[“The Beggar Family,” The Working Man’s Friend and Family Instructor, vol II, no. 31, May 1, 1852 p. 73.]
When we hear about the history of the 1800s, it’s mainly about the marvelous inventions like the steam engine, railroads built across North America, and primarily other positive advances of Western societies. But, from a book published in 1861, we find a different picture than many of us perhaps imagined of life in the 1800s. In London, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children lived in such disgusting poverty that they were forced to survive by becoming thieves or prostitutes. Were you aware of this history? Was anything like this taught in any school you went to? What can we learn from history to apply it to the world today?
“In Spitalfields, the region of Bethnal Green, and Whitechapel, all centre together, making a vast area wholly occupied by the poor people. The first-mentioned quarter, Spitalfields, is the residence of the poorest of the poor. In it the buildings are low and black – the interior walls, ill-ventilated, but crowded; and the streets almost too disgusting to describe. In traversing them, one is assailed by the most noxious stenches, and the most disagreeable sights. This region is no small part of London… it is the residence of the laboring population of London; there are hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in it; - some just raised about utter wretchedness; others utterly wretched. That many of these people are without principle and virtue, must be evident from the fact that, in London there is an immense number of thieves and prostitutes – the later unfortunate class alone numbering about 80,000.”
[What I Saw in London: Or, Men and Things in the Great Metropolis, David W. Bartlett, 1861, p. 111.]
I read the book Angela's Ashes about the poor in Limerick ,Ireland in the first half of the 20th century. It is amazing to me that people who were forced to live such wretched lives even managed to survive . Unfortunately the rich, poor divide is growing ever wider in this 21st century century. Whilst billions of dollars, euros and pounds are wasted on the killing fields of Israel and Ukraine and in making nuclear weapons. The elite overlords will never learn or improve their behaviour.
The present column has nothing to do with Israel or Ukraine. However, this led me to review your like history. Apparently you are attracted to people who delight in nazi-style massacres being perpetrated on people who have done nothing wrong except to be born Jewish. How does it feel to be on the same side as Hitler, Arafat, and bin Laden? How did so many hundreds of millions of Westerners wind up rejecting jihad and supporting Israel? Maybe Genesis 12:3.
Ouch. Why the unkind response to a thoughtful comment? You accuse the writer of being off-topic, then you do the same by discussing her previous "likes." WTF.
That is so sad. Dissolving Illusions painted a grim picture of the times, but it just got even grimmer! Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for!!
Much of the great literature from this century includes harrowing tales of poverty. It was central to the work of Dickens, whose books led to social changes in Britain, and idem Victor Hugo in France.
It just shows that our bodies are remarkable and even under these terrible conditions, a body strives to survive. Just think of the wonderfulness our bodies are capable of when we actually live a healthy lifestyle!
Yes, I was also wondering about that. You see the crap the average person eats/drinks etc and most still make it into their 80's. The body is truly amazing. This healthy lifestyle would also eliminate most of the psychological problems people have, creating a happy society with loving people.
England, in spite of its celebrated pageantry, remains the world's most successful oligarchy. Why is the West End of London historic home to the government, banking industry, to upscale shops, establishment medicine, the theater, and establishment media?
Because, the West End was upwind of the source of nasty industrial air pollution that were all built in the East End of London where those unlucky of birth and the poor lived. The water sources of the East End were similarly polluted.
So, one can only imagine the disparity regarding vulnerability to illness and disease between the sparsely populated West End and the densely populated working poor of the East End.
How inexplicable is human nature that those who have been underfoot and ill-treated for centuries, remain great enthusiasts for the English nobility tradition? King Charles? Bah, humbug.
Roman, I am looking for a book of timelines of America's health history - one that you feel is credible and puts it altogether. What book/books would you recommend?
Hi! I have an over 100-page timeline of events with references in our Companion book! All with references. Maybe that would be what you are looking for?
1724 American Colonies—Dr. Huxham recommended using mercury in the form of calomel not only in natural smallpox but also when inoculated.
