Whitechapel - socio-economic state Flashcards
What year did Booth reveal research that showed how many people in Whitechapel were living in poverty, and what percentage was it?
1903, 37.5% - as a result of low pay and unemployment.
How many people lived in Whitechapel, and how many were homeless?
30,000 - 1,000
Where did most people live, and what was the most famous one?
Rookeries, Flower and Dean Street
What year was the census?
1881
Total population of Whitechapel compared to number of houses in 1881 census.
Just over 30,000 people, 4,069 houses.
What did lodging houses provide?
A bed in squalid conditions for one eight hour shift.
How many people in Whitechapel relied on the lodging houses, and how many were there?
More than 8,000 people, and 200 lodging houses.
What happened (other than the census) in 1881?
The Peabody Estate was built by the Peabody Trust (an american charity). The new flats were part of a plan to clear the slums, but were too expensive for Whitechapel inhabitants and so worsened overcrowding elsewhere.
What was the largest factory in Whitechapel called?
The Bell Foundry.
What did most people do for work?
‘Sweated trades’ eg tailoring, shoe-making, and matchstick making.
What were conditions like in factories?
Small, cramped, dirty spaces with little natural light and bad working conditions - workers often worked 20-hour shifts.
Who ran the workhouses and what was the name of the main one in Whitechapel?
The Poor Law Administrators ran the workhouses, and the main workhouse in Whitechapel was called the South Grove, which could hold up to 400 inmates.
Who did workhouses provide shelter for?
The old, sick, disabled, orphaned, or single mothers.
What were conditions like in the workhouses?
Deliberately terrible to discourage people from entering the workhouses. Inmates were made to do manual labour, wear a uniform, and were separated from their families. Many would rather turn to crime than the workhouses.
Who was Dr Barnado and what did he do?
Set up schools for children and in 1870 opened an orphanage for boys so they wouldn’t be sent to the workhouse. By the time he died in 1905 there were nearly 100 Barnado homes nationally.
When did Irish immigrants start moving to Whitechapel and why didn’t the people of Whitechapel like them?
1840s, violence and drunkenness were commonplace.
Who were the Fenians and what did they do in 1867?
Irish nationalists, bombed Clarkwell Prison.
What was the percentage of Jewish people in some areas of Whitechapel by 1888?
95%
Why were Jews resented by the people of Whitechapel?
Many were able to set up tailoring businesses or sweatshops and were relatively affluent. Many workers feared that immigrants frim Eastern Europe were taking up all available jobs.
What year did anarchists from France flee to London, and why?
1871, it was seen as more politically tolerant that the rest if Europe.
What happened as a result of the anarchists coming to London?
The public were scared of them and soon everyone with a European accent was seen as an anarchist.
What was the name of the first socialist party in Britain and what year were they founded?
The Social Democratic Federation, 1881
When did the socialists target Whitechapel and how successful were they?
The SDF targeted Whitechapel in the 1888 London County Council elections, their anti-government and anti-police policies were very popular with the people of Whitechapel.
