The Victorian Age: Historical Background (Queen Victoria 1837 - 1901)

The Victorian Age: historical background (Queen Victoria 1837 – 1901) Age of economic progress: A new urban economy developped, instead of the old agricultural economy; new, big industrial towns were born. Britain became the most powerful nation in the world (also thanks to colonial expansion). Great technological progress: - industrial machines driven by the steam engine (tecnological innovations were shown in The Great Exhibition of 1851); - improvement of communications: efficient mail service, the telephone. - printing became cheaper; novels, magazines and newspapers became very popular.

An age of reforms Victorian society was full of contrasts (big diffence between the living conditions of the working classes and of the middle and upper classes). need for social reforms, that were granted only gradually because Britain had turned conservative, after the French Revolution: 1832: First Reform Bill: it extended the vote to part of the middle classes, but the working classes were still excluded. Besides, the new industrial regions were less represented than the agricultural regions, controlled by the upper classes. Birth of the Chartist movement: working class people asked for a charter ( a list of rights) of social reforms : - votes for all males - annually elected parliament (instead of every 7 years) - payment of members of Parliament - secret voting - abolition of property qualification for MPs (at that time only if you owned property you could be elected) - electoral districts equal in population (so that the number of MPs elected in a district was proportional to the population of that district)

The people’s charter was presented in 1838, but it was rejected for 3 times. The Chartists were strongly opposed: the movement’s leaders were arrested, some protesters were killed, so the Chartist Movement dissolved. However, between 1860 and 1914 all the Chartists’ demands (except for an annually elected Parliament) became law. (In 1918 the right to vote was extended to all men, and in 1928 to all women).

An age of social contrasts With the Industrial Revolution mechanisation entered even in agriculture and in the textile industry (new machines were introduced) increased competition and high production costs Necessity to decrease production costs Cutting of wages High Highcost costofofliving, living,due duetotothe thecorn corn laws, laws,which whichkept keptthe theprice priceofof imported importedcorn cornartificially artificiallyhigh high Poverty and starvation, especially among textile and agricultural workers great masses of people moved to the cities.

Great potato famine in Ireland : people were starving because of a disease of potatoes and many of them emigrated to Britain or to the USA 1846: abolition of the Corn Laws by Robert Peel, Tory prime minister.

Poverty Poor people lived in overcrowded slums, in terrible, non-hygenic conditions, which led to epidemics of cholera and other diseases. The poor laws of 1834 only made the situation worse: children of poor families were separated from their families and sent to work in parish workhouses. Poverty was seen as a crime In the poem “London” Blake already criticized this exlpoitation of children by the Church (how the Chimney-sweeper’s cry every black’nin Church appalls). Dickens described the terrible conditions of workhouses in Oliver Twist Only at the end of the 19 cent poverty was seen as a social problem.

The British Empire Britain’s colonial empire expanded all over the world in this period, increasing its power and préstige. Part of this expansion was made to protect trade routes to and from India, the most important British colony (so Britain acquired South Africa, Egypt, Burma, Malaysia and Afghanistan). India had been administered since the 17 cent by the East India Company, but since 1957 it was administered directly by the British government and Queen Victoria became “Empress of India” (1877). Another important colony that Britain acquired was Australia.

Imperialism: “The white man’s burden” o o o The British justified Imperialism mainly for these reasons: Moral and religious duty to spread Christianity; Moral duty to educate other people in science and technology; Duty to govern people who were incapable of good self- goverment. Today anti-imperialist reasons: o Exploitment of natural and human resources of the colony for the enrichment of the colonist; o Imposition of the colonist’s own culture; o Imperialism robs the subject peoples of their full human dignity.

Photograph of Queen Victoria (page 219) Informal posture: she is working at the administration of the Empire. Realistic representation: she’s wearing a simple dress, her face is real, it shows the passing of time. Realistic background Her servant Abdul Karim is standing near her, in a very natural way, as if it was normal to have an Indian attendant the idea of the Empire becomes popular. Queen Victoria was the first queen to use photography as a form of propaganda, but at the same time she became a familiar figure to her people. Portrait of Queen Elisabeth I (pages 51 and 218) very formal posture: she’s sitting on a throne. Sense of stillness and command. Symbolic representation: she symbolizes absolute power, far from everyday life. She’s wearing a very elaborate dress, her face is ageless. Fantastic background. In the portrait on page 51 her hand rests on the globe, this represents the dream, the aspiration to a global empire. Painted portrait: a mark of the wealth and social status of the queen.

The Victorian compromise The Victorian Age was an age of contrasts and social imbalance (progress and reforms vs poverty and social injustice). Victorian society was based on a set of moral values that could only be fulfilled by the middle and upper classes: hard work, respectability, good manners and education, patriarchal family, female chastity, repression of sexuality. These values derived from the Puritan tradition. All those who didn’t conform to these values were considred evil and immoral. So, the Victorian compromise is this idea of hypocrisy, the attempt to hide the unpleasant aspects of progress and the materialistic philosophy of life under a veil of respectability and optimism.

The Victorian compromise The Victorian Age was an age of contrasts and social imbalance (progress and reforms vs poverty and social injustice). Victorian society was based on a set of moral values that could only be fulfilled by the middle and upper classes: hard work, respectability, good manners and