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The Victorian Age (1837-1901) - Coggle Diagram
The Victorian Age (1837-1901)
Queen Victoria came to the throne when she was 18 y.o. and ruled the country for 64 years; she gave her name to an
age of scientific, economic and technological progress and social reforms (...).
She married Prince Albert and with their nine children provided the perfect example of respectability. in 1861 Albert died and Victoria spent the next ten years in mourning.
The queen was the iconic symbol for upper and a lower middle class.
Chartism
: in 1838 a group of working-class radicals drew up a People's Charter demanding universal male suffrage, secret ballot, equal electoral districts...
The Irish Potato Famine
: 1845 Ireland, caused by bad weather and disease from America which brought the destruction of potato crops and a terrible famine. The Prime minister was forced to abolish the Corn Laws in 1846.
Foreign policy: In the mid of 19 century England was involved in the Two Opium Wars against China, who was trying to suppress the opium trade; Indian Mutiny against British rule (Victoria was given the title of Empress of India in 1877 because India was the most lucrative colony) and the Crimean War (Russia vs Ottoman Empire) but England and France got involved since they wanted to limit Russia's power. In was the first conflict to be reported in newspapers by journalists. Anglo-Boers Wars which ended with British victory.
Britain Global Hegemony was due to: financial and economic strenght, naval power, control of poor areas. The British Empire controlled a lot of territories however it was difficult to control because of the growing sense of "white man's burden" (poem written by Kipling).
= combination of the duty to spread christian civilization and promoting commercial interest.
Victorian compromise = age of contradictions and complexity in which progress, privileges of rich after the Second Industrial Revolution coexisted with poverty, famine, injustice.
Self-restraint, good manners, self-help, virtues, social status composed the concept of RESPECTABILITY. however it was also a mixture of morality and hypocrisy because the unpleasant aspects of society were hidden under this idea.
Sexuality was repressed both in its public and private forms with the development of prudery, decorum, denunciation of nudity in art.
The widespread of poverty and the child labour was very common and very young children were employed in dangers jobs even if childhood was considered a precious phase in life.
LIFE IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN: Increase of population in urban centers (slums) because people were attracted by "positive" consequences of industrial revolution.
Comte, Marx, Zola, Verga denounced this aspect of society in their literature.
Growth of middle classe society.
Regrouping of the parties: 1. The Liberal Party included former Whigs and Radicals who wanted social reforms, under Gladstone. 2. The Conservative party reaffirmed its position under the leadership of Disraeli.
Role of the women
: during the Victorian Age they were seen as something inferior to protect by men (single woman with a child was marginalized ad fallen woman) but then the middle-class women became more involved in public life, as teachers or in campaigns against prostitution.
Social Darwinism: Spencer applied Darwin's theory of natural selection to human society so, also social classes were subject to the principle of "survival of the fittest".
Development of socialist ideas like Fabian Society or The Independent Labour Party.
Patriotism
: 19 century was influenced by "racial superiority", British people considered themselves the leaders of world and they believed that God wants them to carry out their religion, culture, policy (also Crusoe of Defoe feels superior than Friday).This attitude came to be known as
Jingoism.