The First Industrial Revolution brought deep changes to economy, the way in which goods were produced, how the population was distributed, society and transportation. Starting on Great Britain on the 18th century, among the most important changes that it brought there are new chemical manufacturin and processes for manipulate metals like iron, the increased use of water and steam power, the switch of hand production methods to using machines, mass production and the development of machine tools. The iron, coal and textiles industries were the more important and developed during the Revolution. The job opportunities, the massive production and the economic benefits generated by the new industries, as well as improvement on transportation with the invention of trains and steamboats, favored and encouraged massive migration from the rural areas to the cities.

However, all of this generated many problems for the labourers. Their employment and subsistence became depndent of costly means and job security was lacking (this because displacement of workers by machines and a large labour pool). Job conditions were miserable as well, with low wages, many hours of work, unsanitary coonditions, explotaition, lack of compensation for accidents, firing or incapacity to work, child labour, abuses for part of the employers, etc. Additionally, the new factories generated plenty of pollution on the air near the cities and the increase in urban population caused unsanitary conditions and increased on diseases.

Many of this issues would be progressively attended and solved through time, but the initials stage of the Industrial Revolution were difficult for the majority, despite of the positive aspects of it. The conditions in which most people lived added to the indiference of their employers and the slow response of the authorities, give us an idea of how low valued was the life of most individuals during those years. In many cases, the workers weren't very different from the machines of the Revolution, they served a purpose, but if they "fail" or "break", they were replaced and wasted without second thoughts.

Sources:

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025). The first Industrial Revolution. Encyclopaedia Britannica, website: Industrial Revolution - Technology, Factories, Change | Britannica

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During the late 18th century, France experienced a period of intense social and political unstability. This was because the existence of an aristocracy and monarchy which had plenty of privileges, a marked indifference toward lower classes and repressive tendencies, while there was extensive sectors of the population struggling to survive, and the huge majority of people in the country were politically underrepresented. On this context, a social-political revolution took place on 1789, marked by the siege and take of the prison of the Bastille by a revolutionary group. Some time after this, the recently formed National Constituent Assembly, adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" (DRM&C). This document was drafted by liberal and revolutionary thinkers, and stablished a series of rights for most of France's men, based on principles of equality and freedom.

The creation of this document, mostly like the revolution, caused all kinds of reactions across Europe, including Great Britain, where the document received support, opposition, destructive and constructive critics. Among the most important reactions on literature we have Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man", Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" and Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication on the Rights of Woman". Despite the mixed reactions, all of this led to changes on British society mentality, which then led to activism and eventually to actual political changes.

We can say that the DRM&C, was an important break point on how the individuals' value was perceived, as it gives most men the same rights and consolidate this idea of not looking just at the social position or property ownership of an individual to consider it relevant for society, at the same time that the revoultion showed the power, value and importance that collectives may have. Of course, the Declaration didn't include all men (slaves were a notorious exception to this) and it didn't include women at all, yet it opened doors that would led those excluded to eventually gain rights as well.

Sources:

Britannica. (2025). Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Encyclopaedia Britannica, website: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen | Summary | Britannica

Kopstein, K. (2000). Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge University Press. P.72.

Popkin, J. (2014). A Short History of the French Revolution (6th edition). Routledge. London & New York.

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As mentioned on a previous entry, the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" alongside the French Revolution, had a deep impact on the British culture and society of the time. One of the most influential works that came from that wave of responses is "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" (VRW), written by Mary Wollestonecraft. This essay critizice author's contemporary theorists that didn't believe that women should receive rational education, arguing for the importance of women in society, as they educate the children and could be companions of their husbands. The essay also argued for empowerement on politics, society and marriage for women.

Despite not explicitly talking about equality between the sexes beside some specific aspects, this essay maintained that women are most than "ornaments to society" as mere wives, maintaining that they are human beings, a key aspect of society and that they deserve fundamental rights just like men. This text had a moderate impact on its time, as it evidenced the inequalities between men and women and encourage for a bigger recognition of the last and the value they have in society, something that would also contribute to future movements and changes in Great Britain and the world. With that in mind, is not surprise that Wollstoncraft's essay is considered an early feminist phylosophy work and a precurssor to the future feminist movements.

