmas.
1832
Passage of the first Reform Act.
1837
Ascension of Queen Victoria to the throne.
1842
A law is passed to ban women and children from working in coal, iron, lead and tin mining.
1848
Around 2,000 people a week die in a cholera epidemic.
1850
Restoration of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Britain.
1851
The Great Exhibition (the first World's Fair) is held in the Crystal Palace, with great
success and international attention.
1857
The Indian Mutiny, a widespread revolt in India against the rule of the British East India
Company, was sparked by sepoys (native Indian soldiers) in the Company's army. The rebellion, involving not just sepoys
but many sectors of the Indian population as well, was largely quashed within a year. In response to the mutiny, the East
India Company was abolished in August 1858 and India came under the direct rule of the British crown, beginning the period
of the British Raj.
1858
The Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, responded to the Orsini plot against French emperor
Napoleon III, the bombs for which were purchased in Birmingham, by attempting to make such acts a felony, but the resulting
uproar forced him to resign.
1859
Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, which leads to various reactions.
1861
Prince Albert dies; Queen Victoria refuses to go out in public for many years, and when
she does she wears a widow's bonnet instead of the crown.
1866
An angry crowd in London, protesting John Russell's resignation as Prime Minister, was
barred from Hyde Park by the police; they tore down iron railings and trampled on flower beds. Disturbances like this convinced
Derby and Disraeli of the need for further parliamentary reform.
1875
Britain purchased Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal as the African nation was forced to
raise money to pay off its debts.
1882
British troops begin the occupation of Egypt, by taking the Suez Canal, in order to secure
the vital trade route, and the passage to India, and the country becomes a protectorate.
1884
The Fabian Society was founded in London by a group of middle class intellectuals, including
Quaker Edward R. Pease, Havelock Ellis, and E. Nesbit, to promote socialism. George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells would be
among many famous names to later join this society.
1888
The serial killer known as Jack the Ripper murders and mutilates five (and possibly more)
prostitutes on the streets of London.
1870 - 1891
Under the Elementary Education Act 1870 basic State Education becomes free for every child
under age 10.
Popular forms of entertainment vary by socio-economic class. Victorian Britain, like the
periods before it, was interested in theatre and the arts. Music, drama, and opera were widely attended. There were, however,
other forms of entertainment. Gambling at cards in establishments popularly called casinos was wildly popular during the period—so
much so that evangelical and reform movements specifically targeted such establishments in their efforts to stop gambling,
drinking, and prostitution.
Brass bands and 'The bandstand' became popular in the Victorian era typically associated
with the British brass band. The band stand is a simple construction which not only creates an ornamental focal point; it
also serves acoustic requirements whilst providing shelter from the changeable British weather. It was common to hear the
sound of a brass band whilst strolling through parklands. At this time musical recording was still very much a novelty.
Another form of entertainment involved 'spectacles' where paranormal events, such as hypnotism,
communication with the dead (by way of medium-ship or channeling), ghost conjuring and the like, were carried out to the delight
of crowds and participants. Such activities were very popular during this time compared to others in recent Western history.
The
impetus of the Industrial Revolution had already occurred, but it was during this period that the full effects of industrialization
made itself known, leading to the mass consumer society of the 20th century. The revolution led to the rise of railways across
the country and great leaps forward in engineering, most famously by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Another great engineering feat in the Victorian Era was the
sewage system in London. It was designed by Joseph Bazalgette in 1858. He proposed to build 82 mi (132 km) of sewerage
linked with over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) of street sewers. Many problems were found but the sewers were completed. After
this, Bazalgette designed the Thames Embankment which housed sewers, water pipes and the London Underground. During the same
period London's water supply network was expanded and improved, and gas reticulation for lighting and heating was introduced
in the 1880s.
During the Victorian era, science grew into the discipline
it is today. In addition to the increasing professionalism of university science, many Victorian gentlemen devoted their time
to the study of natural history.
