They were animated by a firm determination to oppose any further triumph of the democratic principle. New elections, called as a result of the change in monarch, strengthened the Conservative Party. The large cities of England, Scotland and Ireland voted predominantly in favor of the liberal and radical factions, but the English counties for the most part elected opponents of the ministry.

Meanwhile, the policies of previous years created significant difficulties for the government. In Canada, the discord between the mother country and the local parliament has reached dangerous proportions. The Ministry received permission to suspend the Canadian Constitution and sent Earl Dergham to Canada with extensive powers. Dergam acted energetically and skillfully, but the opposition accused him of abuse of power, as a result of which he had to resign from his position.

The government's weakness showed itself even more clearly in Irish affairs. The Ministry could achieve approval of the Irish tithe bill only after the complete elimination of the appropriation paragraph.

Chartism

At that time, the radicals formed an extreme faction that developed the “People's Charter” - a petition to parliament, which demanded universal suffrage, secret voting, annually renewed parliaments, etc. Beginning in the fall of 1838, the Chartists launched a strong campaign at meetings, collecting signatures for petitions and convened the so-called national convention in London at the beginning of 1839, looking for supporters among the working population of factory towns. The uprising that took place in the summer of 1839 was suppressed; the main Chartist leaders were put on trial and sent into exile. Chartism achieved a reduction in the working day.

Foreign and domestic policy

The year 1850 began under more favorable conditions. Habeas Corpus was restored in Ireland; thanks to free trade, revenues generated a surplus of 2 million pounds sterling, while the tax for the benefit of the poor was reduced by 400,000 pounds compared to the previous year.

In the discord between Russia and Austria, on the one hand, and Turkey, on the other, caused by the case of the Hungarian fugitives, England took the side of the Porte. In January 1850, an English squadron unexpectedly appeared in sight of Athens demanding payment of old bills, among which in the foreground was the reward of the Portuguese Jew Pacifico, who was an English citizen, for damage to his house during popular unrest. The response to the refusal of the Greek government was the blockade of all Greek harbors. Greece could only protest against this abuse of force; Envoys of other states expressed their censure of England's mode of action in more or less energetic terms. A month later the blockade was lifted; its consequence was a cooling of relations towards France and Russia. Lord Stanley invited the Upper House to censure the government for its conduct in Greece.

This proposal was accepted, but the lower house, at the suggestion of Roebuck, expressed formal approval of Palmerston's policy. However, the upper house vote was not without consequences. Palmerston realized the need to extricate himself from the isolated position in which he had placed England, and all the more diligently tried to get closer to the Great Powers on the Schleswig-Holstein question, resolved by the London protocols of July 4 and August 12, 1850.

It was a sensitive blow for the ministry sudden death Robert Peel. At the same time, the Austrian General Haynau, who arrived in London, suffered a personal insult from the workers at the Barclay brewery, and since Palmerston was in no hurry to give satisfaction, this further aggravated mutual relations to Austria, whose policy in Germany, especially the desire to include all Austrian lands in the German Confederation, provoked decisive resistance from England.

The Roman Curia prepared great difficulties for the Whig ministry. The papal breve of September 30 immediately appointed nine Catholic bishops for Great Britain; Cardinal Wiseman received the title of Archbishop of Westminister. This revived in the English clergy and people the deep-rooted hatred and aversion to Rome; the old “No Popery” click sounded again. At the beginning of 1851, Rossel introduced a bill on ecclesiastical titles, which prohibited the assumption of the episcopal title by all clergy who did not belong to the state church, and declared invalid all donations made in favor of such persons. To liberals and even to some Peelites, this bill seemed too harsh, and in the eyes of zealous Protestants it was still too timid.

Meanwhile, the lower house, despite the protest of the ministry, accepted Lock King's proposal to grant English and Welsh counties the same voting rights as cities. A ministerial crisis ensued, ending with the restoration of the previous cabinet, since Lord Stanley, the leader of the protectionists, failed to form a strong cabinet and attract people like Gladstone to it.

Politics took a back seat for a time thanks to the first World's Fair, which opened in London on May 1, 1851. A new source of weakness for the Ministry was the conduct of Lord Palmerston. True, he ensured that the Hungarian fugitives settled in Turkey, including Kossuth, were released; but the outcome of the struggle over Pacifico was a heavy defeat for him. The mediation commission elected on this issue recognized Pacifico's right to a reward of no more than 150 pounds sterling - and because of such a sum, the minister almost caused a European war.

Then a diplomatic break with Naples occurred as a result of Gladstone's letters about the cruelties of the Neapolitan government being sent to English envoys on the continent.

The coup d'etat, which took place in France on December 2, was joyfully welcomed by Palmerston, without the knowledge of the ministry and the crown. Rossel took advantage of this to get rid of his inconvenient comrade. Palmerston repaid him by introducing an amendment to one of the government proposals, the adoption of which caused the resignation of the ministry. This time, Lord Stanley (who received the title of Earl of Derby after the death of his father) managed to form a ministry (in February 1852). In the new cabinet, strictly Tory, he himself took the place of First Lord of the Treasury, Disraeli received the portfolio of finance, and foreign affairs passed to the Earl of Malmesbury.

The protectionist sympathies of the ministry led to the resumption of free trade agitation. The Cobden League has reopened; Rallies were held throughout the country and preparations were made for new elections. The government was in the lower house in an undoubted minority and owed its existence solely to disagreements among the liberal parties. In view of all this, Disraeli spoke in favor of continuing the customs policy of his predecessors.