Sources:

Sottosanti, K. (2025). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Encyclopaedia Britannica, website: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman | Summary, Importance, & Facts | Britannica

Wollstonecraft, M. (1792). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects. London, UK. 

Image of Public Domain, of the title page of the first edition of the essay.

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After many years of discussion and social pressure on 1833, during the rule of Henry IV, the Slavery Abolition Act was introduced and assented by the king. After it came into force a year later, slavery were abolished in Great Britain, and most of the British empire.

This event is part of the Romanticism period and represents and important break point, because until then slaves (which were mostly from African ascendence), were considered by the government as little more than an livestock, making them to be valued by being a mean of production or a status' symbol, rather than as human individuals. After this, they could be valued as humans, and while there was some resilience and many people still considered the former slaves as less valuable than the white British people, the abolition of slavery was an important antecedent for future break points on how the former enslaved population and their descendants were valued by the British people.

Sources:

Henry, N. (2025). Slavery Abolition Act. Britannica, website: Slavery Abolition Act | History & Impact | Britannica

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Alexandrina Victoria, bettwr known as Queen Victoria, was the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and monarch of the British Empire, for most of the 19th century. Her reign constituted the Victorian Era, a period of industrial, cultural and political change, as well as a great time for scientific development, lierature and physlosophy, marked for the expansion of the Empire. However, the Victorian Era was also marked for a tremendous inequality among the british and between the british and the people of the colonies.

On that context and after a complicate and strange succesion process, Victoria became Queen and strarted to live in the Buckingham Palace. On 1840 she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Couburg and Gotha, who would be one of the greatest moral, emotional and actions supporters that the Queen would have. The couple wanted to be perceived as a standard and example of what a British couple should be. Victoria, depsite being a determined women, always tried to look calmed and acted with a lot of self-control in public, at the time she encouraged a high moral way of life. Yet, she also showed concern for its people and tried to get close to them and help those in need. She became patron of over 100 institutions, including dozens of charities, while Albert was known for supporting the development of education and museums. They made civic visits to industrial towns and attended military reviews to support the armed forces. Aditionally, during her reign many social reforms aiming to improve the ocnditions of people in need were approved (even if she wasn't necessary involved on the creation of those laws, she approved them).

Those actions shows that Queen Victoria tried to be a monarch close to the people and who was concerned about those in need. It is unclear how much did she actually care about her citizens or, unlikely, if everything was part of a political strategy, yet it is undeniable that Victoria presented herself as benevolent ruler who look for her citizens and that her actions had an actual impact on how the value of individuals was perceived by society and the british government.

Sources:

Bates, S. (2014). Queen Victoria also pleaded poverty. But these days [arliament bites back. The Guardian, website: Queen Victoria also pleaded poverty. But these days parliament bites back | Stephen Bates | The Guardian

BBC teach. Queen Victoria: The woman who redefined Britain's monarchy. BBC, website: Queen Victoria: The woman who redefined Britain’s monarchy - BBC Bitesize

Hibbert, C. (2000). Queen Victoria: A Personal History. London: Harper Collins.

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Since the First Industrial Revolution, an important percentage of British population, specially on the urban areas, start working at factories in which all kind of commodities were produced in mass. This however, despite some benefits, came with many abuses and difficulties for the workers of the factories (which included men, women and children). In response to this, a series of laws, known collectively as the "Factories Acts", were approved through the years on attempts to improve the labor conditions on British factories, starting with the Althorp's Act of 1833. A little later, already in Victorian Era, there were even more advances.

Starting with the Factory Act of 1844, which is considered the first health and safety act in Britain, it made mandatory that all dangerous machine should be securely fenced off, that no child should clean mill machinery while it was in motion, as well as establishing a limit of 6.5 hours of work for children (plus 3 hours of schooling) and a maximum of 12 hour day for women and everyone between 13 and 18 years old. This time would later be reduced to 10 hours on Anthony Ashley-Cooper's Factory Act of 1847.

