★ Must-know
Industrial output grew unprecedentedly from the late 18th century, while inequalities sharpened and economic activity alternated between slumps and booms known as the trade cycle.
Britain shifted from three-quarters of its population living in the countryside in 1800 to three-quarters living in cities in 1900.
Further detail
The population of the British Isles rose from 16 million in 1801 to 41.5 million in 1901, largely because fertility increased from the late 18th century to the 1830s as people married and began working earlier.
In 1831, average age at death was 32 in London and 43 in the countryside, reflecting the unhealthy urban environment.
Industrial growth → sharper inequality and visible urban poverty
1. How did the distribution of Britain’s population between countryside and cities change from 1800 to 1900?
2. What did the 1831 comparison of average age at death indicate about urban living conditions?
3. How was the Poor Laws relief system funded?
What happened to industrial output from the late 18th century?
It grew at an unprecedented rate.
What economic pattern described alternating slumps and booms?
The trade cycle.
How did Britain’s rural and urban population shares change between 1800 and 1900?
From three-quarters rural in 1800 to three-quarters urban in 1900.
How were the Poor Laws funded, and who paid the rates?
Parish rates paid by local property owners and occupiers funded them.
What did the Elizabethan Poor Laws require each parish to provide from 1601?
Relief for the poor funded by rates on local property owners.
How did the Speenhamland system calculate agricultural labourers’ income supplements?
According to bread prices and the number of children.
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