Victorian Age

 

VICTORIAN AGE (1837-1901)

It was a brilliant age. There were so many changes happened during this age. Queen Victoria, the last of Hanoverians came to power in 1837 and reigned till 1901.Victoria’s long reign saw many changes in the attitudes of the people. The initial years of her reign passed in a series of reforms that touched various spheres of life. The people expected a great deal from all these reforms, but they were disappointed. The first part of Queen Victoria’s reign was filled with discontent and bitterness. The middle classes were resentful of the privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy. They agitated against the Corn Laws which were seen as a tax on the whole community for the enrichment of the landowners. A campaign was organised to repeal the Corn Laws and they succeed in 1846.

The years between 1846 and 1868 is known as the mid-Victorian era. This was the most prosperous part of the century. It was the time of trade and commerce with eastern nations was increasing. Britain was considered to be the most industrially advanced country in the world and earned the title ‘the workshop of the world’.

Development of Transport and communication

• ·         The textile industry was established in England and it was considered to be the first major industry. It brought together the world.
• ·         With an introduction of steamships, railways, penny posts, telegraph and cables, the entire society underwent a dramatic change.
• ·         The first efficient Steam Engine was made by James Watt in 1769. (Steam Engines-Used at first to pump water out of mines, later it was used in vehicles.)  
• ·         Steamboats were used for short sea journeys. The year 1819 is an important in the history of steamship because the Atlantic Ocean was crossed for the first time by a ship fitted the steam engines, the Savannah. A ship called the Great Western, designed by Brunel
• ·          Richard Trevithick was a pioneer of Locomotives. In 1804, his ‘steam carriage’ transported a carload of passengers for the first time.
• ·         George Stephenson produced an engine which was chiefly to carry coal.
• ·         The first two railway lines in the world were built- between Stockton and Darlington and another between Liverpool and Manchester. The speed of the first train was thirty miles per hour. The effects of the railways upon society were tremendous. Distribution of goods was made easy.
• ·         Postal communication also received a boost.
• ·         In the field of communication was the introduction of the electric telegraph. Sir Charles Wheatstone made the earliest workable telegraph in England.

Development of Education in the Nineteenth Century 

• ·         The Industrial Revolution created many problems, led to concerning health and housing.
• ·         There was no education system. A majority of the working class was completely illiterate.
• ·         There were three kinds of schools were available for working class- dame school (supported by private subscription), the charity and Sunday schools.
• ·         Charity and Sunday schools were mostly free and run by Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. They taught Catechism.
• ·         Children from well-to-do families had nannies to look after them.
• ·         Some of the famous public schools were Eton, Harrow, Rugby, and Westminster. 

Achievement of Industrialization

In 1851, all achievements of Industrialization were showcased in Great Exhibition of London. Queen Victoria inaugurated the great exhibition of London. It was held in the specially constructed Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. The crystal Palace was a magnificent construction using over a million feet of glass. It was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton. About six million people were visited the exhibition

POETS                                    NOVELIST                                       ESSAYIST

·       Alfred Tennyson                             *Charles Dickens                                                *Thomas Babington Macaulay

·     Robert Browning                            *William Makepeace Thackeray                         *Thomas Carlyle

·     Elizabeth Browning                        *Mary Ann Evans, George Eliot                          *John Ruskin

·    D.G. Rossetti                                    *Charles Reade                                                    *Mathew Arnold

·    William Morris                                *Anthony Trollope                                              * John Henry Newman

·    Swinburne                                        *Charlotte Bronte

                                                    *Robert Louis Stevenson

                                                       *Thomas Hardy

                                             *George Meredith

                                            *Blackmore

                                            *Mrs. Gaskell

                                            *Charles Kingsley

                

                                                      *Bulwer Lytton