Lecture II The Historical Background of Victorianism (not VICTORIANA a miscellaneous !ie" #ut a coherent !

!ision of the age$ %the lecture has used the introductor& 'art of the hand#ook (I( )irra Contributions of the British 19th c the Victorian Age to the History of Literature and Ideas), *(+( Tre!el&an An Illustrated History of Britain (#ook the ,th "hich deals "ith the -.th centur& cha/'ters I0 IV trad 1l( and 2(Hurmu3achi$ and 4ohn +( +acken3ie (ed$ The Victorian Vision ch( -/ 56m'ire and the *lo#al Vision78 %9 histor&:: 8 The -.th c a second centur& of s'ectacular transformations of the landsca'e (o"ing to canals then rail"a&s "hich 'ermitted the trans'ortation of "ood then coal then hea!& industr& 'roducts at a distance$( ;r#ani3ation and moderni3ation of life as a result a tremendous gro"th of 'o'ulation( These "ere the outcome of the accumulation of "ealth and of modern commodities and ser!ices in a countr& "here there e<isted 'olitical sta#ilit& and 'rogress( The British state "as a 'olit& a 'ros'erous and 'eaceful ca'italistic state( The non0inter!entionist state "as organi3ed so as to #enefit the ca'italistic entre'reneurs according to the laisse30faire doctrine "hich allo"ed the market forces to act freel& i(e( "ithout the interference of the state in o#taining 'rofit the o'eration of the in!isi#le hand of the market = free trade = free markets %in 2ickens>s ur !utual "riend (-?,@$ 'art of the %'lot8 re!ol!es around huge hea's of dust su''osed to contain goldA the& are in the &ard of the house no" o"ned #& The *olden 2ustman no" the heir of a rich entre'reneur( T"o tram's decide to take o!er #& ruse #& hook and #& crook the e<'anse of dust mounds and #ecome rich8 Literature sho"ed the dark side of the Bgold industr&> (and moderni3ation$0 the creation of a #lack countr& of coal0ridden to"ns cf( Coketo"n in 2ickens>s Hard Ti#es(-?C@$ 1actors of 'rogressD 0 economicall& the e<tending industrial re!olution (the hea!& industr&D coal iron shi'#uilding steam energ& and machiner&A the #oom in trans'orts and the communication industr& (the rail"a& s&stem and the first metro'olitan in -?,/A the s'read of the telegra'h facilities the in!ention of the intercontinental ca#le$A the commodit& goods industr& all of "hich amounted to the creation of the modern mass market (toda& the consumerist "orld a "orld of cons'icuos consum'tion cf( the American author Thorstein Ee#len "riting at the turn of the -.th centur&$( 0'oliticall&0 as regards Home Affairs the im'lementation of reforms "hich caused the 'arliamentar& regime to turn from an aristocratic one (old Ehig and Tor&$ to a middle0class democratic regime( The democratic measures (legislation$ led to the 'eaceful moderni3ation of the societ& "ithout allo"ing an& radical (re!olutionar& !iolent or 4aco#in$ 'olitical changes to occur and defusing the 'olitical 'otential of the dissatisfied lo"er classes( Ftages of moderni3ation (i(e( the harmoni3ation of the 'olitical economic and social as'ects of life to suit the 'rogressi!e forces$D -( In the -?G/s D the gradual 'eaceful CONFTIT;TIONAL (i(e( legal$ transfer of general 'arliamentar& 'o"er from the hands of the rural aristocrac& to those of the ur#an middle classes #& the Catholic emanci'ation ( -?G/$ and the gradual enfranchisement of the ur#an 'o'ulation "ho !oted in !irtue of their share of the "ealth of the British nation (first -/ 'ounds "orth of annual rent$ and not in !ie" of the tradition 'ri!ileging rotten (fake ine<istent$ #oroughs (market to"ns$ at the e<'ense of the real inha#itants of the the #ig cities and to"ns( After the 1832 Reform Bill (Reforma parlamentar)

