Mid-Victorian politics

Palmerston, an aristocrat born in 1784, stood out as the domi­nant political personality in mid-Victorian Britain, precisely be­cause he was opposed to dramatic change and because he knew through long experience how to maneuver politics within the half­ reformed constitution. He was skillful in using the growing power of the press in order to reinforce his influence. At a time of party confusion, when the queen might well have played a key part in politics, Palmerston found the answer to royal opposition in popular prestige. He preferred the English system of constitutional government to continental absolutism. He liked to appear ener­getic. In January 1855 Palmerston was made prime minister for the first time. In 1857 he went to the second war in China and, when defeated in Parliament, appealed triumphantly to the coun­try. Although his government was defeated in 1858, he was back again as prime minister, for the last time, a year later.

After the death of Palmerston the question of parliamentary reform was reopened and the Second Reform Billwas passed in 1867. It added 938,000 new names to the register, amounting al­most to a doubling of the electorate, and gave the vote to many workingmen in the towns and cities. 45 new seats were created by taking one member from existing borough constituencies with a population of less than 10,000.

The mid-Victorian period also witnessed significant social changes: an evangelical revival occurred alongside a series of legal changes in women’s rights. While women were not enfranchised during the Victorian period, they did gain the legal right to their property upon marriage through the Married Women’s Property Act, the right to divorce, and the right to fight for custody of their children upon separation.

Foreign policy

The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for a substantial time was the foremost global power. By 1921, the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately one-quarter of the world’s population. It covered about 36.6 million km² (14.2 million square miles), about a quarter of Earth’s total land area. At the peak of its power, it was 9 often said that “the sun never sets on the British Empire” because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies or subject nations.

in fact, however, it was difficult to pull the empire together politically or constitutionally. Certainly moving toward federation was a challenging task since the interests of different parts were already diverging, and in the last resort only British power—above all, sea power — held the empire together. White colonies, like Canada or New Zealand and the states of Australia, had been given substantial powers of self-government since 1840. Yet, In­dia, “the brightest jewel in the British crown,” was held not by consent but by conquest.

Britain tried to make sure its trade routes were safe and fought wars to protect its areas of interst. In 1839 it attacked China and forced it to allow the profitable British trade in opium from India to China.

In May of 1857, the Indian Mutiny, a widespread revolt in India against the rule of the British East India Company, was sparked by sepoys (native Indian soldiers) in the Company’s army. The rebellion involved not just sepoys but many sectors of the In­dian population as well. The Indian “mutiny” was suppressed, and a year later the East India Company was abolished and India came under the direct rule of the British crown. Imperial control was tightened, too, through the construction of a network of railways, although the nationalist movement that emerged after the first In­dian National Congress in 1885 was eventually to gain in strength. Meanwhile, given the strategic importance of India to the military establishment, attempts were made to justify British rule in terms of benefits of law and order said to accrue to Indians.

During 1875, Britain purchased Egypt’s shares in the Suez Canal as the African nation was forced to raise money to pay off its debts. In 1882 Egypt was occupied to secure the vital trade route, and the passage to India and Egypt became a protectorate of Great Britain.

It was the Middle Eastern crisis of 1875-78 that produced the liveliest 19^,h-century debate on foreign policy issues. In May 1876 Disraeli rejected overtures made by Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germany to deal jointly with Turkey, which was faced with revolt in Serbia. Disraeli’s calculations concerned strategic and imperial necessities rather than ideals of conduct, and his suspicions were justified when the Russians attacked Turkey in April 1877. In 1878 a British fleet was sent to the Dardanelles and Indian troops were sent to the Mediterranean. The immediate crisis passed, and, at an international conference held in Berlin in June and July 1878, which Disraeli attended, the inroads into Turkish territory were reduced, Russia was kept well away from Constantinople, and Britain acquired Cyprus.

Between 1896 and 1902, public interest in problems of empire was intensified by crisis. British—Boer relations in South Africa were worsened after the Jameson raid of December 1895, and, in October 1899, war began. The early stages of the struggle were favourable to the Boers, and it was not until spring 1900 that su­perior British equipment began to count. British troops entered Pretoria in June 1900 and the Boer president fled to Europe, where most governments had given him moral support against the British. Thereafter the Boers followed guerrilla tactics, and the war did not end until May 1902. It was the most expensive of all the 19^Ih-century “little wars,” with the British employing 450,000 troops, of whom 22,000 never returned.

While the war lasted, there had been an even bigger break in January 1901 when the queen died, after a brief illness, in her 82nd year. She had ruled for 64 years and her death seemed to mark not so much the end of a reign as the end of an age.

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Date: 2016-01-14; view: 894