Unit: From Dickens to Galdós

A historical trip to 19th-century revolutions.

Who was Charles Dickens?

● (Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 1812 - Gad's Hill,

Kent, 1870).
● Famous British novelist, editor, illustrator and social
commentator.
● He wrote such beloved classic novels as Oliver
Twist, A Christmas carol, Nicholas, Nickleby,
David Copperfiel, A tale of two cities and great
expectations.
● He is remembered as the main model of the
19th-century realistic novel in Great Britain.
● He had some parallels in France (Stendhal, Balzac,
Flaubert) and Spain (Galdós, Clarín).
● He wrote 15 novels and created 2000 characters
Who was Charles Dickens?

● In 1822, the Dickens family moved to Camden Town, a poor

neighborhood in London. By then the family’s financial situation
worsened.
● John Dickens, his father, was sent to prison for debt in 1824, when
Charles was just 12 years old.
● Dickens was forced to leave school to work at a boot-blacking factory
alongside the River Thames. At the run-down, rodent-ridden factory,
Dickens earned six shillings a week (30 euros nowadays) labeling
pots of “blacking,” a substance used to clean fireplaces. It was the
best he could do to help support his family.
Who was Charles Dickens?

● Dickens was permitted to go back to school when his

father received a family inheritance and used it to pay off
his debts.
● Dickens began freelance reporting at the law courts of
London. Just a few years later, he was reporting for two
major London newspapers.
● In 1833, he began submitting sketches to various
magazines and newspapers under the pseudonym
“Boz.” In 1836, his clippings were published in his first
book, Sketches by Boz.
Who was Charles Dickens?

● In the same year, Dickens started publishing The Posthumous Papers

of the Pickwick Club. His series, originally written as captions for artist
Robert Seymour’s humorous sports-themed illustrations, took the form of
monthly serial installments.
● The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club became popular with
readers. In fact, Dickens’ captions were even more popular than the
illustrations they were meant to accompany.
● He later edited magazines including Household Words and All the Year
Round, the latter of which he founded.
Why is so important Charles Dickens?

● Dickens´ novels were work of social commentary.

He was a fierce critic of the poverty and social
stratification of Victorian society.
● His second novel, Oliver Twist (1839), shocked
readers with its images of poverty and crime. It
challenged middle class polemics about criminal,
making impossible to ignore the poverty in society.
● He describes British society of the Industrial
Revolution, the horrible working conditions, etc.
The spreading of Industrial Revolution
through Europe.
Introduction.
● The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the 18th century. It was
spread across Europe and North America over the next 100 years.
● The new industry, based on the mechanization of productions, and new
ways of working caused strong growth in the production of industrial goods.
● It is also introduced capitalism as an economic system and transformed
society.
● Cities grew as people left the countryside in search of working.
● Two new social classes made up the backbone of society: the bourgeoisie
(who had capital to invest) and the proletariat (who worked in factories)
Parallel revolutions
● An agricultural revolution (increase in
food production).
● A demographic revolution (increase in
population).
● A technological revolution (new
machinery and energy sources for
industry).
● A transport and trade revolution
(bigger markets).
● A financial revolution (new systems for
financing components and facilitating
payments)
The factory system of manufacturing
● Mechanisation. This consisted of the use of machinery for the production of
goods, replacing human labour
● The factory system: It is a new method system concentrated in factories,
buildings designed for production. It includes mechanisation, new energy
resources, control over the labour. It was the end of artisan activities and the
traditional manual production.
● New energy resources:
○ Hydropower, which used water wheels to extract power from river water
and move machinery
○ Coal: It was used to produce steam power (Watt´s steam machine).
Agricultural changes

1730 Rotherham plough It turned over the fields, covering the seeds
(arado de Rotherham) with soil.
1780 Threshing machine It threshed grain faster
(Trilladora)
1824 Mechanical reaper It removed seeds more easily
(Arado mecánico).
Agricultural
machinery
Four-course crop rotation: the Norfolk system.
 Textile industry
● Increase the amount of cotton fabric. It implies lower prices and division of
labour.
● Raw cotton was cheap and imported from India and slave plantations in the US.
● Innovations: Spinning and weaving machines
1733 Kay´s flying shuttle It increased the speed of production,
(lanzadera volante de Kay) weaver wider fabrics
1764 Spinning machines (hiladoras): It increased productivity
Spinning Jenny,...
1769 Watt´s steam machine It generated continuous movement
(Máquina de vapor de Watt)
1785 Cartwright´s mechanical loom It increased fabric production.
(Telar mecánico de Cartwright)
Wool and cotton consumption in Britain Flying shuttle
 Iron and steel industry
● Iron and steel foundries required fuel and coke. This fuel was needed to heat
the blast furnaces.
● Innovations: Bessemer converter,