Photography was realized in 1829 by Louis Daguerre in France
and William Fox Talbot in the UK. By 1900, hand-held cameras were available.
Although initially developed in the early years of the 19th
century, gas lighting became widespread during the Victorian era in industry, homes, public buildings and the streets. The
invention of the incandescent gas mantle in the 1890s greatly improved light output and ensured its survival as late as the
1960s. Hundreds of gasworks were constructed in cities and towns across the country. In 1882, incandescent electric lights
were introduced to London streets, although it took many years before they were installed everywhere.
The Victorian era became notorious for employing young children
in factories, mines and as chimney sweeps. Several Factory Acts were passed to prevent the exploitation of children in the
work place.
Surgeries were very hazardous during this era. Illnesses were
very common and disastrous. Surgeons did not wash or clean their hands prior to performing surgery and this caused many infections.
Beginning in the late 1840s, major news organizations, clergymen
and single women became increasingly interested in prostitution, which came to be known as "The Great Social Evil." Although
estimates of the number of prostitutes in London by the 1850s vary widely (in his landmark study, Prostitution, William
Acton reported that the police estimated there were 8,600 in 1857 London alone), it is enough to say that the number of women
working the streets became increasingly difficult to ignore.
When the United Kingdom Census 1851 publicly revealed a 4%
demographic imbalance in favor of women (i.e. 4% more women than men), the problem of prostitution began to shift from a moral/religious
cause to a socio-economic one. The 1851 census showed that the population of Great Britain was roughly 18 million; this meant
that roughly 750,000 women would remain unmarried simply because there were not enough men. These women came to be referred
to as "superfluous women" or "redundant women," and many essays were published discussing what, precisely, ought to be done
with them.
While the Magdalene Asylums had been "reforming" prostitutes
since the mid-18th century, the years between 1848 and 1870 saw a veritable explosion in the number of institutions working
to "reclaim" these "fallen women" from the streets and retrain them for entry into respectable society—usually for work
as domestic servants. The theme of prostitution and the "fallen woman" (an umbrella term used to describe any women who had
sexual intercourse out of wedlock) became a staple feature of mid-Victorian literature and politics. In the writings of Henry
Mayhew, Charles Booth and others, prostitution began to be seen as a social problem.
When Parliament passed the first of the Contagious Diseases
Acts in 1864 (which allowed the local constabulary to force any woman suspected of venereal disease to submit to its inspection),
Josephine Butler's crusade to repeal the CD Acts yoked the anti-prostitution cause with the emergent feminist movement. Butler
attacked the long-established double standard of sexual morality.
Prostitutes were often presented as victims in sentimental
literature such Thomas Hood's poem The Bridge of Sighs, Elizabeth Gaskell's novel Mary Barton and Dickens' novel
Oliver Twist. The emphasis on the purity of women found in such works as Coventry Patmore's The Angel in the House
led to the portrayal of the prostitute and fallen woman as soiled, corrupted, and in need of cleansing.
This emphasis on female purity was allied to the stress on
the homemaking role of women, who helped to create a space free from the pollution and corruption of the city. In this respect
the prostitute came to have symbolic significance as the embodiment of the violation of that divide. The double standard remained
in force. Divorce legislation introduced in 1857 allowed for a man to divorce his wife for adultery, but a woman could only
divorce if adultery was accompanied by cruelty. The anonymity of the city led to a large increase in prostitution and unsanctioned
sexual relationships. Dickens and other writers associated prostitution with the mechanization and industrialization of modern
life, portraying prostitutes as human commodities consumed and thrown away like refuse when they were used up. Moral reform
movements attempted to close down brothels, something that has sometimes been argued to have been a factor in the concentration
of street-prostitution in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, by the 1880s.
By the time the CD Acts were repealed in 1886, Victorian Britain
had been completely transformed. This era, which at its outset looked no different from the century before it, would end resembling
much more the era that would follow.
|
