Victorian era

In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the Georgian era and preceded the Edwardian era, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.

Various liberalising political reforms took place in the UK including expanding the electoral franchise. The Great Famine caused mass death in Ireland early in the period. The British Empire had relatively peaceful relations with the other great powers. It participated in various military conflicts mainly against minor powers. The British Empire expanded during this period and was the predominant power in the world.

Victorian society valued a high standard of personal conduct which reflected across all sections of society. The emphasis on morality gave impetus to social reform but also placed restrictions on the liberty of certain groups. Prosperity rose during the period though debilitating undernutrition continued to exist. Literacy and childhood education became near universal in Great Britain for the first time. Whilst some attempts were made to improve living conditions, slum housing and disease remained a severe problem.

The period saw significant scientific and technological development. Britain was advanced in industry and engineering in particular, but somewhat undeveloped in art and education. The population of Great Britain increased rapidly, whilst the population of Ireland fell sharply.

## Terminology and periodisation

In the strictest sense, the Victorian era covers the duration of Victoria's reign as Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from her accession on 20 June 1837—after the death of her uncle, William IV—until her death on 22 January 1901, after which she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII. Her reign lasted for 63 years and seven months, a longer period than any of her predecessors. The term 'Victorian' was in contemporaneous usage to describe the era. The era has also been understood in a more extensive sense as a period that possessed sensibilities and characteristics distinct from the periods adjacent to it, in which case it is sometimes dated to begin before Victoria's accession—typically from the passage of or agitation for (during the 1830s) the Reform Act 1832, which introduced a wide-ranging change to the electoral system of England and Wales. Definitions that purport a distinct sensibility or politics to the era have also created scepticism about the worth of the label "Victorian", though there have also been defences of it.

Michael Sadleir was insistent that "in truth, the Victorian period is three periods, and not one". He distinguished early Victorianism – the socially and politically unsettled period from 1837 to 1850 – and late Victorianism (from 1880 onwards), with its new waves of aestheticism and imperialism, from the Victorian heyday: mid-Victorianism, 1851 to 1879. He saw the latter period as characterized by a distinctive mixture of prosperity, domestic prudery, and complacency – what G. M. Trevelyan similarly called the "mid-Victorian decades of quiet politics and roaring prosperity".

## Political and diplomatic history

Domestically, Britain liberalised and gradually evolved into a democracy. The Reform Act, which made various changes to the electoral system including expanding the franchise, had been passed in 1832. The franchise was expanded again by the Second Reform Act in 1867. Cities were given greater political autonomy and the labour movement was legalised. From 1845 to 1852, the Great Famine caused mass starvation, disease and death in Ireland, sparking large-scale emigration. The Corn Laws were repealed in response to this. Across the British Empire, reform included rapid expansion, the complete abolition of slavery in the African possessions and the end of transportation of convicts to Australia. Restrictions on colonial trade were loosened and responsible (i.e. semi-autonomous) government was introduced in some territories.

Throughout most of the 19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world. The period from 1815 to 1914, known as the Pax Britannica, was a time of relatively peaceful relations between the world's great powers. This is particularly true of Britain's interactions with the others. The only war in which the British Empire fought against another major power was the Crimean War, from 1853 to 1856. There were various revolts and violent conflicts within the British Empire, and Britain participated in wars against minor powers. It also took part in the diplomatic struggles of the Great Game and the Scramble for Africa.

In 1840, Queen Victoria married her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The couple had nine children who themselves married into various royal families, and the queen thus became known as the "grandmother of Europe". In 1861, Prince Albert died. Queen Victoria went into mourning and withdrew from public life for ten years. In 1871, with republican sentiments growing in Britain, the queen began to return to public life. In her later years, her popularity soared as she became a symbol of the British Empire. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901.

