The Industrial Revolution Flashcards
c1700 - 1900
What was the supernatural belief like in the 1700 - 1800s?
people used religious belief less to explain events even though religion was still very strong in people’s lives
In the 1700s, what was the main theory of what caused disease?
Few people believed in the 4 humours however it hadn’t been fully replaced yet but miasma was believed and so was the work of Thomas Sydenham
What was the theory of spontaneous generation?
“animalcules” were the product of decay and so if something was to be left to decay, these animalcules would spontaneously generate onto it
When was the enlightenment?
throughout the 1700s
What was the importance of the enlightenment?
it became fashionable to seek answers to questions about the world and rational explanation became the standard
What was the importance of the Scientific Revolution?
New scientific theories finally began to replace old ones
Why was the scientific revolution in the industrial period as opposed to the renaissance?
Although theories were discredited in the Renaissance, there were no new theories to replace them until the industrial period
What was the importance of the growth of towns and cities?
new cities and towns were not well planned meaning that diseases like TB and smallpox were big threats to the working class
Which theory of causing disease was brought forward from the Renaissance
Miasma (becoming less popular)
the links between seeds in the air and animalcules (becoming more popular)
What new theory on the cause of disease was developed in the early 18th century?
Spontaneous Generation as an alternative to the four humours
What was spontaneous generation helped by?
early microscopes that could identify ‘animalcules’ on decaying matter
What were the 4 conclusions of germ theory?
- the air contains living microbes
- microbes in the air cause decay
- microbes are not evenly distributed in the air
- microbes can be killed by heating them
What did John Tyndall discover?
that there were small organic particles in the air - he gave a speech in 1870 linking the works of Joseph Lister and Louis Pasteur
What did Robert Koch discover?
Specific germs that cause specific diseases
What did John Tyndall theorise in 1870?
that disease could be spread through dust particles
What did the Government ignore in 1884?
Koch’s work in India about how Cholera was caused by a specific microbe
When was the tuberculosis germ discovered?
1882
When was the cholera germ discovered?
1883
When was the link between cholera and water proved?
1854 by John Snow and 1884 by Robert Koch
When was the meningitis germ discovered?
1884
When was the yersinia pestis germ discovered?
1894
What event in 1915 helped germ theory spread?
Dr Bastien, a well respected doctor who encouraged belief in spontaneous generation, died
When was the first vaccination?
1796 for smallpox
How did the government change in relation to prevention of disease in the 1700s?
they gradually became more involved
What cures were consistently being used in the industrial period?
herbal remedies because successful cures were not developed until the 20th century
When was the Royal Jennerian Society set up and what did it do?
1803 and it promoted and facilitated vaccinations
When was the smallpox vaccine made compulsory?
1852
When were public vaccinators appointed?
1871
When did the British government begin to enforce compulsory vaccinations?
1853
What vaccination did Pasteur discover and what was the importance of this?
A chicken cholera vaccination by producing a weakened strain of the germ
It led to applied science when it came to vaccinations
Who developed a tetanus and diphtheria vaccine and when?
Emil Von Behring in 1890
When was John Snow’s work on Cholera?
1854
When did Florence Nightingale begin improving hospitals?
1853
When were the main nationwide smallpox epidemics?
1722, 1723, 1740-42
When was inoculation introduced?
1796
Who was one of the most successful inoculators?
Thomas Dimsdale
What did uneducated people say about Jenner’s vaccination originally?
it would turn them into cows
How did Jenner make the link between smallpox and cowpox?
he noticed that the dairy maids he treated for cowpox never caught smallpox
How did Jenner experiment with his vaccination?
He infected James Phipps with cowpox and 6 weeks later tried to give him smallpox but James couldn’t catch it. He tried this on other people to test his theory.
What did religious leaders say about Jenner’s vaccination originally?
it was against God’s will
What did inoculators think about Jenner’s vaccination?
it would destroy their businesses
Why was the Government in favor of Jenner’s vaccination?
it was cheaper and safer than inoculation - especially considering with inoculation people had to be quarantined afterwards
Why did the anti-Jenner propaganda fall away?
because of how many lives he saved
Who discovered that chloroform had a surgical use?
James Simpson, 1847
What was the surgical use of chloroform?
it had the capacity to knock people out for a duration of time
Why was the discovery of chloroform important for surgeries?
Before 1847, anaesthetics for surgeons had been painfully limited
Which early chemical was avoided in surgeries and wby?
Ether - because it was highly flammable
What techniques did surgeons use to put patients to sleep before chloroform?
opium, alcohol and sometimes hypnotism
What did Joseph Lister discover?
Infected wounds were essentially rotting flesh and so from 1865 onwards he began using carbolic acid in operations to prevent infections and clear germs from wounds
What was a long term effect of Lister’s work?
antiseptic surgery which was widely supported by 1882 (this wasn’t necessarily with carbolic spray but using an alternative - Lister stopped using it in 1890)
Define aseptic surgery
Making operating theatres clean from germs in the first place by doing things like steam cleaning surgical tools, wearing rubber gloves, wearing surgical masks etc
How did John Snow contribute to the chloroform discovery?
He developed the chloroform dispenser, meaning the dosage could be regulated in operations
Why was the chloroform dispenser important?
too much of the chemical slowed down the heart too quickly
Why did chloroform become widely popular in Britain?
Queen Victoria used it during the birth of her son in 1853
How did Lister discover that carbolic acid work?