1732 Use of coke in blast furnaces For smelting

(Uso del coque en altos hornos)
1855 Bessemer converter steel Manufacture steel (alloy of iron and carbon).
manufacturing (Convertidor de
acero de Bessemer).
The Bessemer converter and
the steel industry.
It is a more flexible material,
ideal for constructing
machinery, tools, buildings
and public works
 Transport
● Improvements in roads and water (canals).
● Use of steam engine in ships and trains.
● Innovations: Steam locomotive and steamship

1804 Trevithick´s steam locomotive

(locomotoras de vapor)
1807 Fulton´s first steam boat
(Barco de vapor)
1829 Stephenson´s steam locomotive
(Locomotora de vapor de Stephenson).
Cross Atlantic faster.
First public railway.
Carry passengers and goods
fast.
Coal and iron mining
● Coal became a major energy source, used in steam engines and steel
manufacturing.
● Coal mines started opening up all over Europe. Wales became one the major
coal region because the high-quality coal and its calorific value.
● These coal regions attracted companies from the iron industry (coal was more
expensive to transport).
● One of these regions was known as the “Black Country”, duet to soot and
smoke from burning coal. It was located in the Midlands
Black country
THE BLACK COUNTRY

It [Coketown] was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been
red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it (...) It was a town of machinery
and tall chimneys, out of which interminable serpents of smoke trailed
themselves for ever and ever, and never got uncoiled (...)
It had a black canal in it, and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye,
and vast piles of buildings full of windows where there was a rattling
and a trembling all day long, and where the piston of the steam engine
worked monotonously up and down (...)
Charles Dickens: Hard Times, 1854.
1. Why is the birth of industry called the Industrial Revolution?

● It is one of the most significant changes in human history since the

Neolithic Revolution.
● It transformed the agrarian and based economy of the Ancient Regime into a
industrial economy.
● The changes in production involve a new form of economic organisation
(capitalism) and led to a profound social transformation (class society).
2. Why did Britain become the first industrialised country?

There were some original factors in Britain:

● A political system (monarchy with limited power since the 17th century.
● Population growth. It was created a demand for working in factories.
● Abundance of resources and raw materials (cotton, coal).
● An extensive transport network of rivers and canals.
● A place to sell products: British colonial empire.
● A entrepreneurial spirit in bourgeoisie, who invested money on economy.
3. What drove the parallel revolutions?

The Industrial Revolution was drived by some revolutions at the same

time:
○ An agricultural revolution (increase in food production).
○ A demographic revolution (increase in population).
○ A technological revolution (new machinery and energy sources
for industry).
○ A transport and trade revolution (bigger markets).
○ A financial revolution (new systems for financing components
and facilitating payments)
4. What energy sources were introduced?
The main energy sources were coal (used to produce steam power) and
hydropower (used to extract power from the river water and move machinery),

5. What did the factory system lead to?

The factory system concentrated in factories, buildings designed for
production. It includes mechanisation, new energy resources, control
over the labour. It was the end of artisan activities and the traditional
manual production.
The new social elite: Bourgeoisie
● The bourgeoisie.
○ They possessed capital, carried out business and owned factories,
financial institutions and companies.
○ The proletariat (the workers) worked in their factories, mines and
transport in exchange for a wage.
● The new bourgeoisie imposed its social values on the other classes: the
value of private property, the virtue of work, savings and individual triumph.
● Most university students and the majority of the intelligentsia (teachers,
engineers and heads of institutions and companies) were bourgeois, and
family dynasties emerge.
The new social elite: Bourgeoisie
● The high bourgeoisie ( business owners, bankers and big landowners).
○ They became the new ruling class.
○ Their wealth and desire to publicly demonstrate their power and prestige
allowed them to gradually replace the aristocracy in social life.
● The middle bourgeoisie (professionals (lawyers, doctors, etc.), civil
servants and merchants).
● The petty bourgeoisie (employees, shopkeepers and artisans). They lived in
better living conditions than the proletariat.
Working class
In the new industrial society, the working class provided the labour force
required to operate machinery, and they represented the most disadvantaged
social group.

In the early days of industrialisation, there were no labour laws to regulate

working conditions or wages, or that would guarantee protection in the event
of an accident or illness.

The workers were subjected to harsh discipline in which punishments and

penalties were common. They would be dismissed whenever the employer
wished.
Working class conditions
● Working days in the factories and mines were very long (14-16
hours), with very little rest.
● The working environment was very noisy and there were suffocating
fumes.
● Wages were very low and workers were not paid if they fell ill, had an
accident or were too old to work.
● Women and children worked under the same conditions as the
men, in both factories and mines, but their wages were lower. In
Britain, children's wages were 10% of those of the men, and women's
were around 40%.
Industrialization in Europe
● During the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution spread from Great Britain to
other countries: Germany, Belgium and France.
● There were three main reasons:
○ Abundant natural sources of iron and coal.
○ Growing population that demanded more goods
○ Well-developed railway networks to facilitate transport.
Industrialization in Spain
● Industrialization took place in Spain later and more slowly than other
countries
○ Coal deposits were of poor quality
○ Our technology was less advanced than other countries
○ Foreign countries (Great Britain, France) invested in the Spanish
railways and the mining industry and the investments benefited them.
● The railway network was radial, with Madrid as central point.
● Two types of industry became important:
○ There was little industrial promotion in Spain
○ The cotton industry (Catalonia).
○ The iron industry (Asturias, Vizcaya), regions with good-quality coal.
Changes in economy
The 18th century was marked by two new phenomena:
economic liberalism and industrial capitalism:
● Economic liberalism: theory
○ Freedom of production and free trade are essential
for economic growth
○ Adam Smith´s ideas: The state should no interfere
with economic activity.
○ Free production to respond to the demands of the
market.
○ Free competition between businesses (lower prices,
better-quality products)
○ Import and export goods without restrictions.
Changes in economy

● Industrial capitalism is the system which put the ideas of economic

liberalism in practice;
○ Trade is the most important source of profits.
○ Industrial production became the most profitable economic activity
The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914)
● It is also known as the Technological Revolution.
● It was characterised by rapid industrialization due the increase in the
importance of financial sector in industry and the rise of finance
capitalism
● Financial sector: Activities related to investment of money through the bank
or the stock exchange (creating capital without making money).

TIME COUNTRIES
1870-1914 Great Britain, France, Germany
The United States, Russia, Japan
The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914)
● New sources of finance
○ A jock -stock company: Company made up of individual who
contributed a part of the capital
○ Bank: They lend money to business in return for interest.
○ The stock exchange (marketplace where companies buy and sell)
● New business structures:
○ Cartel: Horizontal associations of different companies working in the
same industry.
○ Trusts: Vertical associations of various companies working in differents
industries.
○ Holding companies: Large financial companies.
The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914)
● Technological advances
○ The improvement of the Bessemer converter. It was an important
material for railways, cars and skyscrapers-
○ Many inventions:
Medicine Aspirin, incubator, x-ray machines

Offices telegraph, telephone, electric typewriter, copier.

Home Fridge, washing machine, detergent, sewing machine, electric iron

Leisure Gramophone, cinematograph, radio

Transport bycicle, motorcycle,, tyres, internal combustion engine, petrol,

airplane
The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914)
● New sources of energy.
○ Electricity. In 1869 Bergues designed the hydroelectric generator an dy
1879 Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb
○ Oil. The first oil refinery was built in Cleveland, USA, in 1889 thanks to
John D. Rockefeller, an American businessman.
● New industries
○ Electricity industry, to produce cables, bulbs, lamps. Companies:
Siemens, AEG.
○ Food industry (preserved in tins).
○ The chemical industry (perfume, medicine, dynamite)
○ The automobile industry (mass production of cars)
○ Consumer goods industry (food, cosmetics, medicines, clothing)
The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914)
● Consequences:
○ Organisation of work: Assembly line (each worker specialised in a
specific task to save time and produce more).
○ The birth of consumer society: Increase in production, mass
consumption (department stores), advertising in the consumer goods
industries.
○ Economic instability: Excess of products no consumed.
■ Economic growth is followed by crises
○ Expansion of international trade:
■ Canals (Panamá, Suez) and tunnels (Simplon Tunnel in the Alps).
■ Improvements in shipping and railways