Jack the Ripper started to kill prostitutes in Whitechapel in the Autumn of 1888.
This series of murders shocked the population of London and the world since London was the largest capital city at that time.
Contrary to the rest of London, the neighbourhood of Whitechapel was grim, crime-ridden, very poor and crammed with people. Many people died because of diseases too. There were no toilets or bins in the street. It was very dirty.
Because it was so difficult to live, many women turned to prostitution to survive, to pay for food and for a bed in horrible lodging houses.
There were about 1.200 (one thousand two hundred) prostitutes in Whitechapel, easy targets for Jack the Ripper.