What Was It Like Living In Birmingham During The Victorian Era?

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What Was It Like Living In Birmingham During The Victorian Era?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

Birmingham during the Victorian era saw a rapid rise in the population which grew to over half a million. The city became the second most populated city in England and thus the 'city' status was granted by Queen Victoria in 1889.

The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century brought about many reformations in the socio-economic structure of the society, but the increase in population led to terrible social effects like: poverty, dirt, drunkenness, overcrowded dwellings, child labour and sexual exploitation.

As writer Thomas Carlyle refers this era as the 'age of the machine', it truly suggests the fact that the rapid growth in factory and its machines were the dominating factor of the industrial growth.
The living standards of the affluent people saw a prompt escalation due to the industrial boom which led to a number of inventions.

Answer 2

Like any British city during the Victorian period birmingham had many social problems brought about by the industrial revolution.
There was mass migration to the big cities from the agricultural areas and the housing wasn't adequate to cope nor were the sanitary conditions for the bulk of the population who were less skilled workers and had less access to good resources.
Areas such as Caribbee Island were impovished at a level that was terrible even by the standards of the time. It was deemed to be one of the worst slums in Europe at the time.
The lack of concern apart from when cholera or other infectious diseases broke out was probably because the majority of people living there were first and second generation Irish. The Irish were often found in the less favourable areas of many cities because of their economic situation and Birmingham was no exception.