On June 20, 1837, eighteen-year-old Victoria, niece of King William IV, who died childless, became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Then no one could have foreseen that this girl would rule for 64 years and become "the grandmother of all Europe." The reign of Queen Victoria went down in history as the golden age of Britain, a whole era that was called Victorian.
Family values
The reign of Victoria's predecessors led to a sad situation in society: the riotous life of the aristocracy undermined the country's economy and faith in the British monarchy. People longed for stability and, at the same time, changes that would make life easier for them.
Young Victoria ascended the throne, preaching strict moral standards, moderation and hard work. Her strong and sincere love for Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha turned out to be mutual and allowed to create an ideal family.
The royal family with nine children has become the standard of morality for the British. The ruined aristocracy was replaced by the middle class, whose values coincided with the queen's ethics. Feeling the support of the monarchy, the bourgeoisie began to energetically move the country along the path of progress.
Time of discoveries and inventions
During the entire period of Queen Victoria's reign, there were no major wars. People could easily increase their wealth, while simultaneously increasing the wealth of the country. The capture of the colonies allowed the British to assert their superiority over other peoples, as well as to develop at the expense of their labor and resources.
In a short period of time, the entire country was covered by a network of railways, sailing ships gave way to steamboats. Machines came to agriculture and industry, making it easier for workers.
Stunning discoveries were made one after another: telephone, telegraph, photography, typewriter and gas stove, incandescent lamp and moving pictures. All countries joined the technological progress launched by Britain. A telegraph wire connected England and America across the Atlantic Ocean, the first metro line was launched near London, anesthesia was used during the operation - all these events changed the picture of the world in front of contemporaries.
Two sides of the coin
However, progress has not only failed to alleviate the tension caused by social inequality, but has increased it. Children of the poor worked in mines until 1842, when a law was passed prohibiting the use of child labor in mines. But the children of the rich were considered innocent crumbs, who were supposed to be protected from the harsh world.
Pregnant women from the working class dragged carts on the rails, while wealthy women in position could not leave the house, as it was considered indecent and unhealthy.
The workers grew old and died at the machines, and only in 1878 the working day was legally limited to 14 hours. The prosperity of England was achieved by hard, exhausting labor of the majority of its population.
The strict limits of decency eventually turned into hypocrisy and hypocrisy. The bourgeois imagined themselves to be spiritualized creatures, and the people of the lower class were called rough cattle. High society spoke the language of allusions and allegories, and it was indecent to even call an arm or a leg other than a limb.
From printing presses to television screens
All these processes are reflected in the literature, thanks to which one can vividly imagine the brilliant age of Queen Victoria. It was then that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Notes on Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice, the Bronte sisters Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and Jerome K. Jerome wrote Three Men in a Boat, Not including a Dog..
Centuries later, people read these novels and watch their adaptations with enthusiasm - the charm and contradictions of the Victorian era still win hearts.
