Life at the Turn of the Century in Britain- January 2nd, 1900
The social and political mood at the end of the century
There was an optimistic social and political mood in Britain at the end of the 19th century due to the tremendous steps that the country had made leading to great development of the country. The industrial revolution had played a crucial part in changing the way society in Britain carried out things as a result of the various new inventions as well as innovations that were instrumental in the creation of a new and modern outlook towards life. At first, the industrial revolution resulted in negative results as the living conditions in most of the cities became unsanitary in addition to becoming impoverished.
There was increased unemployment as artisans found themselves jobless as the new factories produced various products in bulk through the use of machinery that were operated just by a few skilled people. Most of the employees in these factories were harsh working conditions with most of them being underpaid. Food became expensive with most workers going without food while the use of child labor increased tenfold. This social situation eventually changed as a result of the capital gains that Britain achieved as a result from the numerous international trading ventures that saw the country became the most powerful country of the time.
This economic advancements resulted in an empowering of the people as they were now provided with the necessary social amenities. There were new medical discoveries that led to the provision of better treatment of various diseases leading to better overall health within the society. Scientific advancements resulted into improved production capacities in the industries. There were also better construction techniques that led to the development of better houses that were much stronger and long lasting as compared to those constructed before.
The political mood was characterized by the need for increased independence of the country as well as control over other overseas territories that would be achieved through imperialism so as to expand the British Empire enabling the country to continue its powerful position around the world. Because of its military strength and technological advancement, Britain was in a position to control most of the world’s trade through political and economic dominance.
What did the British newspaper hope for the new century?
The article in the times London dated January 2nd 1900 entitled “THE LONDON CITY MISSION” indicates new hope for the new century. The London City missionaries had had their meeting at the Exeter hall where they had revisited their activities for the past one year which mainly involved visiting around 650 families which also included visits to the sick and dying and several testaments as well as religious tracts were distributed to the people. As a result of the missionaries’ activities, 5475 persons had been induced to attend worship with 1751 becoming communicants while 562 members were restored to the church communion (infotrac.galegroup.com.linus.lmu.edu).
The Scottish saving investment company had held their annual general meeting that had been conducted in the Dowell’s rooms in Edinburgh. The report put forward had recommended that members be awarded a 5 percent dividend. They also proposed that the directors of the company be remunerated twenty five pounds (infotrac.galegroup.com.linus.lmu.edu).
Had life improved for the population?
The quality of life for most of the people had improved by the end of the 19th century. The industrial revolution experienced in the 19th century had resulted in the creation of various industries that were producing numerous finished goods for consumption domestically as well as for sale in foreign markets around the world. This had in turn resulted in the need for a huge labor force that was required to run the various machines used in the industries. As such, there was a widespread increase in employment within the population as new industries were created while the old ones were running as well. These industries required both skilled and unskilled labor thus were impartial in offering employment especially to the large unskilled labor force which provided the huge amount of manual labor needed to run these industries.
The marked increase in population that was experienced in the 19th century led to a large amount of labor force that the previous feudalistic economy could not support such a labor force. There were rather high rates of unemployment at the time in Britain that was coupled with other socioeconomic problems that affected people in society rendering them to live in poverty. This situation changed though as a result of the economic gains that the industrial revolution brought with people getting better pay and the government was able to provide crucial social amenities to the public such as free education, security, better sanitation, proper housing and medical care.
How did imperialism and nationalism affect the outlook for the new century?
Imperialism and nationalism played a major role in determining the outlook of the new century in Britain. The industrial revolution had led to the creation of a great need for additional raw materials to support the ever increasing number of industries that were coming up within the country. In order to acquire these raw materials, the British had to embark onto imperialism that entailed colonial expansion involving the acquisition of overseas territories. As a result of this move, Britain was able to add about 400 million people into the British Empire as well as 10,000,000 square miles as part of the British Empire.
The dominant position that Britain acquired with regards to world trade enabled it to effectively control the economies of various countries. The increasing industrialization among the European countries made them to accelerate the expansion process so as to ensure that they were able to secure new colonies to provide them with the necessary raw materials as well as markets for their final goods. Since Britain was considered to be the industrial hub manufacturing a great amount of products for the various markets around the world, it was important that it would be able to acquire raw materials to sustain this lead in production.
Nationalism entails the identification of an individual’s social identity with one’s nation. It usually involves a believe that one’s nation is important and therefore leads to the creation of a collective identity within the people of a country. Nationalism played a great role in shaping the new outlook of the new century since most British nationals believed in the need of creating a strong and powerful nation that was unrivalled within Europe. The need for national prestige was of great concern to the people of Britain and therefore regarded British supremacy as paramount to the existence of the country.
Work cited
THE LONDON CITY MISSION.-The New Year’s Category. April 14, 2010
http://infotrac.galegroup.com.linus.lmu.edu/itw/infomark/104/928/70193713w16 /purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS84338
