Introduction
The industrial revolution of the 18th-19th century saw the transition from agricultural to industrial economies in the majority of western countries. It was characterized by the replacement of manual labor with machine labor, which significantly improved the uniformity, quantity, and quality of production (Brown and Cook 1976). Simultaneously, the period after the urban-industrial revolution is known for the rapid growth of cities and the gradual decline of farming communities, which were transformed into large private farm-holdings by the emergence of mechanized agriculture. Farmers were forced to migrate into cities and become laborers at the newfound factories.
These significant changes in the nature, complexity, and productivity of labor had a profound effect on the quality of life of the average male worker between 1870 and 1920 (Craven 1995). Certain commodities became cheaper and more widespread due to mass production. At the same time, many families were forced to experience a completely unfamiliar environment, as well as a different array of societal, ecological, and economic challenges.
Although life in the city exposed male workers to unhealthy and dangerous labor conditions, poverty, and crime, the availability of medicine, quality clothes, items, and opportunities for employment resulted in a higher quality of life when compared to the rural areas, which saw the increase of life expectancy by about 10-20 years between 1870 and 1920.
Research Framework
In order to see the differences in the quality of life of male workers and peasants (the predominant occupation before the urban-industrial revolution of the 18th-19th century), a certain number of criteria has to be evaluated. The primary criterion indicating changes in the quality of life is the average lifespan, as it combines all the positive and negative aspects of daily life. Numerous historians and statisticians have noted the correlation between the average lifespan and the quality of life. Nevertheless, this criterion only shows the result, not the processes involved. Therefore, the addition of other criteria is necessary, such as:
- Average income;
- Average family size;
- Access to education;
- Access to quality healthcare;
- Exposure to workplace hazards;
- Access to clothes, tools, and other instruments that make life easier (Roser 2014).
These criteria will be used to analyze and compare the quality of life of an average male peasant pre-1870 to the average male urban worker post-1870.
Average Income
Estimating the average income of peasantry prior to the urban-industrial revolution is a difficult task, as it varied greatly from region to region and was affected by a variety of factors, such as wars, droughts, and other factors that effectively increased or decreased production (Milanovic 2010). It must be noted that the majority of peasants provided most of the food for themselves while paying taxes to their respective landlords and selling excess produce for money. The average salary for hired labor working in the fields at the beginning of the 19th century was rated at 30 pounds per year (Jackson 1987). These laborers, however, did not receive any spoils of their labor.
Almost all male workers in the 19th century received a salary that depended on either their individual productivity or a fixed wage in industries where individual productivity was not easily quantifiable. Workers were implemented in several industries, among which the most prominent ones were shipbuilding, engineering, construction trades, textiles, and printing trades. The average salary during the same period, when compared to peasants and agricultural workers, was almost two times higher, varying between 50-70 pounds per year (Jackson 1987).
In addition, a worker’s salary did not rely as much on outside factors, such as droughts, floods, and other natural disasters, which could devastate a farmer and their harvest. Although factories and shipyards were in danger of other force majeure events, such as fires and sabotage, these events were not outside of the realm of prevention and control.
Average Family Size
Farming communities typically saw large families as a strength for numerous reasons. Children were seen as potential laborers in the field, able to help out from the age of 12. Therefore, peasant families tended to grow large, which came at the cost of many associated risks. Maternal mortality is associated proportionately with the number of births given, and more children mean more mouths to feed. As such, large numbers of children placed an additional financial burden on the family economy, contributing to the overall poverty in the agricultural communities (Pooley 2013). Lastly, large families meant increased vulnerability to harvest failures, which had the potential of leaving the family to starve.
The views on family among average workers in the 19th century differed. According to Pooley (2013), urban families were much smaller than in the villages for a variety of reasons. Due to the small, cluttered environments of apartments, there was not enough space for large families with many children. Because of the expenses, children were viewed as a financial weakness (Pooley 2013). Lastly, contraception has become more readily available, leading to fewer cases of pregnancy (and lower maternal mortality rates, by proxy). As a result, urban families were smaller but more financially sustainable and less prone to risk, which positively affected life expectancy for the children as well as their fathers.
Access to Education
Education in the farming communities had been largely a church-funded undertaking. Farmers and their children were taught only the very basics of reading and writing, most of which they never practice in their daily lives. Literacy rates in the UK remained relatively even across several centuries, standing at 54% up until 1820 (Roser and Ortiz-Ospina 2018). From 1820 to 1870, which coincides with the beginning of the urban-industrial revolution in the country, these numbers grew from 54% to 76% (Roser and Ortiz-Ospina 2018).
Such growth in literacy was motivated by several factors. The primary factor was the mass migration of people from the country and into the city. The second factor involved the complex nature of industrial labor. Workers were expected to be able to read and understand documents, be able to count, perform complex operations, and work under tight schedules. This resulted in an increased demand for literate workers. As it was already established, the working class had a larger and more stable source of income. Education opened more venues for improving one’s life opportunities, contributing to the quality of life.
Access to Quality Healthcare
The advantages and disadvantages of the healthcare situation of the newfound male workers between 1870-1920 are harder to distinguish due to the heterogeneity of the comparative styles of living. On the one hand, the workers living in cities had much easier access to trained medical help (Castiglioni 2018). The selected time period coincided with the medical reforms inspired by Florence Nightingale, who is considered the mother of modern evidence-based medical practice (Castiglioni 2018).
Cities had a greater variety of hospitals and a larger number of independent practitioners. In contrast, many rural communities did not have a dedicated doctor. Trained physicians were few, forcing the majority of the patients to rely on untrained healers and folk remedies, which negatively affected the quality of treatment (Castiglioni 2018). Deaths from common treatable diseases were frequent.
On the other hand, the city population growth far outpaced the speed of its physical expansion, which led to crowded and unsanitary living environments. The outbreaks of diseases in cities like London were common. Cholera, tuberculosis, smallpox, diphtheria, and many other diseases have taken the lives of many while remaining outside of the realms of treatment, as the doctors were struggling to comprehend the mechanisms of these diseases (Castiglioni 2018). Thus, it could be concluded that while medical help was more readily available in the city, male workers were also more exposed to a plethora of deadly diseases borne from unsanitary conditions, congestion, and enclosed spaces.
Exposure to Workplace Hazards
As the transition from rural agricultural work to mechanized labor was completed, male workers found themselves exposed to a plethora of new workplace hazards, which directly affected their quality of life. There were no direct laws regulating the relationship between the employees and the workers. Safety regulations were few, which led to an increasing number of workplace traumas. These were particularly dangerous because the elimination of the male worker spelled doom not only for himself but also for his family. The first act to impose safety restrictions in the UK was the Master and Servant act of 1867. Working conditions were harsh, with workers being forced to go on 12-hour or even 16-hour shifts (Craven 1995). All of these factors, in combination, severely reduced the life expectancy of an average male worker.
Life in the countryside, however, was not much easier. Agricultural workers were known to work from dawn and until dusk, which constituted for a 12-16 hour shift. The work in the field was hard as well since most families did not have a horse or a tractor to plow the fields. The labor was not less risk-averse, as the farmers were exposed to the elements, mismanagement of equipment, and accidents. Thus, it can be said that the working conditions of the average male worker in 1870-1920 have changed, though not for the better or worse.
Access to Commodities
The urban-industrial revolution saw a massive increase in the production of basic necessities and commodities. The textile production, along with the increasing supplies of cheap cotton from India and the US, allowed for clothes to be more readily available to the city populace. The appearance of metal forks, glass plates, ceramic mugs, and water boilers increased the access of the population to cleaner cooking.
In combination with higher salaries and the proximity of shops, male workers could drastically increase their quality of life when compared to the rest of the countryside, where the possibilities of finding and affording such high-quality products remained relatively low (Craven 1995). The pharmaceutics companies also benefited from the faster processing of raw materials required to produce medicine in greater quantities. This increased the availability of core medical and hygienic supplies, such as soap and alcohol. The average male worker was capable of affording the basic cures and hygienic supplies for himself and his family, which contributed to the increase in the quality of life.
Life Expectancy
Perhaps the ultimate criterion for evaluating the quality of life is the average life expectancy of the male worker. The combination of the factors evaluated above can either improve or decrease life expectancy. According to the available statistics for the time period, the average life expectancy in the UK, which was one of the most industrialized nations in Europe before the urban-industrial revolution, was 45 years. In the period of 1870-1920, it saw a gradual increase to 55-60 years, which attests to the improvements in the quality of life (Roser 2014).
Analysis
All of the factors presented above have been directly or indirectly caused by the urban-industrial revolution and had an impact on male workers as part of the city populace. Namely, the access to various services and commodities, the congestion of city areas, and the shrinking of families were the results of mass migration. Other factors, like the availability of goods, the changes in labor conditions, and the rise in the levels of education, were directly motivated by the requirements placed upon male workers and the results of their labor.
The standards of living among workers were higher when compared to those of farmers; they were less exposed to the elements and climate, which affected the crops, and had better social mobility due to the rising demand for educated employees. At the same time, certain factors did not favor the male workers favorably, namely the exposure to airborne diseases, crime, and hazardous labor conditions. Nevertheless, such conditions were largely mirrored by those exhibited in the rural farmlands. They were of a different nature but also had several negative aspects to them that affected the quality of life.
The reason why the comparison is made between the newly formed worker class and the agricultural society is that the majority of the workers between 1870-1920 have migrated from rural communities in the search for work and a better life. Comparing them with the established artisan class, which dominated the manufacturing segment prior to industrialization, would not be correct, as that was a privileged class with a special position in the feudal-early Victorian hierarchy. The comparative analysis, thus, demonstrates the changes that happened in the life of an average male civilian as he transformed from a farmer into a factory worker in a city.
Conclusions
The transformation from an agricultural society into an industrial country had a profound effect on the life quality of an average working male in 1850-1920. These radical changes led to the expansion of cities, the shrinking of the rural countryside, the gradual dissolution of the typical farming community. The historical accounts of the time period portray a picture of increased hardship, high hazard, and disconnection between individuals associated with living and working in the city.
However, the analysis of various factors contributing to the quality of life supports the thesis proposed at the beginning of this paper. Although life in the city exposed male workers to unhealthy and dangerous labor conditions, poverty, and crime, the availability of medicine, quality clothes, items, and opportunities for employment resulted in a higher quality of life when compared to the rural areas, which saw the increase of life expectancy by about 10-20 years between 1870 and 1920.
Bibliography
Brown, Robert, and Ramsey Cook. 1976. Canada, 1896-1912: A Nation Transformed. University of Toronto Press.
Castiglioni, Arturo. 2018. A History of Medicine. Routledge.
Craven, Paul. 1995. Labouring Lives: Work And Workers In Nineteenth-Century Ontario. University of Toronto Press.
Jackson, Robert. 1987. “The Structure of Pay in Nineteenth-Century Britain.” The Economic History Review 40 (4): 561-570.
Milanovic, Branko. 2010. “Level of Income and Income Distribution in Mid-18th Century France, According To Francois Quesnay.” Mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de. Web.
Pooley, Sian. 2013. “Parenthood, Child-rearing, and Fertility in England, 1850-1914.” The History of the Family 18 (1): 83-106.
Roser, Max. 2014. “Life Expectancy.” OurWorldInData.org. Web.
Roser, Max, and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina. 2018. “Literacy.” OurWorldInData.org. Web.