the +H>s sent to Harliament not onl& #& Anglicans and the old aristocrac& #ut also #& the Catholics and ur#an d"ellers( After the 1835 Municipal Corporation Act (Actul corporaiilor municipale) local go!ernment started 'ro!iding efficient ur#an ser!ices such asD education health se"age gas su''l& 'u#lic trans'ort housing #& organi3ing dail& ur#an life through cor'orations unions institutes colleges for %autodidactic8 acti!ities( In this "a& the ur#an 'o'ulation "as allo"ed to lead an orderl& #us& 'eaceful and 'roducti!e social life( %the Veneerings as "ould0#e aristocrats the class of the ne"l& rich8 In the same decade some measures "ere ado'ted for alle!iating the life of the 'oor %the 'eo'le on "hose #ehalf radical 'olitics "as had #een and "ould still #e "ielded in the -. th centur& e(g( the -?-. Heterloo +assacre on Ft( Heter>s 1ield in +anchester "hen 'eo'le militating for 'olitical rights i(e( re'resentation in 'arliament of their interests "ere decimated #& the 'olice and -I 'eo'le died man& more "ounded( Eithout !iolence the Chartists also militated #et"een -?G, -?C@ for 'arliamentar& re'resentation #ut "ith no results either( G(G million 'eo'le signed the -?@/ chart (out of a 'o'ulation of a#out I/ million "hich had gro"n from J million 'eo'le in -JI- to -@ million 'eo'le in -?I- and @I million in -.I- a 'o'ulation that had to #e fed housed em'lo&edA in fact #et"een -?@- and -./the 'o'ulation of Britain dou#led$( Instead of that the Hoor La" Amendment (Noua Lege a sKracilor$ of -?G@ created the "orkhouses a kind of 'rison for the 'oor( The 1actor& Acts #egun in -?GG tended to eliminate child la#our and gross o!er"orking in factories( Ftill according to BenLamin 2israeli in his no!el $ibyl or The T%o &ations (-?@C$ there e<isted t"o nations the rich and the 'oor in Britain( This accounts for the de!elo'ment of socialism t"o #rands of socialism at the end of the Victorian age to cham'ion the cause of o!erall 'rogress and 'ros'erit& not Lust for the middle classes #ut also for the lo"er classes( ;to'ian socialism "as anarchical and regressi!e it en!isaged the disesta#lishment of industr& and the return to the artisan>s manual "orkA it 'reached the com'lete annihilation of 'ro'ert& and discre'ancies "ithin mankind that it created( ;to'ian socialism 'romised creati!e ha''iness a romantic kind of ha''iness s'iritual ha''iness meant to re'lace 5the greatest ha''iness of the greatest num#ers7 i(e( utilitarian material ha''iness "hich had #een ad!ocated as earl& as the turn of the -? th centur& #& 4erem& Bentham and 4ames +ill( ;ltimatel& in kee'ing "ith the +ar<ian communist manifesto Eilliam +orris an artist Lust like Oscar Eilde ad!ocated the re'lacement of ca'italism #& communism and the a#solute li#eration of the "orker em'o"ered to li!e creati!el& as an artisan in a de0mechanicised uni!erse( %MuoteD H6V III 8 This e<tremel& radical #rand of socialism "as dou#led #& 1a#ian (moderate$ socialism "hich "anted to accomodate the lo"er classes "ithin the ca'italistic state scientificall& (i(e( rationall&$ seeking reforms meant to im'ro!e the e<isting conditions of the modern ca'italistic societ&( Fince to re'air things ill0concei!ed from the #eginning takes time and strenuous effort the socialist reforms could onl& #e carried out at a slo" 'ace i(e the& took 'atience and could #e inter'reted as creating dela&( %1a#ius Cunctator 8 I( In the -?@/s "ith the 1846 Repeal of the Corn a!" ( e#ile cerealelor) follo"ed #& the 184$ Repeal of the %a&i#ation Act" "as actuall& effected the remo!al of mono'olies in agriculture and na!igation li#eralising the market and securing chea' #read for "orkers at the same time as greater 'rofits for the entre'reneurs "ho 'roduced and trans'orted ( #ought=sold the ra" matter reMuired and the goods$( The -?@/s to the -?,/s "ere a 'eriod of 'ros'erit& and sta#ilit& at home in Britain "hile 'racticall& e!er& &ear of Victoria>s reign according to ch( -/ in The Victorian Vision, sa" militar& cam'aigns

