Health and hygiene

Disease was rife in the Victorian period with diseases like smallpox, cholera and TB developing into epidemics. Middle class men might live, on average, to 45. The average lives of workmen and labourers spanned just half that time. Children were lucky to survive their fifth birthdays. There was a theory that disease was called by bad air which was called miasma. The Great stink happened in 1858 which seriously worried parliament. Victorian employers had no responsibility towards their workers and therefore they got no medical benefits. It would take years for serious diseases to be resolved. It took very long for John Snow to make the link between cholera and water.

 

Crime and punishment

Crime rates were high in the Victorian period. The metropolitan police were established in 1829 and they were made more powerful due the metropolitan police act of 1839. Trials would last more than two days and executions remained public during this period.

 

The great exhibition

The Great Exhibition, housed within the ‘Crystal Palace’, embodied Prince Albert’s vision to display the wonders of industry from around the world. There were over 10000 exhibits that spanned 10 miles.