Industrialisation And Mechanisation in 19th Century Britain PDF

**Industrialisation and Mechanisation** The 19th century marked a dramatic shift from agrarian societies to industrial economies. Key events and movements include: - **Industrial Revolution**: Factories, mechanization, and urbanization disrupted traditional craftsmanship. Luddites resisted...

**Industrialisation and Mechanisation** The 19th century marked a dramatic shift from agrarian societies to industrial economies. Key events and movements include: - **Industrial Revolution**: Factories, mechanization, and urbanization disrupted traditional craftsmanship. Luddites resisted by destroying machines, with many executed or imprisoned. - **Transportation**: The development of railways (e.g., Liverpool-Manchester Railway in 1830) revolutionized travel and commerce. - **Ambiguity**: While industrialization fostered economic growth, it marginalized rural laborers and exacerbated urban poverty. **Key Figures** - **Richard Arkwright**: Innovator of the spinning frame and Cromford Mill, a model for industrial factories. - **Luddites**: A movement of textile workers who protested against industrialization. - **George Stephenson**: Developed the first public railway line (Stockton and Darlington Railway, 1825). **Important Dates and Acts** - **1811-1813**: Luddite uprisings; many executed or transported. - **1825**: Stockton and Darlington Railway opened. - **1830**: Liverpool-Manchester Railway. - **1834**: The Poor Law Amendment Act *(Connected to industrialization, the Poor Law Amendment Act changed welfare to deal with poverty and unemployment caused by more people moving to cities. Workhouses showed new attitudes toward helping the poor, aiming to make them less dependent on aid by expecting industrial jobs to support those who could work)* **The End of Slavery** - **Abolition Movements**: Figures like William Wilberforce led campaigns highlighting the moral and religious incompatibility of slavery. - **Legislation**: - 1807: **Slave Trade Act** -- banned the transatlantic slave trade within the British Empire. - 1833: **Slavery Abolition Act** -- emancipated slaves within the British Empire, though owners received compensation while freed individuals remained economically disenfranchised. - **Resistance**: Pro-slavery MPs, reliant on profits from colonies, opposed these reforms, citing economic threats. **Key Figures** - **William Wilberforce**: A leading abolitionist in Parliament. - **Olaudah Equiano**: Former slave whose autobiography highlighted the horrors of slavery. **Liberalism and Free Trade** - **Corn Laws**: Enacted in 1815, these tariffs on imported grain protected landowners but drove food prices high, leading to famine. - **Repeal**: - Anti-Corn Law League, led by figures like John Bright, advocated for free trade. - Repealed in 1846 under Robert Peel to mitigate famine in Ireland. - **Tory Split**: Peel\'s repeal divided Conservatives, with \"Peelites\" aligning with Liberals. **Key Figures** - **John Bright** and **Richard Cobden**: Leaders of the Anti-Corn Law League advocating for free trade. - **Robert Peel**: Repealed the Corn Laws in 1846, splitting the Conservative Party. **Important Dates and Acts** - **1815**: Corn Laws enacted -- protected domestic agriculture but raised food prices. - **1832**: Great Reform Act -- began parliamentary reform, favoring liberal policies. - **1838**: Anti-Corn Law League established (promoting free trade: focusing on the repeal of the Corn Laws, which restricted grain imports and kept food prices high.). - **1846**: Repeal of the Corn Laws. **The Irish Famine** - **Potato Blight (1845-1852)**: Devastated Ireland\'s staple crop, causing mass starvation and emigration. - **Government Response**: Limited relief efforts like soup kitchens and maize imports were criticized as insufficient. - **Tensions**: The export of Irish grain to England during the famine highlighted exploitation under British rule. **Key Figures** - **Charles Trevelyan**: British official overseeing famine relief, criticized for his ineffective policies. - **Daniel O'Connell**: Irish nationalist advocating for Catholic rights and autonomy. **Important Dates and Acts** - **1845-1852**: Irish Potato Famine -- mass starvation and emigration. - **1847**: Temporary relief efforts (soup kitchens, maize imports). - **1848**: Public health efforts under the **Poor Law Amendment Act** relied on [local resources and workhouses], but these were overwhelmed and underfunded, worsening the crisis. - **Laissez-faire Policy**: The British government adhered to this economic philosophy, which discouraged interference with markets. As a result, [they did not halt the export of Irish food, believing the market would correct itself]. **Trade Unions and the Rise of Organized Labour** - **Early Unions**: Illegal gatherings like the Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834) faced severe