what was the state of child labor in the victorian era
Child labour The Victorian era in particular became notorious for the conditions under which children were employed.[21] Children as young as four were employed in production factories and mines working long hours in dangerous, often fatal, working conditions.[22] In coal mines, children would crawl through tunnels too narrow and low for adults.[23] Children also worked as errand boys, crossing sweepers, shoe blacks, or selling matches, flowers and other cheap goods.[24] Some children undertook work as apprentices to respectable trades, such as building or as domestic servants (there were over 120,000 domestic servants in London in the mid-18th century). Working hours were long: builders worked 64 hours a week in summer and 52 in winter, while domestic servants worked 80-hour weeks.[citation needed]