Victorian Britain: Society, Politics, and Industrial Change

Victorian Era: Politics, Society, and Conflict

Monarchical Power and Victorian Attitudes

• Queen Victoria's Character: The young queen revealed herself as a stern, self-determined moralist. Her personal experiences often contradicted the prevailing ethos of the age, highlighting a significant divergence between what Victorians proclaimed and what they practiced or experienced.
• Victorian Facade: The perceived British superiority, often expressed as the English nation delivering "civilization and the blessings of peace" globally, was a facade. Beneath this lay the understanding that wars were the inherent price of such global influence.
• Ideal Victorian Image: A queen on the throne was seen as a "moral goddess" and domestically inclined, with a husband who knew his place but also contributed to the nation. The Great Exhibition further underscored the national belief in British uniqueness and unparalleled superiority, fostering intense international competition.

Palmerston's Foreign Policy and Nationalism

• Last Monarchical Interference: Queen Victoria's involvement marked one of the last instances of monarchical power directly interfering in British politics.
• Palmerston's Actions: Palmerston was an advocate for reform, though not for Black people. He supported his ultimatum by deploying a full naval squadron through the Pacific, past Gibraltar, despite unsuccessful French mediation efforts. He even threatened to attack Athens to maintain British influence.
• Public Reception: Despite these assertive, even aggressive, foreign policy tactics, the public greatly admired Palmerston, considering him among the greatest prime ministers. He famously defended his successes in the House of Commons in June $1850$, culminating in the declaration: "I, as Civis Romanus Sum" (Latin for "I am a Roman citizen"), invoking the ancient Roman right to protection from harm globally.
• Rise of Nationalism: Palmerston became a significant figure in deciphering nationalism across the continent.
  • France as an Enemy: By $1852$, Napoleon III consolidated power, leading to France once again being perceived as a national enemy.
  • Volunteer Movement: A volunteer movement was launched to harness middle-class patriotic enthusiasm, becoming a considerable success, with many middle-class sons enlisting.
  • Duke of Wellington's Death: In the same year, $1851$, the Duke of Wellington died, receiving a massive state funeral, symbolizing national reverence.

The Crimean War ($1853$-$1856$)

• Origin of Middle East Conflicts: The "contestation between European powers to take over the crumbling Ottoman Empire" is identified as the historical source of present discontents in the Middle East.
• Defense of Turkey: European powers, committed to defending "Turkey, the sick man of Europe," swiftly engaged in the conflict. British self-confidence, buoyed by the Great Exhibition, propelled them into the fray.
• Palmerston's Role: In $1853$, Palmerston was Home Secretary, not in charge of foreign affairs, serving under Prime Minister Aberdeen.
• Catalyst for War: Russia's claims over the custody of holy places in Palestine, asserting rights as protectors of the faith, sparked the conflict.
• Allied Objectives: It was widely believed that Russia had to be defeated. The strategic target was the naval base of Sevastopol, crucial for mobilizing the Russian fleet and protecting Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).
• The Siege of Sevastopol: The siege proved to be protracted and difficult.
  • Charge of the Light Brigade: During the siege, the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade occurred. It was a military blunder where Russians unexpectedly backed the British into a blind alley, forcing them to charge against overwhelming odds, resulting in the elimination of many soldiers. It led to the deaths of approximately $600$ people.
  • Leadership Failures: The old aristocratic leaders, with the exception of Palmerston, were deemed inadequate. French commanders were timid; the British commander, Lord Raglan, mistakenly referred to the Russian enemy as "the French," still mentally engaged in previous conflicts.
  • Tennyson's Poem: Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem immortalized the event. While appearing to arouse for battle, it served as an effective anti-war poem by highlighting the tragic and senseless loss of $600$ lives due to a blunder, thus revealing the true cost of battle.

Working Class Resistance and Social Change

Luddism

• Nature: Luddism was not primarily a belief system but a set of practices focused on machine breaking. It represented a physical reaction to the infringement of workers' rights, specifically the right to work.
• Goal: The aim was to restore equilibrium between masters and employees by breaking machines that threatened livelihoods. It was an anti-technological position, highly targeted, and intended to make a point: to bring society back to its collective base, emphasizing community over individual wealth disparity.
• Historical Significance: Luddism serves as a historical model of worker resistance, recognized as one of the three foundational traditions of working-class radicalism.

