London: city, country, and empire in the Industrial Age

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What was the Industrial Age?

• The Industrial Age was a period in human history during which civilizations began to industrialize. It started with the Industrial Revolution in Britain and then spread across the world. The industrial revolution brought about many new technologies that could be used to speed up the manufacturing of goods. Some of the most notable advancements were done in the textile and transportation industries. The textile industry was dramatically changed by the invention of mechanical spinning machines which cut the workload and time required to make fabric down to almost nothing. Transportation was revolutionized by the creation of the steam engine which led to trains and steam powered ships.

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Why was London [Britain] the center of the Industrial Revolution?

• Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Britain relied heavily on lumber as a form of fuel. The lumber supply in Britain was depleted as the country’s population increased in size. Over time the distance which timber had to be carried increased. This made lumber become expensive. A new type of cheap fuel was necessary to continue providing energy. This new fuel was coal. Britain was situated upon ground that was abundant with it. Coal mining led to new technologies that would allow more mining. The most significant of these technologies were water pumps which were necessary to mine coal from greater depths as deeper mines often flooded. Steam engine pumps powered by coal provided a seemingly endless source of energy and led to other important steam powered technologies.
• Britain became a center of invention and thought. Inventors flocked to the city and created more technological advancements.
• The naval power of Britain was unmatched by any other country. This was used to the country’s advantage; coal was transported from the mines to cities such as London where it was used to power the factories and machinery. Britain also imported a many goods from other countries around the world. These were usually raw materials which the factories in London turned into finished products (particularly cotton).

What was life in London like during the Industrial Age?

• London was the largest city in the world. Its population increased by more than six fold from the 1 million people it had in 1801 to 6.6 million in 1901. Much of this increase was from the migration that occurred with industrialization, but there were also immigrants looking for opportunity.
• The city was ill adapted to handle such numbers of people, so the poorer portion of London’s inhabitants usually lived in basements or small rooms. These tiny living quarters contained entire families and sometimes animals.
• London had cleanliness problems. These problems came from both factory pollution and human waste. Because the city was so overcrowded much of the wastes created by people could not be disposed of and more efficient methods to dispose of wastes had to be devised. Diseases were prevalent due to the lack of sanitation.
• Despite the immense overcrowding, diseases, and other problems that came with the large city, London was still a bustling center of economics and industrial growth.

Environmental Effects

• Pollution was perhaps the biggest environment effect which occurred from London’s industrialization. In particular, the burning of coal inflicted a great deal of damage on the ecosystems which surrounded the city. It created massive smoke clouds that hung of London and nearby areas. The smoky air covered planets and darkened them, slowly killing them off by blocking off the sun. The city’s buildings were also blackened by the smoke. People had difficulty breathing the smoky air and many died as a result.
• Wastes were often left out in the streets or cast into the River Thames. The flow of the Thames, however, did not work well for waste disposal; the tides of the river would carry the waste right back to the city. Entire barges carrying waste were also dumped into the North Sea, wreaking havoc on the oceanic ecosystem.
• The authorities in London did eventually recognize these problems and instigated policies to reduce pollution. Factories were required to show that they had the “best practical means” of reducing pollution. The city’s sewer system was overhauled as part of an effort to cut down on wastes.
• The British indirectly damaged countless ecosystems from their imports. Exotic animals were hunted for luxury materials and forests were cut down to make room for cotton fields which would get imported to Britain.
Ethics and the Industrial Age
• The industrial age brought forth many large ethical issues, most of which are still relevant today.
• For the first time, pollution became an issue that severely threatened people’s lives, causing authorities to take action in order to reduce the problem. They didn’t, however, entirely remove the issue.
• Labor and worker rights reached a much larger presence than they had before. Factory workers, usually children, worked long hours operating dangerous machinery with minimal pay.

Discussion Questions

• In what ways has the Industrial Age impacted the world today?
• What could have been done differently with the industrialization of London in order to reduce some the environmental problems which they ran into?
• “The sun never sets on the British empire” is a phrase which is often used to describe the size of the land controlled by Britain. How did Britain’s colonies and territories fuel their industrialization?

Works Cited

BBC. "Why the Industrial Revolution happened in Britain." BBC History. BBC, 14 Jan 2013. Web. 29 Sep 2013. .

Brown, Robert W. "The City in European History: London in the Nineteenth Century." The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 16 Apr 2004. Web. 29 Sep 2013. .

History Channel. "Industrial Revolution." History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 29 Sep 2013. .

Hughes, J. Donald. An Environmental History of the World. 2nd. New York: Routledge, 2009. 133-141. Print.