## Society and culture

The era saw a rapidly growing middle class who became an important cultural influence; to a significant extent replacing the aristocracy as the dominant class in British society. A distinctive middle class lifestyle developed which influenced what was valued by society as a whole. Increased importance was placed on the value of the family; and the idea that marriage should be based on romantic love gained popularity. A clear separation was established between the home and the workplace which had often not been the case before. The home was seen as a private environment, where housewives provided their husbands with a respite from the troubles of the outside world. Within this ideal, women were expected to focus on domestic matters and to rely on men as breadwinners. Women had limited legal rights in most areas of life and a feminist movement developed. Whilst parental authority was seen as important, children were given legal protections against abuse and neglect for the first time. Access to education increased rapidly during the 19th century. State funded schools were established in England and Wales for the first time. Education became compulsory for pre-teenaged children in England, Scotland and Wales. Literacy rates increased rapidly, and had become nearly universal by the end of the century. Private education for wealthier children, both boys and more gradually girls, became more formalised over the course of the century.

The growing middle class and strong evangelical movement placed great emphasis on a respectable and moral code of behaviour. This included features such as charity, personal responsibility, controlled habits, child discipline and self criticism. As well as personal improvement, importance was given to social reform. Utilitarianism was another philosophy which saw itself as based on science rather than on morality, but also emphasised social progress. An alliance formed between these two ideological strands. The reformers emphasised causes such as improving the conditions of women and children, giving police reform priority over harsh punishment to prevent crime, religious equality and political reform in order to establish a democracy. The political legacy of the reform movement was to link the nonconformists (a part of the evangelical movement) in England and Wales with the Liberal Party. This continued up until the First World War. The Presbyterians played a similar role as a religious voice for reform in Scotland.

Religion was politically controversial during this era, with Nonconformists pushing for the disestablishment of the Church of England. Nonconformists comprised about half of church attendees in England in 1851, and gradually the legal discrimination which had been established against them outside of Scotland was removed. Legal restrictions on Roman Catholics were also largely removed. The number of Catholics grew in Great Britain due to conversions and immigration from Ireland. Secularism and doubts about the accuracy of the Old Testament grew among people with higher levels of education. Northern English and Scottish academics tended to be more religiously conservative, whilst agnosticism and even atheism (though its promotion was illegal) gained appeal among academics in the south. Historians refer to a "Victorian Crisis of Faith" as a period when religious views had to readjust to suit new scientific knowledge and criticism of the Bible.

A variety of reading materials grew in popularity during the period including novels, women's magazines, children's literature and newspapers. Much literature, including chapbooks, was distributed on the street. Music was also very popular with genres such as folk music, broadsides, music halls, brass bands, theater music and choral music having mass appeal. What would now be called classical music was somewhat undeveloped compared to parts of Europe but did have significant support. Many sports were introduced or popularised during the Victorian era. They became important to male identity. Examples included cricket, football, Rugby, tennis and cycling. The idea of women participating in sport did not fit well with the Victorian view of femininity but their involvement did increase as the period progressed. For the middle classes, many leisure activities such as table games could be done in the home while domestic holidays to rural locations such as the Lake District and Scottish Highlands were increasingly practical. The working classes had their own culture separate from that of their richer counterparts, various cheaper forms of entertainment and recreational activities provided by philanthropy. Trips to resorts such as Blackpool were increasingly popular towards the end of period. Initially the industrial revolution increased working hours but over the course of the 19th century a variety of political and economic changes caused them to fall back down to and in some cases below pre-industrial levels creating more time for leisure.

## Economy, industry, and trade

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, daily life had changed little for hundreds of years. The 19th century saw rapid technological development, with a wide range of new inventions. This technological advancement led to Great Britain becoming the foremost industrial and trading nation of the time. Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era (1850–1870) as Britain's "Golden Years", with national income per person increasing by half. This prosperity was driven by increased industrialisation, especially in textiles and machinery, along with exports to the empire and elsewhere. The positive economic conditions, as well as a fashion among employers for providing welfare services to their workers, led to relative social stability. The Chartist movement for working class men to be given the right to vote, which had been prominent in the early Victorian period, dissipated. Government involvement in the economy was limited. It was not until the post-World War II period around a century later that the country experienced substantial economic growth again. However, whilst industry was well developed, education and the arts were mediocre. Historian Llewellyn Woodward concluded that during the "golden years", whilst the quality of life was improving, conditions and housing for the working classes "were still a disgrace to an age of plenty." Wage rates continued to improve in the later 19th century: real wages (after taking inflation into account) were 65 per cent higher in 1901, compared to 1871. Much of the money was saved, as the number of depositors in savings banks rose from 430,000 in 1831, to 5.2 million in 1887, and their deposits from £14 million to over £90 million.

