lunes, 10 de noviembre de 2008

Industrial revolution: Victorian age




One of the most important facts during world’s history was the industrial revolution. This revolution brought a lot of different changes in; family structure, transportation, manufacturing, etc. Although most of the people thought that those changes will be good for everybody, the only ones who took advantages of them were the rich people.
I have read the article “Industrialism: Progress or Decline?” and “1830s – 1900 The age of reform”.

In Europe, at the beginning of the 18th century, all was completely normal. The rich people lived in the city while the farmers and the ones who work in agriculture lived in the countryside. The problem began with the invention of different machines which helped to the development of many industries. After a while large buildings called factories appeared giving job to a lot of people. As a consequence, the population increased a lot and many people from the country side moved to the city looking for better opportunities. It is like this, that the working class appeared. The salaries were really low, they worked 14 hours per day, and the way they were living was not human. But, one of most shocking things were that instead of hiring men the factories began to hired women and children. They were less expensive and did not ask for much.




This is the main criticism the first article does. It explains that factories were exploiting women and children, and they did not care about their health, way of living, family issues, etc. Children were not able to play any more and women were not at home raising their children; they were working, trying to earn some money to feed their families.

I think this was terrible. It is not human to use children because they are not going to fight for their rights. Also, it is not human to take advantage of those who are innocent and who do not have anyone who can stand for them. I think it was really brave of those writers who decided to tell the real story that was happening during those days. They show to the whole world the suffering that most of the people were living.

In the second article they explain the same as the first, but with the difference that it talks about what happened next. The working class wanted to be respected. They wanted fair salaries and also better conditions in the factories. A reform bill was done in 1831 but it did not succeed. In 1848, almost in every country of Europe, the working class started a revolution. Those revolutions ended differently depending on the country.

The consequences of the industrial revolution were many. Transport was something that was improved during those days. The opening of the first rail was a big success People were now able to move from the country side to the city in a short period of time. Migration also brought some bad consequences. Food and water was not able for everyone, due to the increased f the population, people were living in bad conditions, and hospitals were only for wealthy people. The poem, “The Cry of the Children” By Elizabeth Barrett, reflect how much children suffered during that period, how sad they were and how much they need someone who protected them.

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