1725 Dr. Boylston visited England and was received by many prominent figures, including members of the royal family. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, the first time this honor was conferred upon an American.
1728–1743 Despite initial success, inoculation ultimately fell out of favor due to the revelation that it appeared to both spread smallpox and lead to severe and even fatal outcomes in some individuals who had undergone the procedure.
1728–1758 London—According to the London Bills of Mortality, 45% of deaths occurred in children. One-third of deaths were in children under two, and another 9% occurred in children aged 2-5. Over 2.6% of people lived into their 80s or older. There are also records of people living into their 90s and over 100.
1735 New Hampshire—During an outbreak of scarlet fever, many families experienced a significant loss of children, with some losing as many as six. In some towns, the mortality rate was as high as one in three or one in four. The parish of Hampton Falls was particularly hard hit, with twenty families losing all of their children and five families losing 27 children. Additionally, more than one-sixth of the parish's inhabitants died within a thirteen-month period. In the province, not less than 1,000 persons fell victim to the raging distemper, of whom 900 were under 20 years of age.
Oviedo, Spain—Don Pedro Casal, who served as physician to King Philip V of Spain, was the first to observe and describe the disease known as Pellagra, which was called “mal de la rosa” due to its distinctive red rash.
1736 Dr. Douglass, a physician of Boston, was the first to use calomel to treat inflammatory complaints.
1739 London—An individual passed away at the ripe old age of 138.
1743 London—James Kilpatrick, a Charleston, South Carolina physician, arrived and claimed that a smallpox epidemic had been stopped through inoculation. Inoculation became a lucrative branch of surgical practice, almost exclusively among the wealthy. “Inoculation was for a long time the privilege of those who could afford to pay for it.”
Another excellent, definitive book on the poor and workers is 'The People's History of the United States'. It's a reminder that there's always been a 'slave class' at the mercy of the wealthy. Only recently with the discovery of fossil fuels which provided abundant energy to create industrial civilization and enable civil rights groups to rise up, have we enjoyed a standard of living that only kings and emperors would dream of.
Throughout history, it has always been the powerful against the powerless. And so it will become more and more like this as our global economy collapses. We are in environmental overshoot. People are suffering under the delusion that we can all live under Western standard of living, but the Earth is a finite planet, with finite resources and we're running out of arable land, good soil, clean air and water, minerals etc. etc.
We politely absolutely disagree about finite resources..the actual real problem is isreali--jewish homicidal deliberate technofacist debt slavery..useless wars that only benefit Isreal and Jews and Jewish depopulation advocates...problem is Jewish deliberate mismanagement..isreali Jewish communistic war on on all non Jewish power structures..it u,is.. absolute ersatz schizoid nonsense to say this planet has too little space..foods energy. Resources..the diametric opposite is true
.but the fat little Jewdevil behind the curtain..the 5th columnist Synagogue of Satan ..Jewdevil monopoly..Jewish technofacist cyborgs playing god ..Zionist psychotics..Jewdevil supreme occultist tranny..s
obvious Jewish transhumanism..chabad..kabala..Jewish digital dollar scams..Jewish electric car satanism..Jewish communist green scams. Jewish frankinsteen pseudoscience..Jewish feminism..Jews behind Lgbtq--plus Jewish porn...bergli..francis...sa Jewish satanic pedophile like keir Starmer..star kiermer the jewrat.the odious onerous vile jewpig.....everywhere there is money and power the Jews swoop in an adulterate everything...don't fall for the tidal waves of Jewish lies...** Destroy the WeF --Blackrock first..it is a tentacle of The New Jew Order...don't be remiss".....Covid ..from the kikeistocracy.. was the ..New Jew Kung Flu begining ..prior to red heifer 3rd temple Jewish temple satanism....**Rearm Now*
It is truly amazing that in the entire histories of all human civilizations , that I have lived through the tiny window of time when average humans had the most freedoms and wealth. That window is closing fast unfortunately.