Children had always played a role in economic life but exploitation of their labour became especially intense during the Victorian era. Children were put to work in a wide range of occupations but particularly associated with this time period were factories. Employing children had specific advantages as they were cheap, had limited ability to resist harsh working conditions and could enter spaces which were too small for adults. While some accounts exist of happy upbringings involving child labour, conditions were generally poor. Pay was low, punishments severe, work was dangerous and disrupted children's development (often leaving them too tired to play even in their free time). Early labour could do lifelong harm; even in the 1960s and 70s, the elderly people of industrial towns were noted for their often unusually short stature, deformed physique and diseases associated with unhealthy working conditions. Reformers wanted the children in school; in 1840 only about 20 per cent of the children in London had any schooling. By the 1850s, around half of the children in England and Wales were in school (not including Sunday school). From the 1833 Factory Act onwards, attempts were made to get child labourers into part time education, though this was often difficult to achieve in practice. It was only in the 1870s and 1880s that children began to be compelled into school. Work would continue to inhibit children's schooling into the early 20th century.

## Housing and public health

19th-century Britain saw a huge population increase accompanied by rapid urbanisation stimulated by the Industrial Revolution. In the 1901 census, more than 3 out of every 4 people were classified as living in an urban area, compared to 1 in 5 a century earlier. Historian Richard A. Soloway wrote that "Great Britain had become the most urbanized country in the West." The rapid growth in the urban population included the new industrial and manufacturing cities, as well as service centres such as Edinburgh and London. Private renting from housing landlords was the dominant tenure. P. Kemp says this was usually of advantage to tenants. Overcrowding was a major problem with seven or eight people frequently sleeping in a single room. Until at least the 1880s, sanitation was inadequate in areas such as water supply and disposal of sewage. This all had a negative effect on health, especially that of the impoverished young. For instance, of the babies born in Liverpool in 1851, only 45 per cent survived to age 20. Conditions were particularly bad in London, where the population rose sharply and poorly maintained, overcrowded dwellings became slum housing. Kellow Chesney wrote of the situation that:

> Hideous slums, some of them acres wide, some no more than crannies of obscure misery, make up a substantial part of the metropolis... In big, once handsome houses, thirty or more people of all ages may inhabit a single room

Hunger and poor diet was a common aspect of life across the UK in the Victorian period, especially in the 1840s, but the mass starvation seen in the Great Famine in Ireland was unique. Levels of poverty fell significantly during the 19th century from as much as two thirds of the population in 1800 to less than a third by 1901. 1890s studies suggested that almost 10% of the urban population lived in a state of desperation lacking the food necessary to maintain basic physical functions. Attitudes towards the poor were often unsympathetic and they were frequently blamed for their situation. In that spirit, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 had been deliberately designed to punish them and would remain the basis for welfare provision into the 20th century. While many people were prone to vices, not least alcoholism, historian Bernard A. Cook argues that the main reason for 19th century poverty was that typical wages for much of the population were simply too low. Barely enough to provide a subsistence living in good times, let alone save up for bad.

Improvements were made over time to housing along with the management of sewage and water eventually giving the UK the most advanced system of public health protection anywhere in the world. The quality and safety of household lighting improved over the period with oil lamps becoming the norm in the early 1860s, gas lighting in the 1890s and electric lights beginning to appear in the homes of the richest by the end of the period. Medicine advanced rapidly during the 19th century and germ theory was developed for the first time. Doctors became more specialised and the number of hospitals grew. The overall number of deaths fell by about 20%. The life expectancy of women increased from around 42 to 55 years old and 40 to 56 years old for men. In spite of this, the mortality rate fell only marginally, from 20.8 per thousand in 1850 to 18.2 by the end of the century. Urbanisation aided the spread of diseases and squalid living conditions in many places exacerbated the problem. The population of England, Scotland and Wales grew rapidly during the 19th century. Various factors are considered contributary to this including a rising fertility rate (though it was falling by the end of the period), falling infant mortality, the lack of a catastrophic pandemic or famine in the island of Great Britain during the 19th century for the first time in history, improved nutrition, and a lower overall mortality rate. The population of Ireland shrank significantly mostly due to emigration and the Great Famine.

