The Gruesome Life Of A Victorian Match Girl | History Of Britain | Absolute History
1,939,046
Published 2021-01-12
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All Comments (21)
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"harsh fines on things like sitting down, being untidy [...] or even just going to the toilet without permission." So she was a Victorian era Amazon warehouse worker. Got it!
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I'm a retired nurse. It was normal to work 14 hour shifts on my feet. In one hospital, I literally had to run the whole time. I wore a pedometer for a while and learned I was covering, on average, 36 miles a day. I had to cover more than a marathon every time I went to work. And people wonder why nursing shortages come up.
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My grandfather always read us the story of "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Anderson every year at Christmas. He never could finish reading it, by the last few pages his voice was so choked with tears it was barely audible. He would sit with us, hug us and cry. He was so tender-hearted the thought of a child suffering made him weep. The story is so sad but also full of hope. It's beautiful, yet heart breaking. I miss his sweet soul daily.
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Beer was probably the safest and most sanitary drink available.
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this must be where amazon got its employee management ideas.
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i like that line at 2:07, "Because the unsung heroes who REALLY put the 'Great' into Great Britain, were just the ordinary folk who had to cope with the dramatic changes the world has ever seen."
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"If Sarah ever got sick, tough luck. The factory was perfectly entitled to discard her like a spent match." Sounds a lot like how American businesses can treat employees still today.
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It puzzles me how little men thought of women's capabilities when they had a woman as reigning Queen for decades. You'd think that would've put out of puff in their chests. So confusing.
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lets never forget that working conditions only improved because of unions! corporations would still be treating workers like this if it was up to them! no company is moral, at least, not for long.
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This era sounds scary. I'm surprised that my great grandparents and grandparents survived through all the daily deadly tasks and lived til their 80's and 90's.
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"These girls are working in the mines, crawling for 14 hours staright in near darkeness, we must do something about it" "I don't see the problem, frankly..." "They are partially nude sir" Monocle pops off, jaw drops
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"There was nothing the Victorians loved more than setting fire to things." "People?"
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I'm impressed that people could cope to live with 16 hour workdays (in horrible workplaces), then doing nothing but chores on your day off. There's literally no time to live or enjoy life. It's a wonder that everyone didn't just off themselves, that seems like a enjoyable option in comparison.
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Programs like this always make me wonder what people a century or two from now will look back on from today and think we're behind the times when we think we're ahead of them.
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My 5th Great Welsh Grandmother worked in the mines. She left behind a life story. Her husband adored her and she him. It was a true love story. His co workers would say to him, "If anything happens to you, I am going to marry your Mary!" He was sadly killed in a mine accident and though she raised 7 of his children alone she never did remarry:)
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"The pay was 28 pence a day, the modern equivalent of about 8 quid" Sooo how much money is that say, outside Middle Earth?
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Actual photographs, sketches, drawings from the period are so rare in those vids.. I've stopped the narration countless times just to take in the "otherness" of the people, postures and settings. Good work!
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How did men and women ever time time to meet anyone outside their own family? You'd think no one would have time to have a relationship or let alone having children.
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When I was a kid, I read a story from a children's book entitled the The Match Stick Girl. It was the 1st time I read a sad story because she died in the cold with a basket full of matches and an empty stomach. She finally got to feast endlessly when she passed on with the food she could only dream of eating when she looked through the glass windows of warm homes. ðŸ˜
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"14 hour shifts, virtually all of it on their feet, can you imagine it" i don't have to imagine it. welcome to the american service industry
