Summary Victorian period
Content 1: The Victorian World (1830-1900)
The English are very proud of this Age, they were at the height of their power. Queen Victoria on the
throne= Victorian Period. She became queen when she was very young, she did not have a partner. In
1840 she married her cousin (love), she longed to a normal, ‘home life’. Together they had 9 children,
they lived in Scotland, Balmoral Castle. Keyword: respectability.
England became the first flourishing industrial and trading nation: in 1850 many cities were
connected due the electric telegraph. The consequences: united different parts of England, spreading
influence of standard speech. Impact on society: London grew 2mil> 6mil. However, the city was very
polluted, the Themes was called the big stink: polluted with sewage. The Industrial Revolution had
caused very dramatic changes in in the structure of English society: the new middle class was very
prosperous, but the working class were living in miserable conditions. The changes had boosted the
prosperity of the nation as a whole, but had made the gap between rich and poor wider.
British Empire:
Brittania ruled the waves. Britain had control over the world’s commence, colonies in India, Canada,
Australia (convicts), Ireland and Africa. The social conditions were not great: 1840s were called the
hungry forties, 1842: depression?, 1845: potato disease (especially in Ireland). Many children had to
work in factories, they were cruel to children. There were many people living in poverty, and the
working conditions in workhouses were terrible. The streets were crowded and there was a high
crime rate.
The abolishing of the Corn Laws in 1846: the laws that protected the prices of wheat, made that
wheat could be imported freely and this meant the decline of English agriculture.
Reform measures because people wanted food and they wanted to vote (need for social laws):
Reorganisation of parliament, revision of penal code (=strafrecht). Restrictions on child labour and
other industrial reforms. Children could only work up to 10 hours and were half free on Saturdays,
they also had to attend sundayschools.
1851: the Great Exhibition
Prince Albert was very interested in arts, technology, manufacturing and modern things. The 1851
Exhibition was the first ever international exhibition of manufactured products. The exhibitions
included almost every Victorian marvel.
Education
William Gladstone, the Prime Minister of England was worried about the political and economic
constraints and the individual freedom. He opened state schools without religious control. More
schools opened up: public schools and private schools. More education for women. The British saw
everything before the Victorian Age as a dark age.
Politics & economics & religion & science
The French Revolution had also made its influence on Britain. People wanted liberalism: freedom of
speech, right to education, freedom of religion, free trade and free competition. They also wanted
religious liberalism: diminish the authority of the Church (influenced by the rationalism of the 18 th
century). Utilitarianism: en ethische stroming waarbij de morele kwaliteit van een handeling wordt
, bepaald door de hoeveelheid geluk en pijn die die handeling oplevert. Oftewel: hoe meer geluk en
hoe minder pijn een actie tot gevolg heeft, hoe beter die is. ‘’What was useful is good, what was
useless was bad’’. The ideal was greatest happiness of the greatest number. With this, religion did not
have a function. Oxford Movement: movement to restore the authority of the church, restore dogma,
stress on the past and rejection of reason as supreme guide to knowledge, emphasize on traditions
and morals. The Victiorans also sought a connection with death: occultation. They started reading the
Bible merely as a historical book. Charles Darwin: evolution and Sir Charles Lyell: tectonic plates. The
impact of science and new thinkers: optimistic beliefs, perplexed minds, anxiety and uncertainty.
The spirit of the age was on of optimism and confidence in what man could achieve.
The importance of the poorer working classes led to many demands for social reforms. The English
Liberals were all in favour of reform: reform social rules, emancipation of women, rise of democracy.
Many reforms above are reflected in the literature of the time. The 19 th century is the century of the
novel. Many authors show awareness of the social problems of that day. In poetry the spirit of the
Romantics lingered on, a pleasant way to escape reality. However, there were still some feelings of
doubt, disillusions which show that not everything was perfect at this time, people call this the
Victorian Crisis.
Important events: (the English thought they had a right to rule the world)
1832: Reform Bill: had given the right to vote to the middle class, 1867: Second Reform Bill made is
possible for the working classes to vote.
1861-1865: American Civil War
1870: Education Act: elementary education was compulsory for all children.
1882: Egypt conquered
1885: Government was formed (with the help of Irish Catholic Party, they were promised self-rule)
1899-1902: Boer War: was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics
(the South African Republic and Orange Free State) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa.
In 1861 Prince Albert died and Queen Victoria was devastated. She withdrew herself from the public
for 14 years. In 1875 she was named the Empress of India.
End of century
1875: Lord Shaftesbury legislated the improve of housing, working conditions and public health.
Working hours were shortened, and the factories closed on Saturday afternoons. Women wanted to
ride bikes: a bike meant more freedom. Britain had two military rivals: Germany and France.
Queen Victoria died in 1901 and her death marked the end of an era. The glorious days of the British
Empire were coming to an end. But few people realized it at the time, it took a World War to bring
the message home.
