The Victorian Era: A Captivating Guide to the Life of Queen Victoria and an Era in the History of the United Kingdom Known for Its Hierarchy-Based Social Order (Captivating History) by Captivating History

Author:Captivating History [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2019-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13 – The Industrial Revolution

While the Industrial Revolution did not begin during the reign of Queen Victoria, it did culminate during her rule. The onslaught of large-scale industries changed the local economic fabric of Britain, taking the production of consumer goods from the home and placing it in centralized factories. The traditional handmade production of a single item at a time was no longer profitable since it could not compete with the mass production in factories using machines and powered tools.

Britain has been called the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and there were several factors that made this possible.[91] The materials that were so crucial to the development of industry at the time were readily available in Britain. Coal and iron were naturally available to be mined there and shipped to the developing factories for use. Also, materials could be taken and shipped from the many British colonies around the world, and that was a huge boon for the industrial development of Britain itself. These colonies not only supplied the raw materials to Great Britain to be turned into products, but they even bought back the finished goods. As demand for goods increased, the need for more and more industrialized manufacturing grew as well.

Some of the biggest advancements that came during this time period were built on steam engine technology, an invention that used the physical power of super-heated water to power a variety of machines. Soon, electric motors and internal combustion engines were used to power new machines and tools. The light bulb and the telephone were developed, and they transformed daily life in the homes of the wealthy, the factory-owning middle classes, and the workplaces of the poor. In later years, electric lights replaced the gas lights of Britain’s city streets.

The population of Britain was mostly rural until the expansive industrial advances created en masse movements of people to the cities, with the migrants coming in search of regular employment in factories.[92] This huge influx of workers was good news for industrialists, but it also meant the cities needed more housing. During this time, the cities were severely overcrowded with many areas full of filth and squalor. As migrants continually poured in to find industrial work, more low-end housing was built to try to fit them all in.

It wasn’t just London that was affected by the Industrial Revolution. Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham were completely transformed by the age of smokestacks and intensive labor. Liverpool’s population ballooned during Victoria’s reign, boasting the highest population density in all of Britain. The city of Liverpool went from a population of 6,000 to 80,000 during this time.[93] The newly rich factory owners in these cities were eager to build expansive Victorian-style homes to mirror their sense of prestige and importance in the world. Throughout the 19th century, Liverpool’s wealthy inhabitants built monuments, parks, and statues that would become icons of the city.

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