During this time of industrialization, the
population bloomed. From 1750 to 1850, the European population nearly
doubled. Many of these people moved to urban areas where there were jobs.
There were 22 cities in 1800 with a population of more than 100,000. In
1850, there were 47. Many doubled and tripled in size.
|
|
|
1837-41
|
population
growth
|
housing
growth rate
|
|
Glasgow
|
37%
|
18.5%
|
|
Manchester
|
47%
|
15
%
|
|
Bradford
|
78%
|
12
%
|
However, this urbanization led to a series of
major crisis. It was impossible to accommodate all the people. Houses were
built rapidly and some quite carelessly. Accidents would take over 50
lives at times. Since the area for housing development was not adequate to
house the population, severe overcrowding resulted.
|
In
1840
|
15,000
persons in Manchester lived in cellars
|
|
|
39,000
persons in Liverpool lived in 7,800 cellars
|
|
|
86,000
persons in Liverpool lived in 2,400 courts
|
The sewage system was inadequate. Drainage was
bad and pipes would burst. Some areas didn’t have plumbing at all. There
was also no way to dispose trash. Garbage lined ditches in the streets and
around buildings. Streets were in disrepair.
Epidemics were common. Although the plague virtually disappeared in
1666,the cities were exceedingly filthy. Besides the horrible population
from factories, waste littered the streets. Outbreaks of typhus (also
known as gaol fever) were frequent and smallpox epidemics broke out
regularly, killing 1 in 9 victims. Medical provision was very basic
(again, by our standards). No anaesthetics existed; surgery was primitive;
hospitals were few and depended for funding on charity, and often were in
poor condition.
London's death rate was very high at 35.3 per
1,000. The infant mortality rate was also high: 437 per 1,000 children
born, died before they reached the age of 2.
Average age of death in 1842
|
|
Manchester
|
Leeds
|
Liverpool
|
Rutland
|
|
Gentlemen and professional people
|
38
|
44
|
35
|
52
|
|
Tradesmen
|
20
|
27
|
26
|
41
|
|
Labourers
|
17
|
19
|
15
|
39
|
However, these problems did lead to solutions. By the
end of the 19th century, plumbing was placed and fixed in many
parts of town. Waste disposal was also presented. Streets were fixed and
paved. Drains along the streets were made. There was still a problem in
the slums. Overcrowding wasn’t fixed. Housing was still poor. People
crowded the streets of the slums.
[Daily
Life of the People in the Industrial Revolution] |
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