On 1867, a new Act passed that extended the existing legislation to more kind of factories and brought regulation to other industries like blast furnaces, tobacco, steel and iron, glass, mills, bookbinding and paper. This act have issues on it enforcement, since it considerably increased the number of places liable to official inspection.

Further Factory Acts were passed on 1878, 1891 and 1895, which considerably extended earlier safety regulations and put additional limits to women and children employment on factories. The most relevant of this changes came with the 1891 Act, which raised the minimum age of factory's employment to 11.

The history of these regulations acts, help us to appreciate how the value given to people, particularly the factory workers changed with the years. From giving them very few importance on the early Industrial Revolurtion, particularly from the factories owners, to having more consideration by the government before the start of Victorian Era, and then a progressive increase of concerns for their safety and well being as this period advances, getting a relatively humanitarian approach, closer to modern legislations as they were getting close to the 20th century.

Sources:

UK Parliament Living Heritage. (20225). Later factory legislation. UK Parliament, website: Later factory legislation - UK Parliament

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During Victorian Era, the British crown gain direct control over India, in what would be called the "British raj". Since the 18th century, parts of what nowadays are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, were administered by the East India Company (a British company), but after years of distrust and dissatisfaction, which led to a violent uprising in 1857, the company started to loose control over the subcontinent. The political, social and economical consequences of this caused the abolishment of the East India Company and the transfer of rule to the British government and the Crown. With that India would fully become part of the empire, and Queen Victoria herself would be proclaimed Empress of India in 1876.

But this didn't went without controversy. Complains and denounces of abuses by the colonial authorities were common even before the start of the Raj, and many times the critics came from British themselves. Many authors, thinkers, political and authorities, publicly criticize the colonial rule and the abuses against the local populations. A well-known case is the novel "War of the Worlds", fromt he writer and society' critic, H.G. Wells, who knew and witnessed those abuses first hand, something that inspire him to write his novel in which "a foreign power" came to England and start to conquered it.

The division of opinions about colonialism on India, remain relevant during most of the Raj and after it. There were many positions about the rule over India, which let us see how there were many ways in which people were valued for the British. There were those who saw Indians as less and that justify the rule over them (and sometimes the abuses), with the idea that it was British' duty to help them to be better. Other people considered them as less, but were against the abuses and the rule those sutained. Other positions were those that considered that India was a burden for the empire, other that considerates Indians a equally humans but different from the British (some of those wanted them to be apart of the British) and others that thought that Indians should be equals with the native British. Those are just some of the positions, yet it let us see that in general terms, either conciously or not, most British had a feeling of superiority and thought of the Indians with condescendence. Either way, this an example of how the value that society give to a same colelctive or the individuals of it may vary a lot depending on who you ask.

Sources:

Kaul, C. (2011). From Empire to Independence: The British Raj in India 1858-1947. BBC History.

Steinback, S. (2012). Understanding the Victorians: Politics, Culture and Society in Nineteenth-Century Britain. Routledge: London & New York.

Wolpert, S. (2025). British Raj. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Website: British raj | Imperialism, Impact, History, & Facts | Britannica

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For most of its history, Great Britain have traditionally leave the women on a secondary place, specially on political matters. Royal families tend to favour male heirs, women were excluded of important (if any) political positions, and their opinions were hardly heard at the moment of taking decisions (at least publicly). Even during the Victorian Era, with a strong and charismatic woman as the leader of the country, Queen Victoria was considered more as an exception than a proof that women could be succesful in politics (Victoria herself, had a similar opinion). It is then not surprising that by the end of Victorian Era and start of the Contemporary Period, women stilln't had the right to vote or be voted on Great Britain.

