Historians like Bernard Porter have characterized Britain's…
1852 CE to 1863 CE
There is peace and prosperity, as the national income per person grows by half.
Much of the prosperity is due to the increasing industrialization, especially in textiles and machinery, as well as to the worldwide network of trade and engineering that produces profits for British merchants and experts from across the globe.
There is peace abroad (apart from the short Crimean War, 1854–56), and social peace at home. Reforms in industrial conditions were set by Parliament.
For example, in 1842, the nation had been scandalized by the use of children in coal mines.
The Mines Act of 1842 had banned employment of girls and boys under ten years old from working underground in coal mines.
Opposition to the new order melted away, says Porter.
The Chartist movement had peaked as a democratic movement among the working class in 1848; its leaders have moves to other pursuits, such as trade unions and cooperative societies.
The working class ignores foreign agitators like Karl Marx in their midst, and joins in celebrating the new prosperity.
Employers typically are paternalistic, and generally recognize the trade unions.
Companies provide their employees with welfare services ranging from housing, schools and churches, to libraries, baths, and gymnasia.
Middle-class reformers do their best to assist the working classes aspire to middle-class norms of "respectability."
There is a spirit of libertarianism, says Porter, as people feel they are free.
Taxes are very low, and government restrictions are minimal.
There are still problem areas, such as occasional riots, especially those motivated by anti-Catholicism.
Society is still ruled by the aristocracy and the gentry, which control high government offices, both houses of Parliament, the church, and the military.
Becoming a rich businessman is not as prestigious as inheriting a title and owning a landed estate.
Literature is doing well, but the fine arts languish as the Great Exhibition of 1851 had showcased Britain's industrial prowess rather than its sculpture, painting or music.
The educational system is mediocre; the capstone universities (outside Scotland) are likewise mediocre.
Locations
People
Commodities
Subjects
Regions
North Europe
View →Subregions
