The effects of industrialisation

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, Britain experienced its industrial revolution. With it came a rapid growth in population as well as a huge movement of people from rural areas to industrial towns.

Through 1841, Wales had become the first industrial nation with over 50 per cent of its population living in towns and earning a living from industrial work.

Though great progress was made in industry and technology, living and working conditions remained poor and were a major cause of illness and disease. Industrial towns, like Merthyr and Cardiff, grew rapidly without planning and were overcrowded. The government believed in Laissez-faire. This meant that public health schemes were not introduced until the latter part of the 19th century. There were no regulations about the basic standards for housing, sewage and water supply. In the slum areas of cities, diseases like cholera, typhus and diphtheria were endemic.Some could be linked to poor sanitation (cholera) and poor housing…