Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

History Britain: Health and the People > Chapter 9 Improvements in public health > Flashcards

Chapter 9 Improvements in public health Flashcards

1
Q

When was Britain’s public health in a poor situation?

A

early 1800s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What was the average age of death for a working man in early 1800s Britain?

A

30 years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What was the average age of death for a working man in Liverpool in the early 1800s?

A

15 years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

In the early 1800s, how many children in Manchester died before they reached their first birthday?

A

1 in every 5

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How many children died before they reached the age of five in Manchester in the early 1800s?

A

1 in every 3

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What may have happened to public health in the early 1800s?

A

It may have been worse than in previous centuries

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

For how long did Britain’s towns and cities grow very quickly in the 1800s?

A

They grew very quickly in the first 50 years of the 1800s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What was the population of Sheffield in 1750?

A

12,000

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What was the population of Sheffield in 1850?

A

150,000

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What was the reason for population increase in Sheffield from 1750 to 1850 (and likely many others towns and cities in the early 1800s)?

A

People flocked to the town to get a job in one of the new factories and obtain the new life promised with it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What were “back-to-back” houses?

A

They were houses built quickly to accommodate the thousands of people working in factories (many factories were built in the early 1800s in Britain)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Where were many new factories built in the early 1800s in Britain?

A

The north and midlands of England

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What was the population of Bradford in 1801 and 1851?

A

Bradford’s population was 13,000 in 1801 and 104,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What was the population of Glasgow in 1801 and 1851?

A

Glasgow’s population was 77,000 in 1801 and 329,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What was the population of Liverpool in 1801 and 1851?

A

Liverpool’s population was 82,000 in 1801 and 376,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What was the population of Birmingham in 1801 and 1851?

A

Birmingham’s population was 71,000 in 1801 and 233,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What was the population of Manchester in 1801 and 1851?

A

Manchester’s population was 70,000 in 1801 and 303,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What was the population of Leeds in 1801 and 1851?

A

Leeds’ population was 53,000 in 1801 and 172,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What was the population of London in 1801 and 1851?

A

London’s population was 957,000 in 1801 and 2,362,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What was the population of Bath in 1801 and 1851?

A

Bath’s population was 33,000 in 1801 and 54,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What was the population of Norwich in 1801 and 1851?

A

Norwich’s population was 36,000 in 1801 and 68,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What was the population of York in 1801 and 1851?

A

York’s population was 17,000 in 1801 and 34,000 in 1851

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

How many people often lived in one small room in a back-to-back house?

A

Often 5 or more

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

How many people were found sharing one room in Liverpool once and when?

A

40 people were found sharing one room in 1847

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

How did some families use a bucket to dispose of faeces?

A

Some families could only manage a bucket in a room’s corner which was emptied sometimes into the street or stored with faeces until there was enough to sell as manure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What was a street toilet?

A

A deep hole with a wooded shed overhead which was occasionally present for people to defecate. However, it was shared by many families

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Where did people in back-to-back houses get their water from and how clean was this?

A

Sometimes a water pump provided water, but often water only came from the local pond or river and was just as filthy as the street water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What were some major factors in slums which made diseases common?

A

There were no street cleaners, sewers, rubbish collections or running fresh water. Sewage trickled into the streets and nearby rivers, yet most families washed their clothes and drank from the same river

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Why were their no clear strategies to deal with disease outbreaks in towns and cities?

A

Although governments in all major European nations were concerned by disease outbreaks, people did not know what truly caused disease in the early 1800s, so there was no clear strategy to combat this.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

When did Cholera arrive in Britain?

A

1831

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

How many people did Cholera kill In Britain in 1831 alone?

A

around 50,000

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

How long did the cholera epidemic of 1831 in Britain take to pass?

A

The cholera epidemic passed after a few months and life was returning to normal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

After the 1831 outbreak, when did further outbreaks of cholera occur in Britain in the 1830s?

A

1837 and 1838

34
Q

When did the government establish an inquiry to learn about the living conditions and health of the poor?

A

1839

35
Q

Who was in charge of the government’s inquiry to learn about the living conditions of the poor?

A

Edwin Chadwick, a government official

36
Q

How many copies of Chadwick’s report were handed out or sold and how?

A

Over 10,000 free copies were handed out to politicians, journalists, writers and anyone else who could change public opinion. 20,000 more were sold to the public

37
Q

How did Chadwick believe disease was spread?

A

He mistakenly believed in the miasma theory, the idea that “bad air”, also known as “miasma”, spread disease. This “miasma” was given off by rotting animals, human waste and rubbish

38
Q

When was Edwin Chadwick born?

A

1800

39
Q

When did Edwin Chadwick die?

A

1890

40
Q

How long did it take for Chadwick to complete his public health inquiry?

A

A 2-year period

41
Q

How did Chadwick conduct the inquiry?

A

Chadwick sent out doctors to most major towns and cities; they set up questionnaires and interviewed hundreds of people

42
Q

When were the results of Chadwick’s inquiry published?

