Art History B in the Nineteenth Century There Was a Crisis in

By Tim Lambert

The early 19th century was an era of political and social unrest in Great britain. In the early on 19th century a grouping of Evangelical Christians called the Clapham Sect were active in politics. They campaigned for an end to slavery and cruel sports. They gained their proper noun because and then many of them lived in Clapham.

And so on xi May 1812 a human named John Bellingham shot Tory prime number government minister Spencer Perceval. He was the but British prime minister ever to be assassinated. Bellingham was a lone madman merely in 1820 there was a plot to impale the whole cabinet. Arthur Thistlewood led the Cato Street Conspiracy just the conspirators were arrested on 23 February 1820. Thistlewood and four of his companions were hanged.

Meanwhile in 1811-1816 cloth workers in the Midlands and the north of England broke machines, fearing they would cause unemployment. The wreckers were called Luddites and if caught they were likely to be hanged. In March 1817 cloth workers from Manchester tried to march to London to petition the Prince Regent. They were called blanketeers because many of them carried blankets. Nevertheless, fifty-fifty though the march was peaceful the blanketeers were stopped by soldiers at Stockport. So on 16 August 1819, a crowd of near sixty,000 people gathered at St Peter's Field in Manchester to hear a man named Henry Chase. Even though the oversupply was unarmed and peaceful the regime sent in soldiers. As a consequence, 11 people were killed and hundreds were wounded. Afterward, people called the event 'The Peterloo Massacre' in a grim mockery of Waterloo.

In 1830 farm laborers in Kent and Sussex broke farm machinery fearing it would cause unemployment. The riots were chosen the Swing Riots considering a man named Captain Swing supposedly, led them. Equally a result of the riots, 4 men were hanged and 52 were transported to Australia. In 1834 6 farm labourers in Tolpuddle, Dorset tried to form a trade union. Withal, they were prosecuted for making illegal oaths. (Not for forming a union, which was legal). They were sentenced to transportation to Australia. The instance caused an outcry and they returned to United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland in 1838.

In 1822 a Tory authorities was formed which introduced some reforms. At that time you could be hanged for over 200 offences. (Although the sentence was often commuted to transportation). In 1825-1828 the death penalty was abolished for more than 180 crimes. Skin besides formed the first modern police force force in England in London in 1829. The law were called 'bobbies' or 'peelers' afterwards him.

From 1828 to 1830 the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) was prime minister. He introduced the Catholic Emancipation Act (1829). Since the Reformation Catholics had been unable to become MPs or to agree public office. The Act restored those rights to them. Yet, Wellington was strongly opposed to any change to the balloter organisation.

At that time in that location were 2 types of constituency, state areas and towns or boroughs. In the countryside, only landowners could vote. In boroughs, the franchise varied merely was commonly limited. However, the constituencies had not been inverse for centuries and they no longer reflected the distribution of the population. Industrial towns like Birmingham and Manchester did not accept MPs of their ain. On the other hand, some settlements had died out merely they were still represented in parliament! In 'rotten' or 'pocket' boroughs in that location might be but 1 or ii voters!

In the early 19th century in that location were increasing demands for reforms. Near people wanted constituencies distributed more adequately and they also wanted the franchise extended just Wellington's political party, the Tories, resisted. However, in 1830, the Whigs formed a government and they tried to introduced reform. The House of Commons eventually voted for a reform beak but the House of Lords rejected it. The Rex, William IV, warned that he would create more peers, who favored the beak unless the Lords agreed to take it. Eventually, the Firm of Lords backed downwards and passed the Great Reform Bill. It received the imperial assent on 7 June 1832.

The franchise was simply extended slightly only much more importantly the new industrial towns were now represented in parliament. Before 1832 Britain was ruled by an oligarchy of landowners. After 1832 the urban eye class had an increasing say. Withal, the working grade was excluded from the reforms. From 1838 a working-form protestation movement chosen the Chartists was formed. (They were named subsequently their People'due south Charter). The Chartists had several demands. They wanted all men to have the vote. Furthermore, at that time yous had to own a certain amount of property to become an MP. Chartists wanted the property qualification abolished. They also wanted MPs to be paid. Chartists also wanted all constituencies to be equal in size and they wanted the voting to be by undercover ballot.