Yet, it was precisely during the Victorian Era, when the movements in favour of rights of women started to win a lot of strenght and spaces on the public and political debate. The right of women to vote and be voted was one of the main objectives of those movements. It took decades, but it was until 1916 that a first important step was took, when the speaker of the House of Commons, James William Lowther, chaired a first conference on electoral reforms in which a limited women's suffrage was recommended.

Women voted for the first time in modern Britain, on 1918. However this came out of necessity, for a legal issue. The law at the time established that one of the requisites to vote was being a men who had been resident in UK, 12 months prior to the election. That effectively ban large numbers of troops who had been serving overseas during the Great War to vote. With that only 58% of the men were elegible to vote, something that combined with the pressure of the suffrage movement, and inminent general election and the growth of the Labour Party forced politicians to extend the vote to all men and some women.

That led to the drafting and passing of the Representation of the People Act of 1918. This law allowed women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification to vote. The Act also abolished property and other restrictions for men, causing that almost every British men over the age of 21 could vote, and from the age of 19 if they were part of the armed forces.

It was not until 1928, with the Equal Franchise Act, that women over 21 were able to vote, getting with that the same right as men. At the time. the number of women eligible to vote were 15 million.

This case is interesting, since it let us see how resilient could societies be to change the perceived value they have of a specific demographic group. If we look back on this timeline, It was at the end of the 18th century that Mary Wollstonecraft wrote about a bigger recognition for women in society (altough she didn't talk explicitly about the right to vote), yet women couldn't vote in her country until the second decade of 20th century and they didn't get equal right until they were already on the second quarter of that century. However, this case is also an example of the resilience of a group to be appreciated and shows that changes happen even if it took time. Some decades would still had to pass before a women became First Minister and a little longer for the society to be almost equal for men and women, but the right to vote was an important step on the series of events that allowed women to be perceived as equally valuable than men on Great Britain.

Sources:

UK Parliament Living Heritage. (2025). Women get the vote. UK Parliament, website: Women get the vote - UK Parliament

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After centuries as a Colonial Power, the 2 World Wars of 20th Century left the British Empire on a weak position. The massive loss of lives, the costs of the war, the weakening of trade and industry, a change on the mentality of the British society, the cultural impact of the wars and its horrors, are some of the internal factors that pushed the government to make changes. Meanwhile, the indepentist movements on many colonies, the status of the United States and the URSS as the new world super-powers (both with anti-colonialist ideas), the lack of strenght of colonial authorities for enforcing the laws and a world's change on mentality toward colonialism, were some of the external factors that contributed to the end of colonial empires, including the British.

The first important partition of the Empire, ocurred on 1947, when India (the most important colony of the Empire at the time), gain its independence from Great Britain and then split on India and Pakistan (which later would also split into Bangladesh and modern Pakistan). It is worth to mention that the separation from Great Britain was fairly peacefull and previously negotiated (sadly, the same can't be said about India and Pakistan split).

Soon after, on May of 1948, Palestine also separated from the Empire and the State of Israel was created. This was related with the fact that many Jewish people, refugees and survivors of WWII, Nazi prosecution and the Holocaust, wanted to return to the land of their ancestors, despite the opposition of the arab and muslim populations that unhabited the zone at the time. The split of Palestine was ac omplicated process and a war exploded just after it, yet British Empire didn't get directly involved on the conflict, since their objective was the separation from Palestine and the creation of the new Jewish state of Israel.

On the same year, a civil war started on Malasya, between the forces of the Malayan Federation and the Commonwealth and a pro-Independence communist Liberation Army. The war extended for more than 10 years, until 1960, when the Federation forces declared the state of emergency over, the Liberation army was defeated and Malasya came out as an independent state with approval of the British authorities.

On 1956, Egypt unilaterally nationalised the Suez Canal, after some years of tense relationships with the British. Great Britain was not on the best position, but still plot a plan with Israel and France to declare war on Egypt and retake the Canal. However the intervention of the USA in this issue, put an end to the conflict and put pressure on Great Britain, who despite their military achievements on the conflict was forced to accept the terms of USA, making evident to the rest of the world the weak state in which the Empire was already.

