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Victorian Britain, with its Empire on which the sun never set, was to a large degree the global superpower of the 19th century. In this period Britain consolidated its place at the center of European power politics and sustained, on the whole, its position as the world’s most dynamic economy. The period also witnessed the dawning of democracy and major developments in science, technology, organized sport, culture and social policy. Victoria oversaw England at the height of its overseas power and it reached its greatest expanse under her. Things did not start off smoothly, however. No period of British History has been as tense, as politically and socially disturbed, as the 1830s and early 1840s, when both the working class and the middle class, separately or in conjunction, demanded what they regarded as fundamental changes. From 1829 to 1832 their discontents fused in the demand for Parliamentary Reform, behind which the masses threw their riots and demonstrations, the businessmen the power of economic boycott. (Arnstein, p.69) After the 1832, when several of the demands of the middle-class radicals were met, the worker's movement fought and failed alone. Britain was changing from society of nature to society of clocks. People were bullied into workhouses by the Poor Law Amendment 1834 that penalized the unemployed. The thought of reforms was to take the steam out of resentment. Reform by the government was only moderate because the general ideal of the time was laissez-faire. This left the society divided with anxieties. As a result Victorian workers became organized in groups like the Chartists. The Chartist movement began in 1839 with demands for electoral reform and universal male suffrage. The movement was taken over by radical reformers and was dealt with very harshly by the authorities. The Chartists were very divided and had bad luck. By 1840’s they failed. They were later replaced with the Grande National Consolidated Trade Union that was only united to a degree. By late 1840’s, although the standard of living is improving, the working class is still divided. (Arnstein, p.100) Corner shops like the CO-OP started to begin. They had a growing variety of food choices but the prices were still high and there was no imported food because of the import taxes. The import taxes affected Ireland the hardest. The potatoes in Ireland were hit by the blight which caused the crop to fail. The Irish Famine led to a lot of deaths. Soon after Britain adopted Anti-Corn Law League which got rid of import taxes on cheap food and free trade. Grain, cereal, and wheat were not affected by the Corn Law. This Corn Law had both working class and middle class support. By 1846 the Corn Law was abolished. After 1846 the government begins to think seriously about social engineering. The idea of laissez-faire is being abandoned. Because the Factory Act of 1833 made it illegal for children under the age of nine to work there were a lot of children not working.
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