English culture and history of the UK IV
Turn of the century
We see a spirit of rebellion
o French revolution inspired other countries
o Irish rebellion (at this point Ireland was not part of the UK, but England had a
strong hold on Ireland)
Irish were governed mostly by England Irish rebelled against that
led to an official merge of Ireland with Great Britain in the 19 th century
o American war
Is not the war for independence
o Peterloo massacre in Manchester
= result of workers rebelling, wanting better working conditions
ended not so well, several people got killed and hundreds were
wounded (first rebelling of working class)
19th century was the century of industrialization, Great Britain was at
to foreground of industrialization
Workers were treated very poorly right from the start they
protested against this
Revolutionary and reactionary spirit in Britain
o Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
Pleaded against despotism
He was not against the monarchy per se , but against the spathic
monarchs
o Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Man / Woman
Does plead for a republic and against the aristocracy (Man)
Pleaded for more rights for women, education for women, etc.
(Woman)
1
, English culture and history of the UK IV
Slavery
Almost all colonies relied on slaves
o Not a lot of slaves in Great Britain itself, but in their colonies
o It was illegal in Britain and Britain had a lot of poor people they could exploit
18th century: Small black community in Britain
o Consisting of: freed slaves, servants and seafarers)
Raise of the abolitionist movement
o In favor of abolishing the slave trade
First bill was proposed late 18th century, but was rejected
19th century: another bill was proposed where abolition has passed in British
Empire
o However, it was in law it was not enforced
o not until half 19th century when slavery was outlawed
o Gustavus Vassa (Equiana)
An abolished campaigner from Nigeria + freed slave himself
Because of people like him the abolished movement gained attraction
This is also why slavery happened sooner in the UK than in the US
Britain was not economically dependent on slavery
Existence of small black communities in UK some are
servants who are educated English saw them as people
Social problems
Industrialization increased population public health issues
19th century: Poor Law Amendment Act: workhouses
o Under Elizabethan times a first Poor Law was passed, providing some care for
the poorest people in parishes in England amended in 19th century
o Workhouses = places where people could work if they didn’t find employment
elsewhere in return, they could live in that house (technically) in reality
this was a system that led to a lot of abuse
2
Turn of the century
We see a spirit of rebellion
o French revolution inspired other countries
o Irish rebellion (at this point Ireland was not part of the UK, but England had a
strong hold on Ireland)
Irish were governed mostly by England Irish rebelled against that
led to an official merge of Ireland with Great Britain in the 19 th century
o American war
Is not the war for independence
o Peterloo massacre in Manchester
= result of workers rebelling, wanting better working conditions
ended not so well, several people got killed and hundreds were
wounded (first rebelling of working class)
19th century was the century of industrialization, Great Britain was at
to foreground of industrialization
Workers were treated very poorly right from the start they
protested against this
Revolutionary and reactionary spirit in Britain
o Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
Pleaded against despotism
He was not against the monarchy per se , but against the spathic
monarchs
o Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Man / Woman
Does plead for a republic and against the aristocracy (Man)
Pleaded for more rights for women, education for women, etc.
(Woman)
1
, English culture and history of the UK IV
Slavery
Almost all colonies relied on slaves
o Not a lot of slaves in Great Britain itself, but in their colonies
o It was illegal in Britain and Britain had a lot of poor people they could exploit
18th century: Small black community in Britain
o Consisting of: freed slaves, servants and seafarers)
Raise of the abolitionist movement
o In favor of abolishing the slave trade
First bill was proposed late 18th century, but was rejected
19th century: another bill was proposed where abolition has passed in British
Empire
o However, it was in law it was not enforced
o not until half 19th century when slavery was outlawed
o Gustavus Vassa (Equiana)
An abolished campaigner from Nigeria + freed slave himself
Because of people like him the abolished movement gained attraction
This is also why slavery happened sooner in the UK than in the US
Britain was not economically dependent on slavery
Existence of small black communities in UK some are
servants who are educated English saw them as people
Social problems
Industrialization increased population public health issues
19th century: Poor Law Amendment Act: workhouses
o Under Elizabethan times a first Poor Law was passed, providing some care for
the poorest people in parishes in England amended in 19th century
o Workhouses = places where people could work if they didn’t find employment
elsewhere in return, they could live in that house (technically) in reality
this was a system that led to a lot of abuse
2
