The Industrial Revolution

1. The Industrial Revolution Living Conditions (with a special emphasis on London, England, the heart of the Industrial Revolution.) Image Citation

2. The City of London Image Citation • The birthplace of the Industrial Revolution • The centre of world commerce • Overcrowded conditions “The city clocks had just gone three, but it was quite dark already—it had not been light all day—and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighboring offices, like ruddy smear upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without that, although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms” (Dickens 4).

3. Environment in Victorian London • Due to London’s location, it had conditions ideal for rainy and foggy weather. • Pollution is intense—lanterns are used during day hours due to the combination of fog and pollution (Evolution Change of the Moth due to pollution.) • There is not a centralized sewage system—human and animal waste products are in open gutters along with other trash. These wastes find their way to the Thames River, the major source of drinking water. Cholera is the result of contaminated water—1848-1849 outbreak killed more than 50,000 people in the city (Sarver) • The stench of the city is overwhelming given the open sewage system being part of the street people live and walk on.

4. Pollution • Source: (Osborne 54-55) • Burned coal to heat homes and factories • Everything was covered in black soot • Brown and Yellow Smog • The sun wasn’t seen for weeks • People had red eyes, burning throats—many died from lung diseases • The fog could be so intense that people would accidentally drown by falling into the river Thames. Image Source

5. A Cacophony of Senses • Street Vendors yelled out their wares • Organ Grinders played day and night • Carriage wheels were iron and clashed with the uneven pavement/cobblestones • Open sewers flowed beside the sidewalk Image Source Image Source

6. The Thames Image Source Image Source Mudlarkers work above at the Thames Death personified on the Thames Old London Bridge Image Source • The Thames runs through London • Run-off from sewers • Dead animals and dead people floated on top, at times. • 1858—”The Big Stink”—foul odors from the city and river were intolerable.

7. Disease • Cholera—caused by contaminated water/food; severe dehydration caused by excessive diarrhea • Typhoid—caused by contaminated water/food; very high fevers, weakness, stomach pains, rose-colored spots. • Tuberculosis—caused by a bacteria; usually attacks the lungs, highly contagious and can be deadly. Image Source Image Source Image Source

8. from Daily Life in Victorian England (Mitchell)

9. Street Life—the mingling Mainly, the classes were quite separate from one another, especially the Aristocracy and the Upper classes from the other classes. Image Source

10. Street Life--Working Class & The Poor Image Citation Image Citation

11. Aristocracy-the highest class • Members: Church & Nobility • 2% of the population • Born into nobility • Includes the Royal Family • Members of Parliament (by virtue of occupation) Image Citation • HOMELIFE • Many servants • Leisure • Entertainment is central • Governesses/Nannies to care for the children • OWNERSHIP: • Their homes. • Estates were handed down to generations. • Carriages & Horses • Lands Image Citation

12. Upper Class/Middle Class • Educated • Employed Servants • Entertained • Many in these classes due to income/occupation Image Source

13. Working Class Living Conditions • Homes were built by factory owners and were “back to back” • 5+ people to a room—families were large with 4-5 children • A street would share a couple of outdoor toilets and a common water pump • All family members worked. • Very little opportunity for academic education. Image Citation

14. Working Class/Poor Workhouse Image Source • The Poor— • No education, illiterate, sometimes homeless • Would sometimes end up in Workhouse—a government/church provided place where families were torn apart and sometimes never would see each other again, all for a roof over their heads. One would work here almost as if a prisoner. This was a last resort. Image Source

15. The Poorest of the Poor Image Source Image Source “[Scrooge & the Phantom] left the busy scene and went into an obscure part of town, where Scrooge had never penetrated before, although he recognized its situation and its bad repute. The ways were foul and narrow, the shops and houses wretched, the people half naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offenses of smell, and dirt, and life upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth and misery” (Dickens 94)

16. The Poor (rural conditions) Image Source Scanned image (2002) byPhilip V. Allingham

17. Works Cited • Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. • Mitchell, Sally. "Class, Tradition, and Money." Daily Life in Victorian England. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. 33-34. Worldcat. GoogleBooks. Web. 5 Dec. 2012. <http://www.worldcat.org/title/daily-life-in-victorian-england/oclc/34117508/viewport>. • Osborne, Mary Pope., Natalie Pope. Boyce, Mary Pope. Osborne, and Sal Murdocca. Rags and Riches: Kids in the Time of Charles Dickens. New York: Random House, 2010. Print. • Sarver, Aaron. "Cholera and the City." In These Times: With Liberty and Justice for All... 19 Dec. 2006: n. pag. In These Times...liberty and Justice for All. 19 Dec. 2006. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2942/cholera_and_the_city/>.