Chartism

• Historical Context: Chartism is considered one of the earliest movements of the "eighteenth century," representing one of the most comprehensive programs for democracy ever proposed, harkening back to the Levellers of the $17^{th}$ century.
• Key Demands (Six Points):
  • One man, one vote.
  • Paid Members of Parliament (a $17^{th}$-century demand to ensure representation beyond just landed gentry).
  • And other six points, not enumerated but understood as part of a complete program.

Malthusian Crisis

• Robert Malthus: An Anglican clergyman who authored the pivotal essay Principles of Population.
• The Crisis: The Malthusian crisis, a significant concern for governors of the period, posited a scenario where a working class became so large, unruly, and well-fed that it produced too many children, leading to insufficient food resources for the population.

The Industrial Revolution: A Transformative Force

• Definition: The Industrial Revolution signified fundamental changes in patterns of production, shifting work from homes to dedicated workspaces and irrevocably altering employment conditions for everyone.
• Impact on Livelihoods: It dramatically changed people's lives within a single generation. For example, a farmer in $1770$ accustomed to a particular standard of life found that way of life no longer sustainable.
• Material Progress vs. Poverty: While society, in a broad sense, became materially better off than ever before, the Industrial Revolution also led to an increase in the number of impoverished people.
• Erosion of Traditional Support: In the pre-industrial "moral economy" of the early modern period, there was a societal obligation where landowners would often ensure their tenants had enough food through the winter. This contrasted sharply with the industrial economy.
• Urban Hardship: Workers living in industrial shantytowns, such as those in Manchester, lacked access to traditional support systems. These cities were often filthy and unhealthy, though public sanitation efforts (checking water, improving surroundings) eventually began to mitigate some issues.
• Destruction of Way of Life: A whole generation lost their traditional livelihoods. While new communities eventually formed in towns, slums were cleared, and conditions improved, this process took time, leaving many without traditional means of support.
• Shift in Social Relations and Moral Economy: The Industrial Revolution fundamentally altered social relations and the prevailing moral economy:
  • Early Modern Period: Characterized by a "moral economy" that asserted everyone's right to eat and a societal obligation to care for the starving (e.g., through parish alms).
  • Industrial Era: This framework was discarded. The new ideology held that if individuals couldn't provide for themselves, they should be sent to workhouses. Mill owners, for instance, felt no moral obligation beyond providing a weekly wage; workers were expected to endure harsh conditions and not complain. This represented a shift from thickly connected social webs within counties to individuals being wrenched from their social contexts into alien urban environments and work.

Frankenstein as a Victorian Symbol

• Initial Reception: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was initially perceived as a great Gothic tale of horror, a wild and scary story featuring the reanimation of a man through electricity.
• Evolving Symbolism in Victorian Era: As Victorians became more accustomed to the story, Frankenstein evolved into a potent symbol representing any "unnatural combination" in social relations.
  • Trade Unions: Viewed as Frankensteins that could turn against their creators.
  • Women: Occasionally likened to Frankensteins, acting in their perceived self-interest rather than that of others.
  • Oppressed Peoples: The creature could also symbolize enslaved people across the empire fighting for freedom or indigenous populations, representing the deliberate bringing together of disparate elements in society.
  • Lesson: Frankenstein became a symbol of what should be "eschewed"—avoided—in social relations due to its unnatural implications.

Exam Information

• Structure: The exam will consist of five identification questions (IDs) and one essay, with a choice of three essay prompts.
• ID Flexibility: Students have the option to create some of their own IDs or questions to answer, encouraging demonstration of wider reading and critical thinking beyond the provided models.
• Purpose: The exam aims to assess understanding of assigned readings (e.g., Mary Martin, Frankenstein) and lecture content.
• Format: IDs are short essays, approximately one page or half a page per ID.
• Time Allocation: Approximately $20$ minutes per ID is suggested.