The showtime Chartist rally was held in Manchester in 1838. In 1839 the Chartists delivered a petition to parliament, which was rejected out of hand. Another petition delivered in 1842 was likewise rejected. Finally, in 1848 another nifty petition was sent to parliament but information technology turned into a farce. Some of the signatures were obvious fakes. Chartism then fizzled out. For one thing, it lacked centre-form back up and had no support amid MPs. For another in the belatedly 1840s atmospheric condition for the working course in United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland were improving and discontent was declining.

However further reform did eventually follow. In 1867 more than men were given the vote and in 1872 the Election Deed introduced voting by undercover ballot. In 1884 nonetheless, more than men were given the vote. However, not all men in Britain could vote until 1918. Meanwhile in 1835 the Municipal Corporations Human action reformed town governments. A uniform system of town government was formed.

During the Napoleonic Wars 1799-1815 Uk could not import large amounts of grain from Europe. That all changed in 1815. British landowners feared that cheap foreign grain would be imported so they passed the Corn Laws. Import duties would exist charged on imported wheat unless the average price of British grain reached a sure amount. From 1828 a sliding scale was used. Import duties were gradually increased as the price of British grain fell. In 1839 John Vivid and Richard Cobden formed an Anti-Corn Constabulary League. Prime Minister Pare finally abolished the corn laws in 1846. (Robert Peel lived from 1788 to 1850. He was prime minister in 1834-35 and 1841-46).

Meanwhile by the 1840s public opinion changed in favor of costless trade. Most people believed that the regime should interfere in the economy as piddling every bit possible. They also believed that countries should merchandise without import duties. Then in the early on 1840s, Peel abolished many tariffs.

The offset passenger railway opened in 1825 between Stockton and Darlington. In 1830 a line was opened betwixt Manchester and Liverpool. William Huskisson MP for Liverpool was killed only null could stop the growth of the railways. By 1848 there were 5,000 miles of railways in Britain and the network connected to expand speedily in the later 19th century. Railways provided a great heave to other industries such as fe. They also revolutionized transport. Journeys that would have taken days by stagecoach took hours by railroad train.

The industrial revolution created an unprecedented demand for female and child labor. Children had always worked alongside their parents but before the 19th century, they usually worked part-time. In the new material factories, women and children were ofttimes fabricated to piece of work very long hours (oft 12 hours a twenty-four hour period or even longer). The government was aware of the problem and in 1819 they passed an human activity that made it illegal for children under 9 to piece of work in cotton fiber mills. However, the deed lacked 'teeth' as there were no factory inspectors to check the mills. Another act was passed in 1833 but this time inspectors were appointed. Children under 9 were banned from working in textile mills. Children aged 9 to xiii were not immune to work for more than 12 hours a day or a full of more than 48 hours a week. Children aged xiii to 18 must not piece of work for more than than 69 hours a week. Furthermore, nobody under 18 was allowed to work at night (from 8.thirty pm to 5.30 am).

In 1844 some other deed banned women from working more than 12 hours a day (although it also reduced the minimum historic period for working in a manufactory to 8). Then in 1847 women and children were banned from working more than 10 hours a day in textile factories.

In 1850 the law was changed slightly. Women were allowed to work for 10 1/2 hours but cloth factories could non exist open for more than than 12 hours a solar day. All workers, including men, were immune 1 ane/2 hours for meal breaks. In 1867 the law was extended to all factories. (A factory was defined as a place where more than than 50 people were employed in a manufacturing process). The 1878 Factory Act divers a factory as any place where machines were used in manufacturing. Meanwhile, in 1842 the Miners Act banned women and boys under 10 from working underground in mines.

Past the 1860s the 10 hour day was common, but not universal. In 'sweated industries' such as making matchboxes and lace people were paid piece rates (i.e. they were paid and then much for each one they made). People oftentimes worked in their own homes and very often they had to work from dawn to dusk to make a living.