punishment, but public support grew. - **Strikes**: - **Matchgirls' Strike (1888)**: Highlighted unsafe factory conditions. - **Dock Strike (1889)**: Demanded a minimum wage and won with international union support. - **Legislation**: Gradual legalization of unions and picketing by the 1870s. **Key Figures** - **Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834)**: Early unionists transported to Australia for secret oaths. - **Matchgirls (1888)**: Strikers against unsafe and exploitative factory conditions. - **Dockers (1889)**: Advocated for minimum wages during the London Dock Strike. **Important Dates and Acts** - **1834**: Tolpuddle Martyrs arrested. - **1871**: Trade Union Act -- legalized unions but restricted picketing. - **1875**: Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act -- allowed peaceful picketing **British Empire Expansionism** **Key Figures** - **Lord Dalhousie**: Architect of the \"Doctrine of Lapse,\" expanding British control in India. - **General Charles Gordon**: Killed during the Siege of Khartoum in Sudan, symbolizing British imperial sacrifice. - **Benjamin Disraeli**: Advocated for imperial expansion and purchased the Suez Canal shares in 1875. **Important Dates and Acts** - **1857-1858**: Indian Rebellion -- led to the Government of India Act (1858), ending East India Company rule (transfers control from the East India Company to the British Crown). - **1875**: Purchase of Suez Canal shares -- secured British control over trade routes to India. - **1876**: Victoria declared \"Empress of India\" -- symbolizing the integration of India into the empire. - **1882**: British occupation of Egypt following the defeat of Ahmed Urabi. - **1884-1885**: Berlin Conference -- Britain secured territories in Africa during the Scramble for Africa (it regulates European colonization and trade in Africa, leading to the \"Scramble for Africa.\") - **1899-1902**: Second Boer War -- solidified British control over South Africa. **Ambiguities and Conflicts** - Tensions with **France** during the Fashoda Incident (1898) in Sudan. - **Resistance movements**: Indian Rebellion, Zulu resistance (1879), and Boer guerrilla warfare. **Women's Status and Suffrage** - **Victorian Ideals**: Women were largely confined to domestic roles (\"angel in the house\"), despite growing industrial labor participation. - **Campaigns**: Women like Emmeline Pankhurst emerged as key figures in suffrage movements by the century\'s end. - **Education and Rights**: Limited progress in property and marital laws laid the groundwork for future equality. **Important Dates and Acts** - **1839**: Custody of Infants Act -- allowed mothers custody of young children under certain conditions. - **1857**: Matrimonial Causes Act -- introduced divorce through civil courts. - **1858**: Englishwoman's Journal launched to debate issues of women's work, legal rights, suffrage and education. Founding spirits were Barbara Leigh Smith (1827--91) and Bessie Rayner Parkes (1829--1925) - **1865**: Petitions organised by the 'Ladies of Langham Place' for a Women's Suffrage Bill (the 'Langham Place Petition'). - **1866**: Barbara Bodichon formed first Women's Suffrage Committee - **1867**: John Stuart Mill published speech on Admission of Women to Electoral Franchise; followed by The Subjection of Women (1869). - **1870**: Married Women's Property Act -- allowed women to retain earnings after marriage. - **1884**: Married Women's Property Act made a woman no longer a 'chattel' but an independent and separate person ([Chattel] means they had [no legal responsibility, not an independent person in front of the law so not the owner of richness]). - **1888** Match girls' strike. List highlights crucial moments and individuals shaping 19th-century Britain. - **1832**: First Reform Act -- addressed rotten boroughs but excluded working-class and women. - **1858**: Indian Act -- ended the East India Company\'s rule following the Indian Rebellion. - **1867**: Second Reform Act -- expanded suffrage to urban working-class men. - **1884**: Third Reform Act -- extended suffrage to rural male laborers. - **1901**: Death of Queen Victoria -- end of the Victorian era. CONCLUSION: **Political Changes** - Gradual expansion of voting rights, including the Great Reform Act (1832) and later reforms, reshaped parliamentary representation. - Rise of organized labor and early feminism reflected increasing political agency among previously marginalized groups. **Social Changes** - Urbanization and industrialization altered traditional lifestyles, fostering new class distinctions and collective action. - Abolitionism and suffrage movements challenged entrenched hierarchies, advocating for equality and justice. **Economic Changes** - Transition to industrial capitalism fostered innovation but deepened inequalities. - Free trade policies and global markets defined Britain\'s economic strategy, reinforcing its imperial dominance.