I visited Ireland a couple of years ago and got to see the prison in Dublin that was full of history.
They were locking adults and children up for just begging.
Barbaric bullshit just like they're trying today with making being homeless or poor illegal instead of fixing the fkin problem.
For the $200 billion we wasted on the war in Ukraine, we could have solved homelessness 10 times over.
As usual the oligarchs don't give a shit about the people.
I read the book Angela's Ashes about the poor in Limerick ,Ireland in the first half of the 20th century. It is amazing to me that people who were forced to live such wretched lives even managed to survive . Unfortunately the rich, poor divide is growing ever wider in this 21st century century. Whilst billions of dollars, euros and pounds are wasted on the killing fields of Israel and Ukraine and in making nuclear weapons. The elite overlords will never learn or improve their behaviour.
The present column has nothing to do with Israel or Ukraine. However, this led me to review your like history. Apparently you are attracted to people who delight in nazi-style massacres being perpetrated on people who have done nothing wrong except to be born Jewish. How does it feel to be on the same side as Hitler, Arafat, and bin Laden? How did so many hundreds of millions of Westerners wind up rejecting jihad and supporting Israel? Maybe Genesis 12:3.
All wars are bankers' wars.
Ouch. Why the unkind response to a thoughtful comment? You accuse the writer of being off-topic, then you do the same by discussing her previous "likes." WTF.
I concur with your comment. There is no need for vindictive comments like Surak posted above.
Bankers create the imagined sides in conflict, then use scripture.
That is so sad. Dissolving Illusions painted a grim picture of the times, but it just got even grimmer! Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for!!
I have seen similar images from Glasgow in 1960.
Only the spiritualisation of humanity will resolve inequality.
Much of the great literature from this century includes harrowing tales of poverty. It was central to the work of Dickens, whose books led to social changes in Britain, and idem Victor Hugo in France.
It just shows that our bodies are remarkable and even under these terrible conditions, a body strives to survive. Just think of the wonderfulness our bodies are capable of when we actually live a healthy lifestyle!
Yes, I was also wondering about that. You see the crap the average person eats/drinks etc and most still make it into their 80's. The body is truly amazing. This healthy lifestyle would also eliminate most of the psychological problems people have, creating a happy society with loving people.
The book, “London Labour and the London Poor” by Victorian-era journalist Henry Mayhew is also good.
“For ye have the poor always with you”
The history of mankind is mostly a story of the miseries of the poor. Going from one object lesson to the next.
Using and being used is not restricted to the upper classes.
Solving the problems of poverty requires caring about how they got there and what happens to them. The element of caring is usually what’s missing
England, in spite of its celebrated pageantry, remains the world's most successful oligarchy. Why is the West End of London historic home to the government, banking industry, to upscale shops, establishment medicine, the theater, and establishment media?
Because, the West End was upwind of the source of nasty industrial air pollution that were all built in the East End of London where those unlucky of birth and the poor lived. The water sources of the East End were similarly polluted.
So, one can only imagine the disparity regarding vulnerability to illness and disease between the sparsely populated West End and the densely populated working poor of the East End.
How inexplicable is human nature that those who have been underfoot and ill-treated for centuries, remain great enthusiasts for the English nobility tradition? King Charles? Bah, humbug.
Roman, I am looking for a book of timelines of America's health history - one that you feel is credible and puts it altogether. What book/books would you recommend?
Hi! I have an over 100-page timeline of events with references in our Companion book! All with references. Maybe that would be what you are looking for?
https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?8LafDHt7VOg5IxS9zqKZl5ogaoI6FbtOpqmDiI8rzQC
1724 American Colonies—Dr. Huxham recommended using mercury in the form of calomel not only in natural smallpox but also when inoculated.
1725 Dr. Boylston visited England and was received by many prominent figures, including members of the royal family. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, the first time this honor was conferred upon an American.
