Distress and reform: Great Britain 1815-67

The UK was undergoing industrialization in the early nineteenth century, and this was linked to a rise in the urban population, despite high mortality rates. Skilled artisans were affected by the rise of factory work, and lack of work also affected outworkers in rural areas. Attention was focused on the sanitary conditions of the poor by Chadwick, and the need for a sewage and water system was addressed after the 1866 and 1872 Sanitary Acts. Education was seen as increasingly important as a means to integrate members of society, whereas previously it was feared that education might encourage revolution.