He used it on a patient with a broken leg and the wound was not infected
What was the effect of Lister’s operation death rate as a result of carbolic spray?
It went from 47% to 15%
Why was there opposition to anaesthetics?
- initial fear
- before the introduction of antiseptics they made surgery more dangerous
- religion
Why were the people initially scared of anaesthetics?
In 1848 Hannah Greener died after having chloroform in an operation - people saw it as unsafe
People thought you were more likely to die if you are unconscious as opposed to awake and screaming
How did anaesthetics originally make surgery more dangerous?
before antiseptics were introduced, deeper surgeries were being attempted in the same dirty conditions so infection and death rates increased
this was known was the “Black Period” for surgery
Why was there religious opposition to anaesthetics?
People believed that interfering with pain disobeyed God’s plan - especially childbirth which was believed that it was supposed to be painful
How did Lister overcome his opposition?
By saying that his statistics spoke for themselves
Why was there opposition to antiseptics originally?
- People didn’t fully understand the science
- Smelt funny and were irritant- surgeons argued if it made their hands sore it couldn’t be helping the patient
How did not understanding science cause opposition against carbolic spray?
- News of Lister’s discovery spread quicker than germ theory
- Took a long time for surgeons to accept that germs caused infections as they didn’t want to believe they might have been responsible for infections that killed their patients
What happened to Apothecaries in the industrial period?
- Began to lose influence- medicine became more sophisticated
- Still relied on herbal remedies- chemical cures weren’t discovered yet.
- Based on site at hospitals.
What funded new hospitals in the 18th century?
donations from wealthy people and members of the new middle class such as businessmen and lawyers
How did hospitals improve overall in the industrial revolution?
- They became places where the sick would be treated as opposed to being a place where they could rest
- Nightingale professionalised nursing and impacted the layout of hospitals
What caused Florence Nightingale to improve hospital conditions?
After she was shocked by the state of them during the Crimean War between 1853 and 1856
What are some examples of improvements by Florence Nightingale in hospitals?
- Scrubbing brushes to get rid of dirt near patients
- Clean bedding and ensuring good meals
- 1860 - Nightingale School for Nurses
- Pavilion style hospital
What was a pavilion style hospital?
A layout of a hospital where infectious patients would be kept away from other patients
What was the impact of Florence Nightingale?
- improved nursing
- applied pressure to standards before germ theory
- broke the mentality that nurses were uncaring and flirtatious
- positive effect on mortality rates
By what percent did mortality rates drop due to the influence of Florence Nightingale?
38% (from 40% to 2%)
What did the Government do concerning public health throughout the 18th century?
They remained largely inactive however they tackled the issue of gin consumption in 1750
What was the gin issue in 1750?
The poor were drinking themselves to death with gin
How did the government solve the gin issue in 1750?
By raising the price of gin
What did the gin crisis of 1750 foreshadow?
The future because it showed the ability of the attitudes of society to influence the government’s work and it also showed that the government were unwilling to involve themselves unless they absolutely had to
Why did the Government eventually step in with the gin crisis of 1750?
the impact of the portrait Gin Lane forced the government to make changes
How many people died of cholera between 1831 and 1866?
over 100,000 people
Who did cholera affect the most?
the poorest people in the country - the biggest outbreaks were in slum dwellings, workhouses, prisons and asylums
When did cholera arrive in Britain?
1831
In what book did John Snow theorise about cholera in drinking water?
On the Mode of Communication of Cholera
How did John Snow link cholera to drinking water?
In 1854 he made a spot map linking 93 cholera deaths to a water pump in Soho
He removed the handle from the pump, preventing people using it
The outbreak went away
Later inspections discovered untreated sewage had been leaking into the pump
What was the General Board of Health’s reaction to John Snow’s work on cholera?
They insisted that miasma was the cause of cholera and stated that people still got cholera even if they lived far away from a pump
Why did the General Board of Health react to John Snow the way they did?
Because if they admitted that cholera was caused by infected water then they would have to take costly steps towards providing clean water
What eventually forced the government to take action against the sewage conditions?
the great stink in 1858
What effect did the industrial revolution have on towns?
They became overcrowded, full of slums and full of poor sanitation. There was dirty water supplied and no cleanliness
What were the main killer diseases during the industrial revolution?
Typhoid, smallpox, cholera and diptheria
What was the attitude of the government in the early 19th century?
Similar to the 1600s, they focussed on miasma and clearing up ‘bad air’. They were very laissez-faire and there was a political belief that the government should have a hands off approach
What were the factors that influenced change throughout the 19th century?
- big outbreak of cholera in 1831
- 1842 report on how poor living conditions were
- 1854 link between cholera and water proved
- 1858 great stink took place
- 1961 germ theory
When was the first public health law and what was it?
1848
Gave town councils the option of volunteering to provide clean water to its inhabitants
What and when was the second public health law?
1875
Enforced councils to provide clean water, sewers, remove nuisances and clear slums
How did Edwin Chadwick affect public health in the 19th century?
He published a report in 1842 called the Report of the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain.
He said a local tax should be used to prevent illness not treat it so less people got sick as time went on
How was Joseph Bazalgette important for public health in the 19th century?
In 1858 he was the engineer employed by the government to modernise the sewer system and ensure clean water supplies to London after the Great Stink
What was the work of Thomas Sydenham?
He theorised disease attacked the body
How did technology affect progress in the industrial revolution?
Microscope helped research into germs
Industrial strength dyes that developed allowed for the staining of microbes
