Context: Whitechapel in the 19th Centiry (Edexcel GCSE History)

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  • Where is Whitechapel located?

    Whitechapel is located in East London.

  • True or False?

    Whitechapel was one of the richest districts in the 19th century.

    False.

    Whitechapel was one of London’s poorest districts in the 19th century. Out of a population of 30,000 people, roughly 1,000 people were homeless.

  • How bad was the air pollution in Whitechapel in the 19th century?

    The air pollution in Whitechapel was so bad that a person walking through Whitechapel would struggle to see their hand in front of their face.

  • Define rookeries.

    Rookeries were overcrowded areas with poor-quality housing.

  • Did the houses in rookeries have inside toilets?

    No.

    Houses did not have indoor toilets. Numerous apartments would share one outside toilet. The outside toilet often overflowed.

  • Define lodging houses.

    Lodging houses (or doss houses) offered people only a bed to sleep in. The landlord rented the bed out for eight-hour periods. This ensured that the landlord gained the maximum amount of rent for the bed.

  • Who relied on workhouses in Whitechapel?

    The groups who relied on workhouses were the poor, the sick, the disabled and orphans. The workhouse residents had to provide labour in return for their food and shelter.

  • Define the Casual Ward.

    The Casual Ward provided the most basic accommodation at a lower standard than the rest of the workhouse to people classed as 'Idle Poor.' People could only stay in the Casual Ward for a night.

  • What year was the Artisans’ Dwellings Act passed, which aimed to destroy substandard housing in Whitechapel?

    The Artisans’ Dwellings Act was passed in 1875.

  • How was the Peabody Estate different to the rookeries in Whitechapel?

    The Peabody Estate was different because it provided much better conditions for Whitechapel. The estate had indoor toilets shared by fewer people. Rent was also cheap.

  • How did high levels of immigration cause poverty in Whitechapel?

    High levels of immigration caused poverty in Whitechapel because new arrivals from Ireland and Eastern Europe were often poor already.

  • Were there too many jobs or not enough jobs for the people of Whitechapel in the 19th century?

    Not enough.

    Immigration and migration from the British countryside meant that there were not enough jobs in Whitechapel.

  • How did the narrow alleyways increase crime in Whitechapel?

    Narrow alleyways increased crime because a criminal with local knowledge could navigate through the maze of streets and escape the police.

  • Define sweatshops in Whitechapel.

    Sweatshops are small factories where workers are paid very little and work many hours in very bad conditions. A lot of Whitechapel's workers were employed in sweatshops and had low life expectancy.

  • True or False?

    Victorians believed that the Residuum were hardworking individuals.

    False.

    Victorians feared the Residuum as the criminal underworld. They accused the Residuum of being supported and paid for by the hardworking people in society.

  • Name two ways that criminals used lodging houses.

    Two ways that criminals used lodging houses are to:

    • Recruit potential criminals

    • Travel around different places. This made it difficult for the police to track them.

  • Did alcohol lead to more or less crime in Whitechapel?

    More.

    Drunkenness in Whitechapel often led to violent crimes such as assault. People would steal to afford to buy more alcohol.

  • Define a gin palace.

    A gin palace was an extravagant shop that sold gin across the counter. Gin was a cheaply available and potent alcohol that was popular with the poor in the 19th century.

  • True or False?

    Prostitution was legal in Whitechapel during the 1800s.

    True.

    Prostitution was legal in Whitechapel during the 1800s. It was considered a social issue. Most middle-class people had minimal sympathy for prostitutes and did not understand why a woman would prostitute herself.

  • Define the term anarchy.

    Anarchy is a political idea that does not believe in any forms of government or law.

  • What year did French anarchists arrive in Britain?

    French anarchists arrived in Britain in 1871.

  • True or False?

    Whitechapel would be one of the first districts that an immigrant arriving to London would see.

    True.

    Boats from Eastern Europe and Ireland docked in the East End. St Catherine Docks is to the south of Whitechapel.

  • What event in Ireland increased immigration to the East End of London in the 1840s?

    The event in Ireland that increased immigration to Whitechapel was the Great Famine (1845 to 1852). Around one million people died in Ireland and another one million people fled from Ireland to survive.

  • Define the role of a navigator in Whitechapel.

    A navigator was a person whose job it was to steer and direct a vehicle to its destination. This was a popular job among Irish immigrants in Whitechapel.

  • What event in Eastern Europe increased immigration to the East End of London in the 1880s?

    The event in Eastern Europe that increased immigration to Whitechapel was the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. The new tsar, Alexander III, blamed the Jewish people and encouraged pogroms (religious attacks) across Eastern Europe. Many Jewish people fled from their countries to London.

  • True or False?

    Nearly 90% of the population of the Spitalfields area of Whitechapel were Jewish by the 20th century.

    False.

    Nearly 95% of the population of the Spitalfields area of Whitechapel were Jewish by the 20th century. In comparison, only 1% of the population of Britain were Jewish.

  • How did anarchism impact Whitechapel?

    Anarchism in Whitechapel caused fear among the population. People were afraid of what anarchists could do in Britain due to what they had read in newspapers. In 1893, the police began to monitor Eastern European immigrants for their connection to anarchist groups.

  • Who were the Fenians?

    The Fenians were an Irish Catholic group. They demanded that the UK free Ireland from British rule. The Fenians bombed Clerkenwell Prison in London in 1867 and Gower Street Station in 1885. Their actions increased prejudice against Whitechapel’s Irish community.

  • Name three reasons why there was prejudice against Whitechapel's Jewish community.

    The three reasons why there was prejudice against Whitechapel's Jewish community are:

    • Cultural differences. such as different celebrations and clothes

    • Differences in work ethics

    • Negative stereotypes

  • Were the police concerned or not concerned about the levels of hate crime against Eastern European and Irish immigrants in Whitechapel in the 1880s?

    Concerned.

    The Whitechapel murders (1888) increased the number of hate crimes against Eastern European and Irish immigrants. To combat crime against immigrants, the Metropolitan Police brought reinforcements into Whitechapel.