Exploring the reasons for population growth in the 18th and 19th Century

1. What features can you
see in the picture ?
Label the parts.
What does it suggest
life was like in the
18th & 19th Century?
Why do you think
William Hogarth drew
this picture?
Do you think he got
Gin Lane by Willam Hogarth (1751) his message across?

2. 1. Why did towns grow so rapidly in
Victorian England?
WALT
• To understand why there was a
population boom in Victorian
England
• To examine how this affected
the growth and development of
towns like London.
WILF
Grade D/F - Identify the main reasons for the population boom in Victorian London.
Grade C/B – Explain how the population boom affected the growth of towns like London.
Grade A/A* Hypothesise how the population boom may have made life difficult in the East End

3. In 1695, the population of Britain was estimated to be 5.5 million.
By 1801, the year of the first census, it was 9.3 million.
By 1841, it was thought to be 15.9 million – a 60% growth rate in just 40 years.
The population of Britain
grew so fast that one
historian referred to is as
“an explosion of people!”
50
40
30
20
10
Graph estimating growth of British population between
1750
7 Million
1800
9 Million
1850
21 Million
1900
37 Million
1750-1900
Population increases for
three different reasons:
1. More births
2. Fewer deaths
3. More Immigrants

4. Why did the population explode?
More Births
1. People got married younger, giving them more
time to have children. The average age at which
people got married dropped from 27 to 20.
2. Midwives were used after 1750 to look after
pregnant. Some hospitals provided maternity beds.
3. Anaesthetics and antiseptics made operations
safer and cleaner after 1870. Fewer patients died of
shock, pain or infection.
4. Baby boom. After 1800 parents had more children
knowing they could send to work in factories.

5. Why did the population explode?
Fewer Deaths
1. Smallpox Vaccination. In 1796 Edward Jenner
discovered how to vaccinate against smallpox.;
made compulsory after 1870.
2. Cheap Soap. From 1800, killed germs.
3. Gin Tax. In the 1700s lots of people died of
drinking cheap gin. Unborn babies were also
harmed. In 1751 the govt put a tax on it meaning
fewer people could afford it.
4. Cleaner Cities. After the 1860s councils began
installing clean water supplies and sewers. Better
houses were built and lighting improved.

6. Why did the population explode?
Immigration
• Britain had no immigration laws for most of the 19th century. The East End of London
became swamped with poor Russian, Polish and German Jews escaping persecution.
Most of these people lived in extreme poverty.
• The tens of thousands of Jews arriving into the East End experienced terrible xenophobia
because of competition for jobs and housing. It led to the creation of the first racist
political group of the 20th century; the British Brothers League

7. What were the effects of immigration?
The popular image of the Jew at the time is seen in Dickens’
‘Oliver Twist’ where the character Fagin is shown as a
villainous, greedy Jew. It is one of the most antisemitic
images of the Jews in literature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VogHwP0C5VY

8. Why did the population ‘explode’ after 1750?
Introduction
Introduce the topic. Include facts and figures about the increase in population
Point 1 – More births. Summarise the main reasons for the increased birth rate.
Point 2 – Fewer deaths. Summarise the main reasons for the decrease in the death rate.
Point 3 – Immigration. Who were the immigrants? Why were they here? What effects?
Conclusion
Write a summary of your findings.

9. Why did towns grow so rapidly in
Victorian England?
WALT
• To understand why there was a
population boom in Victorian
England
• To examine how this affected
the growth and development of
towns like London.
WILF
Grade D/F - Identify the main reasons for the population boom in Victorian London.
Grade C/B – Explain how the population boom affected the growth of towns like London.
Grade A/A* Hypothesise how the population boom may have made life difficult in the East End

10. Why did towns grow so rapidly?
1750 1801 1851
Liverpool 35,000 82,000 376,000
Birmingham 30,000 71,000 233,000
Manchester 45,000 75,000 303,000
Leeds 14,000 53,000 172,000
London 675,000 957,000 2,362,000
Before the Industrial Revolution most people in
England lived in the countryside.
With the invention of the steam engine and the
growth of factories, people moved to the towns to
work in the newly mechanised industries.
Towns were seen to offer:
• Guaranteed work
• Good Wages
• Work for children
• Housing

11. The increase of population in England and Wales in thirty years, 1801 to 1831, has been something
more than 47%. The number of inhabitants of five of our most important towns has grown by
more than double that rate; being Manchester 109%, Glasgow 108%, Birmingham 73%, Leeds 99%
Liverpool 100%, giving an average of almost 98%.
It will there be seen that the sewerage and drainage and cleansing has been greatly neglected. The
necessary precautions to preserve health have been forgotten. There are many fevers and
contagious diseases.
It is painful to see, in the midst of a rich and flourishing community, a vast number of poorer
people, by whose hands these riches were created, for no fault of their own, living in places where
it is impossible to be healthy, clean and cheerful. There is no building Act to see that the houses
are properly built, and no draining Act or local regulations.
From the Report of the Select Committee on the Health of Towns 1840
1. What problems are being created in the towns by the rising population?
2. How could these problems be resolved?