Queen Victoria

Withal in 1871 bank holidays were created. In the 1870s some skilled workers were given a week's almanac paid holiday. (Although information technology was not until 1939 that everybody had almanac paid holidays). However, by the 1890s, the weekend was common as many people had Saturday afternoon off.

In 1799 and 1800 the government passed laws chosen the Combination Acts, which fabricated it illegal for men to combine to need higher wages. The Combination Acts were repealed in 1824 but it was still doubtful if trade unions were legal. Information technology was not until 1871 that trade unions were definitely made legal. In 1875 the Conspiracy and Protection of Holding Deed fabricated peaceful picketing legal.

In the 1850s and 1860s, skilled workers formed moderate merchandise unions called New Model Unions. In return for subscriptions, members were given sickness and unemployment benefits. However, the New Model Unions were bang-up to exist seen as 'respectable' and tried to negotiate rather than strike. The TUC was founded in 1868.

In the late 19th century unskilled workers began to form powerful trade unions. In 1888 a woman named Annie Besant managed to organize a strike amid the girls who worked making matches for Bryant and May. The girls were very poorly paid and they suffered from an illness called 'phossy jaw' caused by working with phosphorous. The strike was successful and the employers were forced to raise their pay. In 1889 the match girls formed a trade union. In March 1889 the Gas Workers and General Labourers Marriage was formed. Then on 14 Baronial 1889, the Great London Dock strike was held. It lasted 5 weeks and was a great success. The Dockers demanded a minimum wage of 6 pence an 60 minutes (the 'Dockers tanner'). Also in 1889, a Seaman'southward Union and the General Railway Workers Union was formed.

In the early on 19th century much working-class housing was appalling. Information technology was overcrowded and unsanitary. Of form, poor people's housing had e'er been bad. Even so, things grew much worse when vast numbers of people lived together in a minor area. Towns had been muddy and unsanitary for centuries. In the 18th century in many towns bodies of men called Paving Commissioners or Improvement Commissioners were formed with powers to pave, clean, and light the streets. Nevertheless, in those days, England was divided into parishes and the commissioners only had powers in sure parishes. However, in the 19th-century towns spread to new parishes. Huge numbers of houses were congenital where previously there had only been fields and modest villages. The commissioners had no powers in these new 'suburbs'. The streets were often unpaved and unlit. There were no drains and when it rained streets turned to mud. People threw dirty water in the streets and brackish pools formed. Furthermore, toilets were oft shared past several houses, and queues formed on Lord's day mornings.

In the early 19th century in most towns at that place were no building regulations. Builders merely built as they pleased. Usually, they tried to cram as many houses as possible onto every piece of land. Many houses were 'back-to-backs'. These houses were literally dorsum to back. The back of 1 house joined the back of another. They normally consisted of ii or three rooms. Worst of all were cellar dwellings. In cities like Liverpool families lived in cellars, which were damp and poorly ventilated as well as crowded. Very poor people slept on straw because they could non afford beds.

Skilled workers lived in 'through' houses, and then-called because y'all could walk through them from front end to back. All the same, in the 1840s boondocks councils began to accept activeness. Cellar dwellings were banned andnew dorsum-to-backs could not be congenital. It was impossible to demolish and supervene upon existing dorsum-to-backs all at one time. It took decades and some people were withal living in them in the 20th century.

In the early 19th century toilets were usually cesspits, which were infrequently emptied and sometimes overflowed. Or urine might seep through the ground into wells from which people drew drinking h2o. Given these disgusting weather condition, it is non surprising there were outbreaks of cholera in many towns in 1831-32, 1848-49, 1854, and 1865-66. In 1848 a Public Health Human action was passed. The act made it compulsory to class local Boards of Health in towns if the annual death rate exceeded 23 per 1,000 or if ten% of the population wanted information technology. Local Boards of Health could demand that allnew houses have drains and lavatories. They could also organize a water supply, street cleaning, and refuse collection.

In 1875 a Public Wellness Act strengthened previous acts. All local authorities were forced to appoint Medical Officers of Health who could prosecute people who sold food or potable unfit for human consumption. The councils were also required to provide refuse collection. Town councils also began to provide public parks and most passed by-laws, which laid downwards minimum standards fornew houses. Furthermore in the 1860s and 1870s sewers were dug in virtually large towns. In the 1870s water supplies were created in virtually towns. As a outcome of these measures, towns were much healthier and cleaner by the finish of the 19th century than at the beginning.

In 1875 the Artisan'due south Dwellings Act was passed which gave councils the ability to demolish slums but large scale slum clearance did not begin till the 20th century. Furthermore in the second half of the 19th-century living standards rose. Gradually houses grew larger. In the late 19th century 'ii-upwardly, two-downs' were common. (Houses with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen and 'front room'.

Many skilled workers lived in houses with iii bedrooms. However, fifty-fifty at the terminate of the 19th century, there were some poor families still living in just one room.

In 1792 well-significant magistrates met at Speenhamland in Berkshire and devised a system for helping the poor. Depression wages were supplemented with money raised past a poor rate. Many areas of England adopted the system simply it proved very expensive and the authorities decided to change things. In 1834 they passed the Poor Constabulary Amendment Human action. In the future, the poor were to be treated as harshly as possible to dissuade them from seeking help from the state. In the hereafter, able-bodied people with no income were to exist forced to enter a workhouse. (In do some of the elected Boards of Guardians sometimes gave the unemployed 'outdoor relief' i.eastward. they were given money and allowed to live in their own homes).

For the unfortunate people made to enter workhouses, life was made as unpleasant as possible. Married couples were separated and children over vii were separated from their parents. The inmates were made to practice hard work like breaking stones to make roads or breaking bones to make fertilizer. The poor called the new workhouses 'bastilles' (afterward the infamous prison in Paris) and they caused much bitterness. Yet, as the century went on the workhouses gradually became more than humane.

At first the industrial revolution did cause much suffering to some people. However in the end it made a much higher standard of living possible for ordinary people. In the 18th century when goods were fabricated past hand they were deficient and therefore expensive. Machines meant that goods could be mass-produced and and then they became much cheaper.

It is truthful that in the early 19th century many people worked very long hours and they lived in appalling conditions in overcrowded towns. However, past the tardily 19th-century housing for most people was better than in the 18th century. People were also amend fed. Inventions like trains and steamships made it possible to import cheap food from away, wheat from Northward America, and meat from Australia and New Zealand. For thousands of years, breadstuff was the staple diet of ordinary people. The poor lived mainly on bread. Past the cease of the century, staff of life was ceasing to exist the 'bread' and virtually people were eating a varied diet. Furthermore, a host of inventions made life more than comfortable and convenient. Railways fabricated travel much faster. Waterproof clothing also made life more than comfortable. So did anesthetics. Furthermore today we take street lighting for granted but in the 19th-century gas street lights fabricated going out at night much easier and safer.

We as well take photography for granted only people in the 19th century thought it was wonderful. For the first time, ordinary people could accept pictures of their loved ones to recollect them if they lived far away. It is truthful that poverty was mutual in the 19th century simply things had ever been that way. A large part of the population lived at subsistence level – or below it but that was cypher new.

In the middle of the 19th century Britain was the richest and about powerful nation in the globe. However, in the late 19th century Great britain's ability declined. Information technology was inevitable. U.k. was the first state to industrialize. She, therefore, had a caput start over other nations. Still, other countries began to catch upwardly. France, Frg, and the Usa industrialized. By the end of the 19th century Russian federation, Sweden, (N) Italy, and Nippon were also industrializing. As a outcome, Britain became relatively less important.

During the 19th century, United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland congenital upwards a great overseas empire including South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1857-58 they crushed the uprising called the Indian Mutiny and in 1877 Queen Victoria was made Empress of Republic of india.

Meanwhile, in 1819 Sir Stafford Raffles founded Singapore. U.k. too took Burma in stages during the 19th century. In the late 19th century United kingdom took big swathes of Africa. Nevertheless, by the end of the 19th century, it was obvious that Britain was no longer as powerful equally it had once been and needed allies in Europe.

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Source: https://localhistories.org/britain-in-the-19th-century/