Viewing the Other

        As the 19^th century approached, the Scientific Revolution lead to a remarkable steam train network throughout the growing London, allowing daily papers to be delivered to citizens’ doorsteps. While “The Times” gained a reputation as a straightforward, non-biased paper, the reporters, being only white free British men, had their own prejudices and perspectives that they unknowingly expressed in their writings about others different from themselves. Between 1845 and 1850, abolition of slavery, treatment of mentally ill patients, and the role of women in marriage were all important issues. All had made tremendous progress in the previous decades yet faced a long road to complete justice.

Source: thebirdtree.co.uk

            In the October`15, 1847, issue of “The Times,” there is a report of an affair and elopement of two already married individuals. While no attention is given to the man’s infidelity, the woman is called “faithless”. “Fortunately, she has no children,” it reads with a vicious tone. Even if the woman had been in an abusive marriage, it would have been unlikely she could escape. Getting a divorce was near impossible for women, though it was too easy for men. Many women’s rights activists of the time likened the freedom of women in marriage to that of a slave. Not able to secure complex jobs due to discrimination and a ban from most universities, women could only work as servants, seamstresses, or prostitutes. Any money they made from these measly jobs would be immediately secured by their husbands, who could use it for anything they wanted. Additionally, many husbands abused or raped their wives. Victims could do nothing about this, as the police, made up entirely of men, would not be willing to press charges. The view of women as delicate creatures in need of worship and care only added to sexism, making men think they were being chivalrous as they prevented their wives from being able to do anything except have children and tend to the home. Considered lower-class citizens, it would be a difficult journey for suffragettes. Despite everything, in 1918, qualified women were finally given the right to vote, leading to other feminist movements and a change in the opportunities for all British women.

Source: The Times Archive

            In a report of an 1847 trial of an attendant at Lincoln Lunatic Asylum who was accused of breaking several ribs of a then-deceased patient, tremendous progress in psychiatry is revealed, exposing also the horrendous past of the field. The chief attendant testified, “Attendants are not allowed to strike a patient.” This statement may seem extremely obvious but was necessary, given the practices of the age. Until 1796, when William Tuke opened a new kind of mental hospital, named The Retreat, fear and restraint were the main tools used against the mentally ill. At that time, such a case of abuse of a patient would never make it to court or even be reported. Most patients were just sent to jails or poorhouses. It was also not understood until the early 19^th century that a patient could not control mental illness, like any other disease. When King George III (r. 1760-1820), the man who brought England’s attention to mental illness, was examined by the leading British doctor, he was told to restrain himself or get a straitjacket. In 1841, the Association of Medical Officers of Asylums and Hospitals for the Insane was founded, leading to the creation of asylums in almost every county, which would be inspected for humane methods of treatment. The Lincoln Lunatic Asylum was still one of the only mental hospitals of the time that did not use any type of restraint, such as chains, cages, or handcuffs. The most common treatment for patients were, surprisingly, baths. Different water temperatures and pressures could be used to assist a wide range of disorders. Due to the fact sedatives could only be taken orally with a patient’s consent as syringes hadn’t been invented, drugs were not a popular treatment.

Source: glogster.com

            One of many British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society meeting summaries published in “The Times” appeared in the May 19, 1845, edition, with small insights in how the British viewed themselves compared to other countries that still had slaves. Slavery had been abolished in England and its colonies since 1833. It was clear the Enlightenment ideas had set the English to see the “horrors of slavery” as the “respectable assemblage” of people gathered at the meeting. “We must regard ourselves as citizens of the world,” reads the article in pure Enlightenment fashion. The British clearly viewed themselves as more humane than other countries, even while they had slaves. The article describes the British slave trade with clear understatements. “The transfer of labourers, as they were called, from the coast of Africa to the colonies of European Powers, must be denounced as being practically a slave trade.” The relationship between British and their slaves was a very different one than in the United States or other countries. The slaves were far away in the colonies, not in their very backyards, as in the U.S. Still today, people of African descent make up a mere 3.4% of the British population, compared to the State’s 12.6%. This fact makes their attitude remarkable, as the British could not see the suffering of slaves, but only Enlightenment ideas propelled their strong abolition movement.