Progress and Decline

The Victorian Period (1833-1901)

 Living in the Victorian Age
Queen Victoria reigned for 64 years.
Britain’s economy boomed and there was great
optimism in the country.
Factories and towns grew into large
cities.
Two distinct classes – industrial class
and modern-middle class.
Military power increased – primarily the navy –
which afforded them new colonies in distant lands.
 A Reforming Age
May have seemed good on the outside, but all was
NOT “right with the world” (Browning) in Victorian
England.
Writers exposed brutal factory conditions and
stinking slums.
Victorian reformers had great faith that they could
make all right in the future.
Victorian leaders took steps to expand democracy
and improve conditions for the poor.
Domestic politics – trade policy and electoral
reform.
Food import was discouraged which helped keep
food prices high and landlords and land owners in
power.
Because of the famine in Ireland, reform came in
1846 which repealed the Corn Laws – allowing free
trade.
There was a burning desire to strengthen
democracy.
“People’s Charter” written by William Lovett
demanded universal suffrage for all males, not just the
wealthy and middle class.
The reform was passed in 1867 which added
938,000 voters to the population.
 More Reform!
Reform also included
 Women’s right to attend university
 Reduced work day for women and children
 Free grammar school
 Trade unions
 Public sanitation
 Regulation of factories and houses

 This was only the start!

 The Imperialist Urge
Imperialism: the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or
nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and
dependencies – dictionary.com

Many arguments were made for this, including:

 Cornering the market on trade
Offering a home to English settlers
Having the advantage over European rivals
The belief that white, Christian, progressive civilizations
were dominant. The Britons could descend on other non-
Westerners and offer assistance – Many people sincerely
believed this!
The Victorian years were mostly peaceful.
The Crimean War (a peninsula in southern Russia) was
the only war fought during this era – in an effort to
thwart Russian expansion.
This war is mainly remembered today for the valiant
efforts of Florence Nightingale – a military nurse regarded
as the founder of modern nursing.
Also for a famous charge called the Britain’s Light
Brigade.
This battle charge was commemorated in Alfred,
Lord Tennyson’s poem:

“Theirs not to make reply,/

Theirs not to reason why,/ Theirs
but to do and die …”
 Britain as a World Power
Liberals (formerly Whigs) advocated to limit British
rule – however the empire continued to grow.
Britain acquired Hong Kong from China in 1842
1858 Britain took direct control of India
In the last three decades of Victoria’s rule, they
expanded their influence in Africa and gained control
of the Suez Canal in Egypt and acquired territories like
Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe).
 Victorian Thought
Deep confidence in humanities ability
to better itself.
Changes in the industrial revolution
brought conflicting feelings among
Victorian thinkers.

 They liked the benefits industrialization had brought but…

 They deplored the brutality of factory life.

 The debate was whether business should be allowed free rein or

whether, for the welfare of the people, the government should take a
strong role in the economy.
Victorians grappled with religious and philosophical
issues as well and the social implications of modern
life.
The theory of evolution by Charles Darwin stirred
bitter controversy. (Natural Selection)(
Some thought that Darwin’s theory was a direct
challenge to Biblical truth and traditional religious
faith.
Others reconciled their faith with scientific insights.
 Romanticism and Realism
Romantics continued to influence Victorian writers.
Romanticism was now a part of mainstream culture.
Realism focused on ordinary people facing ordinary
problems of life – the emphasis was on a growing
middle-class audience for literature.
Naturalism – A related movement which sought to
put the scientific spirit of observation to literary use.
Naturalists crammed their novels with the gritty
details – sour smells of poverty, the harsh sounds of
factories – they often promoted social change.
 Pre-Raphaelites
Rather than embracing the “real” life as the
advocates of Realism did – the Pre-Raphaelites
rejected the ugliness of industrial life. They turned to
the spiritual intensity of medieval Italian art, the art
before the time of the painter Raphael (1483-1520)