Industrial Revolution & Health (FAQ)

How were the housing conditions of the working class?

Most people lived in slums. Five to nine people lived in a single room which was as big as an apartment. Because everyone lived in terrible conditions and so close to one another, diseases spread rapidly and lack of medicine and medical care resulted in many deaths. None of these homes were built with a bathroom, toilet or running water.

Where were the houses built?

They were built near factories forming slums.

Factories

Tenements

Who built the houses?

As soon as cities developed quickly during the Industrial Revolution, the demand of cheap dwelling near the factories had increased. Although there were people like Robert Owen that were aimed at providing good houses for their workers, many employers did not. They exploited workers by building unsuitable housing with insalubrious conditions.Most of employers built their worker’s houses near the factories close together cheaply and quickly.

Main characteristics of the slums

-Irregular urban planification (with a main long street that drives to the factory or workplace)-Narrow streets almost without services no sewage or garbage service-Enormous population density-Near factories with a polluted atmosphere-Rats plagues-Higher criminality rate

What caused the pollution in the industrial cities?

The combustion of coal or wood as a combustible occasioned mainly the air pollution of industrial cities during the 19th century. Besides the decreasing amount of trees also contributed a lot.The pollution that has resulted from factories involves not only airborne emissions but land and water pollution as well. (eg: Thames River)Neather there were enough toilettes for all the workers nor they had a good canalization system or garbage service.

What effects did it provoke in people and cities?

Poor nutrition, disease, lack of sanitation, and harmful medical care in these urban areas had a devastating effect on the average life expectancy of British people in the first half of the 19th century. The Registrar General reported in 1841 that the average life expectancy in rural areas of England was 45 years of age but was only 37 in London and an alarming 26 in Liverpool (Haley). These are life-long averages that highlight a very high infant mortality rate; in the first half of the 19th century, 25 to 33% of children in England died before their 5th birthday (Haley).

Main diseases in the nineteenth - century cities

Cholera Smallpox Typhoid Typhus

Tuberculosis

What was the cause of the cholera?

Caused by contaminated water, it could spread with speed and with devastating consequences. Not for nothing did the disease get the nick-name "King Cholera". Industrial Britain was hit by an outbreak of cholera in 1831-32, 1848-49, 1854 and 1867. The cause was simple – sewage was being allowed to come into contact with drinking water and contaminating it. As many people used river water as their source of drinking water, the disease spread with ease.

What are the symptoms of tuberculosis? Who was likely to be affected by this disease?

-Common cough with a progressive increase in production of mucus and coughing up blood. -Other symptoms include the following:

-Fever-Loss of appetite-Weight loss-Night sweats

Workers tended to contract the illness quicker due to the big amount of people who lived close together in slums. (Adding the bad sanitary conditions, pollution, low quality food...)

How many people were killed approximately by tuberculosis between 1800 and 1850?

Experts worked out estimations and concluded that TB could have killed one third of all the people who died in Great Britain between 1800 and 1850.

What did the British government do to solve the sanitary problems?

The 1865 British outbreak (14,000 deaths) led to the first response of the British Government by investing in research which concluded that illnesses were directly related with living conditions.Edwin Chadwick made up a report and recommended the government:-Town councils should be responsible for cleaning away rubbish and providing clean drinking water.-Medical officers should be appointed for each town.The British Government (tried to) follow this steps and could increase the life expectancy in 13 years.