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.
Tenements

Factories

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 workers
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 lifelong 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.