1728–1743 Despite initial success, inoculation ultimately fell out of favor due to the revelation that it appeared to both spread smallpox and lead to severe and even fatal outcomes in some individuals who had undergone the procedure.
1728–1758 London—According to the London Bills of Mortality, 45% of deaths occurred in children. One-third of deaths were in children under two, and another 9% occurred in children aged 2-5. Over 2.6% of people lived into their 80s or older. There are also records of people living into their 90s and over 100.
1735 New Hampshire—During an outbreak of scarlet fever, many families experienced a significant loss of children, with some losing as many as six. In some towns, the mortality rate was as high as one in three or one in four. The parish of Hampton Falls was particularly hard hit, with twenty families losing all of their children and five families losing 27 children. Additionally, more than one-sixth of the parish's inhabitants died within a thirteen-month period. In the province, not less than 1,000 persons fell victim to the raging distemper, of whom 900 were under 20 years of age.
Oviedo, Spain—Don Pedro Casal, who served as physician to King Philip V of Spain, was the first to observe and describe the disease known as Pellagra, which was called “mal de la rosa” due to its distinctive red rash.
1736 Dr. Douglass, a physician of Boston, was the first to use calomel to treat inflammatory complaints.
1739 London—An individual passed away at the ripe old age of 138.
1743 London—James Kilpatrick, a Charleston, South Carolina physician, arrived and claimed that a smallpox epidemic had been stopped through inoculation. Inoculation became a lucrative branch of surgical practice, almost exclusively among the wealthy. “Inoculation was for a long time the privilege of those who could afford to pay for it.”
Another excellent, definitive book on the poor and workers is 'The People's History of the United States'. It's a reminder that there's always been a 'slave class' at the mercy of the wealthy. Only recently with the discovery of fossil fuels which provided abundant energy to create industrial civilization and enable civil rights groups to rise up, have we enjoyed a standard of living that only kings and emperors would dream of.
Throughout history, it has always been the powerful against the powerless. And so it will become more and more like this as our global economy collapses. We are in environmental overshoot. People are suffering under the delusion that we can all live under Western standard of living, but the Earth is a finite planet, with finite resources and we're running out of arable land, good soil, clean air and water, minerals etc. etc.
We politely absolutely disagree about finite resources..the actual real problem is isreali--jewish homicidal deliberate technofacist debt slavery..useless wars that only benefit Isreal and Jews and Jewish depopulation advocates...problem is Jewish deliberate mismanagement..isreali Jewish communistic war on on all non Jewish power structures..it u,is.. absolute ersatz schizoid nonsense to say this planet has too little space..foods energy. Resources..the diametric opposite is true
.but the fat little Jewdevil behind the curtain..the 5th columnist Synagogue of Satan ..Jewdevil monopoly..Jewish technofacist cyborgs playing god ..Zionist psychotics..Jewdevil supreme occultist tranny..s
obvious Jewish transhumanism..chabad..kabala..Jewish digital dollar scams..Jewish electric car satanism..Jewish communist green scams. Jewish frankinsteen pseudoscience..Jewish feminism..Jews behind Lgbtq--plus Jewish porn...bergli..francis...sa Jewish satanic pedophile like keir Starmer..star kiermer the jewrat.the odious onerous vile jewpig.....everywhere there is money and power the Jews swoop in an adulterate everything...don't fall for the tidal waves of Jewish lies...** Destroy the WeF --Blackrock first..it is a tentacle of The New Jew Order...don't be remiss".....Covid ..from the kikeistocracy.. was the ..New Jew Kung Flu begining ..prior to red heifer 3rd temple Jewish temple satanism....**Rearm Now*
well, I did read Dickens. and there's Poe's own story. and Hugo. Daumier.
By the history of the poor you are saying the history of Jewish banking cabal USURY .
It is truly amazing that in the entire histories of all human civilizations , that I have lived through the tiny window of time when average humans had the most freedoms and wealth. That window is closing fast unfortunately.
Freedoms not so much, wealth yes.