A

In 1842, Chadwick published a report on the “Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain”

43
Q

What was the average age of death for the upper, middle and working classes in Leeds, a town?

A

Upper class - 44, Middle class - 27, Working class - 19

44
Q

What was the average age of death for the upper, middle and working classes of Rutland?

A

Upper class - 52, Middle class - 41, Working class - 38

45
Q

What was laissez-faire and why did this contribute to the government not doing anything regarding public health despite Chadwick’s report?

A

Laissez-faire, French words meaning “leave alone”, was the attitude among people who believed the government shouldn’t interfere in the lives of ordinary people. They thought it wasn’t the government’s job to keep people clean

46
Q

What was a reason behind the government’s inaction?

A

Some Members of Parliament were making fortunes from the rents of the slums and tearing and rebuilding them would cost them money

47
Q

What finally caused the government to pass the first Public Health Act?

A

Another cholera epidemic was sweeping across Europe

48
Q

When was the first Public Health Act passed?

A

1848

49
Q

What did the first Public Health Act do?

A

The Act created a Central Board of Health in London which would work to make any improvements to public health. It could force some areas to establish a Local Board of Health if they met conditions. These Local Boards could appoint a specialist Medical Officer, provide sewers and inspect lodging houses.

50
Q

What were some towns which made massive improvements due to the Act?

A

Liverpool, Sunderland and Birmingham

51
Q

How many towns had set up their own Boards of Health by 1853?

A

103 towns

52
Q

When was the Central Board of Health closed down and why?

A

The Board was closed down in 1854 due to strong resentment of government interference

53
Q

How many people died of cholera in 1848?

A

60,000

54
Q

How many people died of cholera in 1854?

A

20,000

55
Q

When was John Snow born?

A

1813

56
Q

When did John Snow die?

A

1858

57
Q

Who was John Snow and where did he work?

A

Snow was a famous surgeon and worked in Broad Street, Soho, London

58
Q

How many people living in or near Broad Street died of cholera within 10 days in 1854?

A

Over 700

59
Q

What did John Snow discover?

A

Snow discovered that cholera was a water-borne disease (a disease carried in water)

60
Q

What was the Great Stink and when did it occur?

A

The Great Stink was an event where a heat wave caused the filthy River Thames to smell worse than ever. It occurred in the summer of 1858

61
Q

What caused MPs to turn to Joseph Bazalgette in 1858?

A

Dr Snow’s evidence about cholera being waterborne and the stench from the Thames during the Great Stink

62
Q

When did work on London’s sewers begin?

A

1858

63
Q

When were London’s sewers finished?

A

1866

64
Q

How much money was Bazalgette given in 1858 by Parliament to build London’s sewers and how much is this today?

A

£3 million (about £1 billion today)

65
Q

How many bricks did Bazalgette use to build London’s sewers?

A

318 million

66
Q

How many miles of sewers did Bazalgette build?

A

83 miles

67
Q

How many gallons of sewage did London’s sewers remove a day?

A

420 million

68
Q

What were several measures, other than the government taking more responsibility for public health, which improved life expectancy in the 1800s?

A

Better nursing and surgery techniques

69
Q

What was the death rate in Britain (number of people dying per 1000 of the population) in 1800 and 1900?

A

1800 - 39/1000, 1900 - 18/1000

70
Q

How did the average age of death in Britain change across the 1800s?

A

The average age of death rose from 30 to 50

71
Q

What was the population of Britain in 1801?

A

about 10 million

72
Q

What was the population of Britain in 1901?

A

38 million

73
Q

When did working-class men living in towns get the vote?

A

1867

74
Q

Why did working-class men in towns getting suffrage arguably end laissez-faire in Britain regarding health?

A

Working-class men had been suffering the most from poor living conditions. If politicians improved conditions in towns, they would get votes from working-class men. As a result, politicians in government began to improve public health

75
Q

Why did the Conservative Party win the general election in 1874?

A

It was largely due to working-class votes for the Conservatives

76
Q

When was smallpox vaccination made compulsory?

A

1853

77
Q

When was the Sanitary Act passed and what did this do?

A

The Act was passed in 1866 and made local councils responsible for sewers, water and street cleaning and forced each town to have a health inspector

78
Q

When was the Artisans Dwelling Act (also known as the Housing Act) passed and what did this do?

A

The Act was passed in 1875 and made house owners responsible for ensuring their properties were in good order. The Act also gave local councils the power to buy and demolish slum housing if it was not improved

79
Q

When was the second Public Health Act passed and what did this do?

A

The Act was passed in 1875 and forced local councils to cover sewers and keep them in good condition, supply fresh water, collect rubbish, provide street lighting and appoint Medical Officers responsible for public health

80
Q

When was the Sale of Food and Drugs Act passed and what did this do?

A

The Act was passed in 1875 and established guidelines for the quality and sale of food and medicine

History Britain: Health and the People (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions