Arbeitsblatt: Victorian Era

1. The Victorian period The Victorian period is named after Queen Victoria. She ruled Great Britain from 1837 until 1901. During this time, the population (Bevölkerung) grew lot. More people meant overcrowding and poverty. lot of people got sick and died early in their life. The differences between the people were very big. There were lot of very rich people and lot of very poor people. 2. What work did Victorian children do? During this time, lot of people did not have much money to feed themselves and their families. So even small children had to work instead of going to school. They worked everywhere: in fabrics, as chimney sweepers (Kaminfeger) or in the coal mines. This way they could earn bit of money and help their parents. 3. Did Victorian children go to school? lot of poor children could not go to school because it cost lot of money. This meant, that lot of children could not read or write. Rich families with lot of money often had private tutors for their children. Families with little money sent their children to private schools. At school they studied Reading, Writing and Maths. 4. How healthy were Victorian children? In this period, lot of people died from illnesses. Not only children died, but also parents. It did not matter if they were rich or poor. If person got ill medicine could not always help them. If childs parents died, they became orphans. They lived in orphanages (Waisenhäuser), on the streets or in workhouses. In workhouses they got food and bed but had to do hard work.