a#road as 'art of an im'erial 'olic&( In the mid -.C/s Britain also 'artici'ated in the Crimean Ear (-?C@0C,$ on the side of Turke& against Russia( Of the same mind "ith re'u#lican 1rance at the time of Na'oleon III Britain "anted to maintain the #alance of 'o"er on the side of modern democrac& against the re'ressi!e 'o"er of the Hol& Alliance (Austria Hrussia Russia$ in 6uro'e and so as to sta!e off the e<'ansion of Russia in Asia "here Britain also had her o"n im'erial and economic interests famousl& in India( Fince the militar& disasters and defeats caught the imagination of the 'u#lic more easil& and efficientl& the most famous Crimean Ear 'oem is Tenn&son>s The Charge of the Light Brigade an occasional 'oem a#out the 'light of the regular soldiers due to such errors of command tactics and organi3ation as "ere famousl& chronicled in connection to that #attle( Britain>s im'erial Asian "ars co!ered China and Afghanistan ("ith "ars at the turn of the G/s and C/s$ Burma and India ("here Britain started ruling in force after the Indian +utin& or Re#ellion of -?CJ0 -?C.( The African "ars included an A#&ssinian cam'aign of -?,J the *old Coast "ar against the Ashanti Ningdom (in toda&>s *hana$ the Ca'e Colon& "ars "ith the e<'ansion of Britain in Trans!aal and the Boer "ars and "ith the creation of Rhodesia all of "hich led to the creation of a #uffer 3one in Fouth Africa against the e<'ansionist am#itions of *erman& es'eciall& thanks to the efforts of Fir Cecil Rhodes ("hose name "as gi!en to Rhodesia$ #ut also to a famous endo"ment for famous humanit& scholarshi's( In North Africa the control of the Fue3 Canal after its o'ening in -?,. "as secured naturall& #& the British since of e!er& C shi's crossing it @ "ere British( Ne<t under BenLamin 2israeli>s conser!ati!e rule the 6g&'tian shares "ere #ought #& a kind of informal im'erialism "hile at the same time in!asions of the 6g&'t and the Fudan "ere organi3ed in the earl& -??/s( 6!entuall& the British 6m'ire though decentrali3ed s'read o!er one fourth of the "orld fi!e continents and countries se!eral times greater than Britain (Canada for e<am'le "as @/ times the si3e of the British Isles$( (The ;nion "ith Ireland in -?/- #& the Act of ;nion makes us consider Britain had a 6uro'ean colon& as late as the -. th centur& and the stud& of this colon&>s histor& re!eals !er& closel& a fe" truths a#out colonialism as "e shall see in connection to the Li#eral 'olitics of the latter half of the -.th centur& and the histor& of the entire I/ th centur& as a 'ost0colonial centur&$( This accounts for the transformation of 6nglish into a "orld0idiom in the current age( *i!en the 'aternalism and culturalist doctrines of im'erial Britain the cultural moderni3ation of the "orld couched in terms of the 6nglish language "ith the s'read of the ideolog& and institutions of the British 6m'ire hel'ed in the -.th centur& glo#ali3ation of the "orld #efore the America0led glo#ali3ation of toda& (along Boll&"ood lines$( This 'ermits recalling the fact that the British first mass age rested u'on a desire for cultural ele!ation effecti!el& carried out #& the re!olution in literac& and the ta''ing of the intellectual='hiloso'hical literar& and moral tradition so as to forge a solid middle0class conscience and ci!ili3ation rising u'on the ruins of an aristocratic tradition of the mind( Thomas Carl&le 4ohn Ruskin 4ohn Ftuart +ill 4ohn Henr& Ne"man and later +atthe" Arnold ad!ocated the creation of a ne" middle0class Huritanical meritocrac& (Arnold called it a Hhilistine culture entering a 'eriod of e<'ansion after a 'eriod of %self8 concentration or narro"0mindedness$( The re!olution in literac& "as effected #& the 'assing of at least t"o education acts in the late -?,/s and -?J/s the mid0Victorian age an intensel& flourishing 'eriod "hen fundamental middle0class or li#eral reforms "ere ado'ted #& the succession=alternation of Li#eral and Conser!ati!e go!ernments under the ins'ired leadershi' of res'ecti!el& Eilliam 6"art *ladstone and BenLamin 2israeli( Literature (es'eciall& the Bhigh literature> of the so0called 6minent Victorians "as the medium of culturali3ation and massification$ "hich "as reflected in the num#er of maga3ines (Mualit& 'ress$ "hich increased from -I. in -?/- to @ ?-. in -.//( The #est and most e<'ensi!e "ere illustrated (e(g( the Illustrated London &e%s, started in -?@I or The 'unch started in -?@-$ #ut there

also circulated Lo##ing chea'er 'ress( Fince e!er& ne"s'a'er "as read #& at least C 'eo'le officiall& including B#elo" stairs> reading #& the ser!ants in the u''er0class homes and since all the #roadsheets carried 'olitical ne"s as "ell as the essa& de#ates and 'oetr& or fictional installments "e can see the amount and range of literac& genuinel& at "ork in the Victorian Age( G( the -?,/s and -?J/s D the middle0class flourishing age( This 'eriod sa" the actual and massi!e (decisi!e$ em'o"erment of the middle0classes as a result of carr&ing out (at the time of Eilliam *ladstone>s Li#eral 'rime0ministershi'$ the 1868 'econ( )nfranchi"ement Act "hich dou#led the num#er of !oters( Fimilarl& the 18*+ %ational )(ucation Act generalised 'rimar& education in non0denominational Ftate schools "hile the 18*1 A,olition of the -ni&er"it. /e"t" lifted the mono'ol& of the Anglican denomination as the esta#lishment religion u'on the creation of mem#ers of the 'rofessional and 'olitical elites in the to' uni!eristies of O<ford and Cam#ridge "here the training of la"&ers doctors of 'hilolog& of medicine and di!init& ant the training of 'oliticians took 'lace( This #rought a#out the actual emanci'ation of the Catholics and non0 conformists o'ening the "a& to their e<cellent education and in this "a& actuall& increasing the ranks of the modern meritocrac& as en!isaged #& Carl&le and Ruskin and as 'reached #& 4ohn Henr& Ne"man in Ireland at the o'ening of the Catholic ;ni!ersit& there in -?C@ in his famous te<t The Idea of a (ni)ersity( Acts regulating the arm& and na!& reforms hel'ed moderni3e the maLor institutions of the modern li#eral 'olit&( ( Here the meaning of li#eral is not s'ecialised as it is a mark of general modernit& and 'rogress in "ealth and kno"ledge $ The correlati!e of the o!erall institutional de!elo'ment achie!ed #& *ladstone>s first Li#eral mandate are BenLamin 2israeli>s Conser!ati!e *o!ernment measures enforced #& the 18*5 %ational 0ealth Act and 1!ellin# Act that further regulated the frames and rh&thms of a health& ci!ili3ed e!er&da& life in the modern cities( 2uring the second Li#eral go!ernment %led #&:::8 "hich started in -??/ as a result of the #acku' of the Irish Home Rule 'art& *ladstone managed to introduce in the Eestminster Harliament the 1884 /hir( )nfranchi"ement Act "hich secured the uni!ersal male suffrage and the actual re'resentati!it& of all the male heads of families in #oth the rural and the ur#an areas( Thus "ere laid the foundations of a genuinel& modern democratic re'resentati!it&( The 'olitical measures "hich follo"ed strengthened local and central go!ernment #& actuall& held 'o"er the li#eral 'olitical leadershi' #eing no" free to secure economic free trade ad!ancement and an efficient im'erial administration( In India the direct go!ernment of the colon& "as secured "hen in -?JJ Victoria #ecame 6m'ress of India(