U.47. The Industrial Revolution: Its Influence as a Historical Transformation Model. Social and Political Changes Prompted by Literature. C. Dickens.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.1. Origins. Defining 'Industrial Revolution’.

• It refers to the significant changes in the methods and organisation of production, making th shift from a largely agrarian, handcrafted economy to one dominated by machinery and industry.

• Origins in Britain, then spreads to Europe and overseas. Defines industrialisation of Europe.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.1. Origins. Why Britain?

• Its geographical position → provided access to overseas markets and suppliers

• Its compact size → facilitated use of water transport

• Abundance of natural resources → iron, coal, water…

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.1. Population growth.

• Between 1750-1830: Britain’s population went from 7.5 to 16 million people.

  • Why?: Improved nutrition, increased agricultural productivity, declining mortality rates.

• This population boom will contribute to providing the necessary workforce for emerging industries.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.2. Agricultural changes

• Majority of Britons earned their living through agriculture.

• Traditional open field system → better suited to subsistence farming and commercial production

• The change? The enclosure movement (division and privatisation of common lands)

  • The effect? Rural migration to cities.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.3. Migration to industrial towns.

• 1760 onwards → creation of new employment in industrial centres. (Industries were located in city centres, like London, so people from the countryside moved)

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.4. Technical innovations.

• Division of labour → worker specialisation in different tasks.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.4. Technical innovations. (Coal)

• Difficulties? → coal mining prone to flooding, some horses even had to pump water out of collieries)

• Solution? Creation of atmospheric steam engine (Newcomen, 1712) → Improved by James Watt 1760s-1770s.

• Effect? revolutionised the industry by making water removal more efficient and providing a new source of power for factories and mines.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.4. Technical innovations. (Iron)

• Difficulties? → Shortage of charcoal

• Solution? 1709, Abraham Darby pioneered the use of coke instead of charcoal for smelting iron.

• Effect? made large-scale production possible and provided the materials for the construction of machinery, railways, bridges…

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.4. Technical innovations. (Textiles and technology)

• Difficulties? → Spinning was pushed to its limits due to high demand (growing population)

• Solution? → 1764 Hargreaves created the spinning jenny, 1769 Arkwright created the water frame, 1769 Crompton created the spinning mule 1779.

• Effect? revolution of textile industry

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.2.4. Technical innovations. (Changes in transport)

• Difficulties? → High demand of goods = movement

• Solution? → 1761 creation of the Bridgewater Canal (transport of coal from Worsley to Manchester), 1825 Stockton and Darlington Railway, 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

• Effect? → High efficiency, cost reduction. BY 1840, appr. 2,400 miles of track had been laid, more mobile society.

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.3. Social and political consequences. Distribution of wealth.

• Despite Empire, poor distribution, wealth gap increases.

• Women and children vulnerable, exploited as part of workforce.

• Despite hardships, social mobility was promoted and establishment of middle classes (skilled workers, artisans, shopkeepers, etc.)

2. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

2.2. Main factors. 2.3. Social and political consequences. Political landscape.

• Reform Acts of 1832 → expanded voting rights to a larger portion of the population

• Factory Acts → limited working hours, restricted child labor, and improved working conditions

• Others: prison reform, reduction of harsh legal punishment, compulsory elementary school.

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.1. Introduction

• Dickens, Disraeli, Gaskell, Kingsley were concerned with:

  • Crime

  • Poverty

  • The effect of overpopulation (London) and industrialisation

• Free trade and laissez-fare economy:

  • + → encouraged individual initiative

  • - → vulnerable working class (exploited), unregulated capitalist system

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

• First author to be PM and writer (Q. Vic)

• Born Jewish but baptised Anglican.

• Struggled with DEBT in his early life.

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) Novels?

• Vivian Grey (1826) and The Young Duke (1831)

  • Reflect interests in politics

• Sybil; or the Two Nations (1845)

  • Concept of two nations: one of the wealthy and the vulnerable

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) Politics

• Young England movement

• Tory Democracy (1840s)

SHAPED HIS LITERATURE!!!

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) Life

• Clergyman

• Novelist

• Main founder of Christian socialist movement

  • Sought to promote social justice and awareness on working-class struggles

  • STRONG commitment to Christian values and social responsibility

“Social reform should come from cooperation, education, moral improvement, not from political revolution”

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) Novels

• Yeast (1848) → experiences of the rural poor

• Alton Locke (1850) → struggles of urban artisans and Chartist movement

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) Life and novels

• Top Victorian writer to depict the struggles under industrialisation and social struggles.

• Ruth (1853) → difficulties of unmarried Victorian women.

• Mary Barton (1848) → Manchester. Working class conflict, employers vs. employees.

• North and South (1855) → Tensions between capitalists and labourers.

3. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL NOVEL

3.2. Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) She was a realist.

• Sought to encourage

  • Compassion

  • Social awareness

• Deeply concerned with

  • Social reform

  • Human dignity