The Victorian Age

Victorian Age

There are 3 phases of this period:

• The ‘30-‘40s: after Napoleonic wars the economy is in trouble; in England there weren’t rules about industrialisation.
• The ‘50-‘70s: it was a rich period for many people; good marketing and lots of discover. Many reforms were passing for children education, workers safety,… Middle classes rose up and reached the power of aristocracy; it’s called the “Age of contradictions” or the “Age of novel/fiction”.
• The ‘80-‘90s: Germany and USA rose up and challenged UK economical predominance, the empire start to be too much big for a powerful control.

The Great Exhibition (universal exhibition) of the 1851 in London was a great occasion to show the industrial power of the U.K. In 1876 Queen Victoria was acclaimed Empress of India.

The colonial empire was so big (Australia, South Africa, Caribbean isles, Pacific isles, Bermuda, India) that English citizens start to be in doubt of this political line: cruel colonisations, money for bureaucracy and for soldiers; the empire costs were too heavy for U.K. economics.

Reforms

• The People's Charter (1838): presented by a radical group, talk about electios but failed its objective. Points: Universal suffrage over 25 years of age, salary for members of parliament, annual election, secret ballots.
• 1840s: new laws for workers: reduce daily working hours, improve safety, sanitarian protection, more rights in general.
• First reform Bill (1842): vote for all the male who had a certain annual income (not so high), reform of constituency because the population distribution changed radically in those years.
• Second reform Bill (1867): the annual income to vote is lower.
• 1872: the secret ballots become law.

The 6 points of "The People's Charter" (1838)

1)    A vote for every man 21 years of age , of sound mind, and not undergoing punishment for crime.

2)    The secret ballot. To protect the elector in the exercise in his vote.

3)    No property qualification for members of parliament, thus enabling the constituencies to return the men of their choice, be he rich or poor.

4)    Payment of members, thus enabling an honest tradesman, working man, or other person, to serve a constituency, when taken from his business to attend to the interests of the Country.

5)    Equal Constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the vote of large ones.

6)    Annual parliaments, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and intimidation, seems though a constituency might be vote once in 7 years, even with the ballot, no purse could buy a constituency under a system of universal suffrage in each ensuing twelvemonth; and seems members when elected for a year only would not be able to defy and betray their constituency like now.