The British Parliament passed the comprehensive Explosives Act of 1875 in London, England, to strictly regulate the manufacturing, storage, and transport of dynamite and gunpowder. The legislation was prompted by a series of catastrophic industrial accidents, including a massive explosion on a barge in London's Regent's Canal. This act established a strict licensing system that became a template for industrial safety laws worldwide.

This law reflected a cultural shift where the state began aggressively policing the wild frontier of industrial chemistry. It influenced social reform poets who questioned whether legislation could ever truly domesticate the violent forces unleashed by modern manufacturing.