## Knowledge and infrastructure

The professionalisation of scientific study began in parts of Europe following the French Revolution but was slow to reach Britain. William Whewell coined the term "scientist" in 1833 to refer to those who studied what was generally then known as natural philosophy, but it took a while to catch on. Having been previously dominated by amateurs with a separate income, the Royal Society admitted only professionals from 1847 onwards. The British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley indicated in 1852 that it remained difficult to earn a living as a scientist alone. Scientific knowledge and debates such as that around Charles Darwin's book on evolution gained a high profile. Simplified (and at times inaccurate) popular science was increasingly distributed through a variety of publications which caused tension with the professionals. There were significant advances in various fields of research including statistics, elasticity, refrigeration, natural history, electricity and logic.Known as the "workshop of the world", Britain was advanced in technology in a way that was unique in the world of the mid 19th century. Engineering, having developed into a profession in the 18th century, gained new profile and prestige in this period. The Victorian era saw methods of communication and transportation develop significantly. In 1837, William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone invented the first telegraph system. This system, which used electrical currents to transmit coded messages, quickly spread across Britain, appearing in every town and post office. A worldwide network developed towards the end of the century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. A little over a decade later, 26,000 telephones were in service in Britain. Multiple switchboards were installed in every major town and city. Guglielmo Marconi developed early radio broadcasting at the end of the period. The railways were important economically in the Victorian era, allowing goods, raw materials, and people to be moved around, stimulating trade and industry. They were also a major employer and industry in their own right.

## Moral standards

Expected standards of personal conduct changed in around the first half of the 19th century, with good manners and self restraint becoming much more common. Historians have suggested various contributing factors, such as Britain's major conflicts with France during the early 19th century meaning that the distracting temptations of sinful behaviour had to be avoided in order to focus on the war effort and the evangelical movement's push for moral improvement. There is evidence that the expected standards of moral behaviour were reflected in action as well as rhetoric across all classes of society. For instance, an analysis suggested that less than 5% of working class couples co-habited before marriage.

Historian Harold Perkin argued that the change in moral standards led by the middle of the 19th century to 'diminished cruelty to animals, criminals, lunatics, and children (in that order)'. Legal restrictions were placed on cruelty to animals. Restrictions were placed on the working hours of child labourers in the 1830s and 1840s. Further interventions took place throughout the century to increase the level of child protection. Use of the death penalty also decreased. Crime rates fell significantly in the second half of the 19th century. Sociologist Christie Davies linked this change to attempts to morally educate the population especially at Sunday schools.

Contrary to popular belief, Victorian society understood that both men and women enjoyed copulation. Chastity was expected of women, whilst attitudes to male sexual behaviour were more relaxed. The development of police forces led to a rise in prosecutions for illegal sodomy in the middle of the 19th century. Male sexuality became a favourite subject of study by medical researchers. For the first time, all male homosexual acts were made illegal. At a time when job options for women were limited and generally low paying, some women, particularly those without familial support, took to prostitution to support themselves. Attitudes in public life and among the general population to prostitution varied. Evidence about prostitutes' situation also varies. One contemporary study argues that the trade was a short term stepping stone to a different lifestyle for many women while another more recent study argues they were subject to physical abuse, financial exploitation, state persecution and difficult working conditions. Due to worries about venereal disease, especially among soldiers, women suspected of prostitution were for a period between the 1860s and 1880s subject to spot compulsory examinations for sexually transmitted infections, and detainment if they were found to be infected. This caused a great deal of resentment among women in general due to the principle underlying the checks, that women had to be controlled in order to be safe for sexual use by men, and the checks were opposed by some of the earliest feminist campaigning. Concern about sexual exploitation of adolescent girls increased during the period, especially following the white slavery scandal which contributed to the increasing of the age of consent from 13 to 16.

Period of British history from 1837 to 1901