Content 1: The Victorian World (1830-1900)
The English are very proud of this Age, they were at the height of their power. Queen Victoria on the
throne= Victorian Period. She became queen when she was very young, she did not have a partner. In
1840 she married her cousin (love), she longed to a normal, ‘home life’. Together they had 9 children,
they lived in Scotland, Balmoral Castle. Keyword: respectability.
England became the first flourishing industrial and trading nation: in 1850 many cities were
connected due the electric telegraph. The consequences: united different parts of England, spreading
influence of standard speech. Impact on society: London grew 2mil> 6mil. However, the city was very
polluted, the Themes was called the big stink: polluted with sewage. The Industrial Revolution had
caused very dramatic changes in in the structure of English society: the new middle class was very
prosperous, but the working class were living in miserable conditions. The changes had boosted the
prosperity of the nation as a whole, but had made the gap between rich and poor wider.
British Empire:
Brittania ruled the waves. Britain had control over the world’s commence, colonies in India, Canada,
Australia (convicts), Ireland and Africa. The social conditions were not great: 1840s were called the
hungry forties, 1842: depression?, 1845: potato disease (especially in Ireland). Many children had to
work in factories, they were cruel to children. There were many people living in poverty, and the
working conditions in workhouses were terrible. The streets were crowded and there was a high
crime rate.
The abolishing of the Corn Laws in 1846: the laws that protected the prices of wheat, made that
wheat could be imported freely and this meant the decline of English agriculture.
Reform measures because people wanted food and they wanted to vote (need for social laws):
Reorganisation of parliament, revision of penal code (=strafrecht). Restrictions on child labour and
other industrial reforms. Children could only work up to 10 hours and were half free on Saturdays,
they also had to attend sundayschools.
1851: the Great Exhibition
Prince Albert was very interested in arts, technology, manufacturing and modern things. The 1851
Exhibition was the first ever international exhibition of manufactured products. The exhibitions
included almost every Victorian marvel.
Education
William Gladstone, the Prime Minister of England was worried about the political and economic
constraints and the individual freedom. He opened state schools without religious control. More
schools opened up: public schools and private schools. More education for women. The British saw
everything before the Victorian Age as a dark age.
Politics & economics & religion & science
The French Revolution had also made its influence on Britain. People wanted liberalism: freedom of
speech, right to education, freedom of religion, free trade and free competition. They also wanted
religious liberalism: diminish the authority of the Church (influenced by the rationalism of the 18 th
century). Utilitarianism: en ethische stroming waarbij de morele kwaliteit van een handeling wordt
, bepaald door de hoeveelheid geluk en pijn die die handeling oplevert. Oftewel: hoe meer geluk en
hoe minder pijn een actie tot gevolg heeft, hoe beter die is. ‘’What was useful is good, what was
useless was bad’’. The ideal was greatest happiness of the greatest number. With this, religion did not
have a function. Oxford Movement: movement to restore the authority of the church, restore dogma,
stress on the past and rejection of reason as supreme guide to knowledge, emphasize on traditions
and morals. The Victiorans also sought a connection with death: occultation. They started reading the
Bible merely as a historical book. Charles Darwin: evolution and Sir Charles Lyell: tectonic plates. The
impact of science and new thinkers: optimistic beliefs, perplexed minds, anxiety and uncertainty.
The spirit of the age was on of optimism and confidence in what man could achieve.
The importance of the poorer working classes led to many demands for social reforms. The English
Liberals were all in favour of reform: reform social rules, emancipation of women, rise of democracy.
Many reforms above are reflected in the literature of the time. The 19 th century is the century of the
novel. Many authors show awareness of the social problems of that day. In poetry the spirit of the
Romantics lingered on, a pleasant way to escape reality. However, there were still some feelings of
doubt, disillusions which show that not everything was perfect at this time, people call this the
Victorian Crisis.
Important events: (the English thought they had a right to rule the world)
1832: Reform Bill: had given the right to vote to the middle class, 1867: Second Reform Bill made is
possible for the working classes to vote.
1861-1865: American Civil War
1870: Education Act: elementary education was compulsory for all children.
1882: Egypt conquered
1885: Government was formed (with the help of Irish Catholic Party, they were promised self-rule)
1899-1902: Boer War: was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics
(the South African Republic and Orange Free State) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa.
In 1861 Prince Albert died and Queen Victoria was devastated. She withdrew herself from the public
for 14 years. In 1875 she was named the Empress of India.
End of century
1875: Lord Shaftesbury legislated the improve of housing, working conditions and public health.
Working hours were shortened, and the factories closed on Saturday afternoons. Women wanted to
ride bikes: a bike meant more freedom. Britain had two military rivals: Germany and France.
Queen Victoria died in 1901 and her death marked the end of an era. The glorious days of the British
Empire were coming to an end. But few people realized it at the time, it took a World War to bring
the message home.
