REVISION: Britain, 1830-1930

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REVISION Britain, 1830-1930

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POPULATION

• Between 1830 and 1930 the population more than
  doubled
• There were shifts in population from rural areas
  to urban areas
• PULL FACTORS
• Better job prospects in the city
• More to do in the city
• A desire to be with family members

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Population continued

• PUSH FACTORS
• Highland Clearances
• Irish/Highland Potato Famines
• Job loss due to introduction of machinery
• OTHER FACTORS
• Better healthcare meant people lived longer
• Better pay meant people married younger and had
  bigger families

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FARMING

• Farming techniques were improved between 1830 and
  1930
• New machines like the combine harvester and
  threshing machine were introduced
• New techniques in breeding came about
• Enclosures replaced strip farming
• Fertilisers were better

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FARMING PEOPLE

• Many labourers lost their jobs due to new ploughs
  etc
• Farming and rural communities suffered
• As city populations grew more food had to be
  produced so existing farmers were very busy

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INDUSTRY Coal Mining

• Most coalfields were in the Central Belt
• Demand for coal was created by
• Industry, e.g. factories
• Transport, e.g. trains and steamers
• Fuel for houses
• Early mines were called bell pits
• Later mines were called board pillar

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Coal Mining - jobs

• Young children opened trap doors for the trolleys
• TRAPPERS
• HEWERS
• Men or older boys cut the coal
• BEARERS
• Carts full of cut coal were dragged by women and
  children

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Coal Mining C20

• Mines were nationalised during WW1
• Coal was so essential during WW1 that miners were
  exempt from active service
• After the war conditions suffered and the demand
  for coal dropped
• Miners went on strike to get better conditions
  but this failed

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TRANSPORT Railways

• The first trains were on wooden track down the
  mines
• In 1812 the first railway was authorised by
  Parliament
• George Stephensons Rocket was one of the first
  locomotives
• In 1830 the average speed of trains was 36 mph
• In 1830 there were 69 miles of railway, but by
  1870 there were 15,557 miles of track!

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Benefits of Railway

• People could go on holiday to other parts of the
  UK
• Food could get to market much quicker
• Mail could be delivered much faster
• Common time was now kept because of timetables
• People could move out of over-crowded cities and
  commute from rural areas
• Created jobs, e.g. building the Forth Bridge

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Disadvantages of Railway

• It caused pollution
• It destroyed some of the landscape
• Some people were initially swindled out of their
  land
• Some people were injured or killed on the tracks
• Farms could be badly affected

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Other modes of transport

• By the 1920s it was not uncommon for people to
  use a motor car
• Buses and lorries had also been invented by the
  end of our course
• Ship building (luxury liners and war ships) was a
  huge industry in Glasgow.
• Trams were popular in some cities.

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HOUSING AND HEALTH

• A growing population meant that cities became
  over-crowded
• Some new towns developed because of industry or
  population increases
• The poor tended to live in homes with poor
  sanitation, not enough windows and with a lack of
  running water
• Typically the poor lived in back-to-back tenements

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Other Housing

• People who had become financially successful
  during the Industrial Revolution were able to
  live in terraced or semi-detached homes with
  gardens, inside toilets and running water.
• Very rich people could afford a town house
  (usually 3 storeys) and a country mansion with
  servants quarters

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Improvements in Housing

• World War One highlighted poverty to the
  government
• Lloyd George wanted homes fit for heroes
• New homes built had water, toilets, windows and
  many rooms
• Wheatley Act of 1924 meant council houses had to
  be built
• Slum clearances were also carried out

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Health

• Health problems among poor people often stemmed
  from bad housing and poor sanitation.
• The worst epidemic of the time was cholera which
  killed thousands of people
• Cholera was caused by drinking infected water
• Other common diseases were smallpox,
  tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid

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Health Improvements

• The invention of the microscope meant doctors
  (like Robert Koch) could link germs to diseases
  like cholera
• Big cities got clean water supplies e.g. Loch
  Katrine Reservoir in Glasgow, 1876
• Better diet, thanks to better transport
• Cheaper soaps etc became available
• Better medicines, vaccinations and antiseptics
  became available in hospitals
• Public Health Act 1875 made sure the streets were
  clean

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Democracy

• In 1830 only wealthy, male landowners could
  become MPs or vote
• Voting took place in hustings
• 1832 saw the Great Reform Act which gave the vote
  to some Middle Class males
• 1867 Reform Act expanded the vote to all Middle
  Class men and some Working Class men
• 1884 Act gave even more men in the rural areas
  the vote
• In 1872 the Secret Ballot Act was introduced
• In 1911 MPs received a salary for the 1st time

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Democracy for Women

• The Representation of the Peoples Act of 1918
  gave women over 30 the vote
• The Representation of the Peoples Act of 1928
  gave women over 21 the vote, which gave them
  equal voting rights with men
• Women got the vote because of
• The NUWSS
• The WSPU
• World War I

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Other Changes for Women

• After WWI women no longer had to go out with a
  chaperone
• Women cut their hair and started to dress how
  they wanted to
• Women could work where they wanted but would not
  get equal pay until the 1960s
• Women could go to University and make a career
  for themselves as a doctor, lawyer, teacher or
  businesswoman

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Main Changes

• UKs population more than doubled
• Industry overtook agriculture as the main
  employer
• Middle Class and Working Class people gained more
  democratic rights
• Women stopped being classed as second class
  citizens
• Everyone got healthier
• It became easier to move around the county