The tendency of decolonization continued during the next decades. Malta gain its independence in 1964. By 1968, with exception of South Rodesia, all the British Colonies on Africa had already had their independences. Between 1970 and 1980, the colonies on the Pacific, starting with Fiji and finishing with Vanuatu, acquired their independences. On 1981 Belize gained its independence, this was the last British colony on the Caribbean. Many other territories also gained its independence, and Hong Kong was the last colony of the Empire, when in 1997, after decades of tension and then negotiation with China, Great Britain finally handed over the city to the Chinese government, with the only condition that it will keep some autonomy fromt he rest of the country during 50 years. That transfer of sovereignity over this region, is what the majority of experts considered the official end of the British Empire.

Beside the political, military and economical reasons of why the British Empire dissolved, we need to llok at the ideological and cultural reasons. Contrary to the independence process of the Americas, the majority of the Independence process of the former british colonies went out without a direct fight between the independentist and the metropoli. Instead, most of the process came to be for convenience of the british and negociation. I think that the breaking point on the mentality came after the 2 World Wars. Because of the huge loss of life, the unclear achievements and the horros commited by their enemies against specific collectives during WWII, the British became more sensible about the importance of individual lives and aware of the horrors that discrimination toward other nations/ethnicities could cause. The second realization may not have a huge impact at first (after all, racism perdured as a genralized thing on Great Britain some decades after the WWII), however as many other breakpoints on this timeline, it started a series of events, reactions and actions that eventually lead the English to be more respectful toward other nations. Either way, is undeniable that the loss of millions of people and the atrocities of the war caused a sensibilization toward life among the people, which translated on a bigger respect and value-giving toward individuals, something that one way or another helped to have a smoother transition of power on most of the former colonies and contributed to the "let them be, let them live" process that were most of the independences from the Empire.

Sources:

Abernathy, D. (2000). The Dynamics of Global Dominance: European Overseas Empires, 1415-1980. Yale University Press.

Lawrence, J. (2001). The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. Abacus.

Lloyd, T. (1996). The British Empire 1558-1995. Oxford University Press.

Macdonald, B. (1994). Britain. Tides of history: the Pacific Islands in the twentieth century. University of Hawaii Press.

Owen, R. (2001). Suez Crisis. The Oxford Companion to the Politics of the World (2nd ed.)  Oxford University Press.

Piers, B. (2007). The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997. Random House.

Sprinhall, J. (2001). Decolonization since 1945: the collapse of European overseas empires. Palgrave.

Talbot, I; & Gurharpal, S. (2009). The Partition of India. Cambridge University Press.

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the Human Rights Act of 1998, is a legistaion that defined the fundamental rights and freedoms to which people in the United Kingdom is entitled. This act made effective the application of rights, agreed by the UK in the European Convention on Human Rights of 1951. It is worth to mention that many of those were already present in the British laws and enforced, but this act oficialized them.

There were 15 Right in total approved, some of them absolute and others qualified. They are the rights to Life, Freedom from Torture, Freedom from slavery, Liberty and security, Fair Trial, No punishment without law, Respect for private and fmaily life, Freedom of thought conscience and religion, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly and Association, Marry, Enjoyment of rights and freedom without discrimination, Property, Education and Free Elections.

The fact that these Act came in effect at the start of 21st century, is almost poetic. After all, after decades of fight for rights and for recognition of individual value, the change of Milennia looked promising and truth is that, with mistakes and issues, and with some work still needed, British society have shown an actual imoprovement and is nowadays a very equalitarian country in which the people are normally recognized for what they are, independently of their sex, race, sexual orientation, age, etc. They are valued as individuals that deserve respect (the actions they do, is what determine if they deserve it more or less).

Sources:

Casserley, C. (2025). Human Rights Act 1998. Encyclopaedia Britannica, website: Human Rights Act 1998 | Protection, Equality & Discrimination | Britannica

Justice. (2000). A Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998: Questions and Answers. Ministry of Justice, website (recovered through Wayback Machine): www.justice.org.uk/images/pdfs…

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