The long-awaited dissolution of parliament followed in July, and new elections were immediately called. The ministry acquired a few extra votes, but not enough to have a majority in parliament. A considerable loss for him was the death of Wellington (September 14), who enjoyed a pacifying influence on the parties. Disraeli's financial proposals were rejected by a majority of 19 votes, and the Tory ministry was forced to resign (December 1852).

The cabinet that replaced him was made up of various parties who entered into an alliance with each other to overthrow Derby. The Peelites had their representatives in it in the person of Lord Aberdeen (First Minister) and Gladstone, who received the portfolio of finance, the Whigs in the person of Lord John Rossel, and the radicals in the person of Molesworth and Baines. Palmerston received the Ministry of the Interior.

Crimean War

Events in India were no less favorable. Since the capture of Delhi by the British, the center of gravity of the uprising shifted to Oudh and its capital Lucknow. In March 1858, the main quarters of Lucnow were taken by storm. In vain did the leaders of the insurgents seek help in Nepal, the only Indian state that still retained signs of independence: the ruler of Nepal entered into an alliance with the British.

Lord Stanley, the talented son of the Earl of Derby, successfully carried out the plan for the reorganization of India. The dominance of the East India Company ended, the board of directors was abolished, and in its place the position of a special minister responsible to parliament was created with a board of 15 members.

Shortly before this, the ministry suffered a severe defeat on the question of the Jews. When the bill for the admission of Jews to Parliament was rejected for the third time by the peers at the insistence of Lord Derby, the opposition, outraged by such disrespect for the resolutions of the lower house, proposed to the House simple solution recognize Baron Rothschild as a representative of the City of London. Lord Derby had to yield. He introduced a new bill of oath into the upper house, which made it possible for the admission of Jews. This bill was passed by the Lords, after which Rothschild took his place in the House of Commons.

In the same 1858, Lord Elgin concluded an agreement with Japan, which brought enormous trade advantages to England.

In England itself, reformist agitation assumed impressive proportions in 1859; Shortly before the opening of parliament, Bright came up with a reform project of a purely democratic nature. The ministry decided to introduce its own bill in order to calm public opinion with some concessions. The Whigs entered into an agreement with the Radicals to reject this bill, which did not meet with approval among the Tories. On the 21st March Lord John Rossel moved the House to declare that the Reform Bill was not suited to the needs of the country; this proposal was adopted by a majority of 39 votes. Following this, the dissolution of parliament was announced.

This step caused great excitement in the country, especially since the foreign policy of the ministry threatened new dangerous complications. At the first signs of a clash between Austria and France in the Italian affair, although the government assumed the guise of complete impartiality, from its statements one could understand that it was leaning more towards the side of Austria, while sincere sympathy for the cause of Italian freedom prevailed among the people. Mediation offered by Lord Malmesbury was rejected by Napoleon III.

The extensive naval armaments announced by the government, the strengthening of the Mediterranean fleet, Lord Derby's statement that England might find herself forced to occupy Trieste, the call for the formation of volunteer detachments, even the declaration of neutrality, interpreted in a sense favorable to Austria, all this maintained public distrust of the intentions. ministers and influenced new elections. The fear of being drawn into a war to maintain European absolutism prompted the radicals to forget their dislike of Lord Palmerston.

Lord Rossel was reconciled with his long-time enemy; a coalition was formed of all liberal factions with the aim of overthrowing the Conservative ministry, to which the new House of Commons expressed its distrust (June 1859). The Tories have fallen. Palmerston took over as First Minister, Rossel became Foreign Minister, and the remaining portfolios were distributed to Whigs, Peelites and Radicals. The ministers included Gladstone and Milner-Jibson. There was no more talk of sabotage into the Adriatic Sea to defend Trieste; in alliance with Russia, an attempt was made to divert the Prussian court from intervention in favor of Austria.

All other interests were relegated to the background due to the North American crisis that broke out in early 1861. If the seemingly inevitable collapse of the proud republic aroused a certain sense of schadenfreude in the British aristocracy, then the influence of the internecine war on cotton production, which fed a significant part of the working population of England, inspired serious fears. Gladstone's budget indicated continued improvement in finances. Revenues promised a surplus of almost 2 million, which is why the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed not only the abolition of the paper tax, but also a reduction in income tax. In order to deprive the lords of the opportunity to reject the first of these measures a second time, the financial proposals of the ministry were submitted to the upper house not separately, but together with the budget, and although the lords protested against this, they, on the advice of Lord Derby, did not bring matters to a collision with the House of Commons.

Treaty between England, France and Spain, by virtue of which the demands made by these three powers on the Mexican government were to be supported if necessary military force, indicated the Allies' intention to take advantage of the critical situation of the alliance to intervene in American affairs.

Thanks to an unexpected incident, matters suddenly became so acute that one could fear a decisive break. The English mail steamer Trent, on which the commissioners of the southern states of Mason and Slidel were traveling, was detained by an American military corvette under the command of Captain Wilkes, who arrested the commissioners and took them to New York. The news of this caused great indignation in England. The British envoy in Washington, Lord Lyons, immediately received orders to demand the extradition of the prisoners and satisfaction for the insult inflicted on the British flag. The government of President Lincoln understood that under these conditions a break with England could have the most fatal consequences for the union. It condemned the action of its officer and released the prisoners. The peaceful outcome of the clash was partly Prince Albert's business. This was the last service he rendered to his second fatherland. He died on December 14, 1861, sincerely mourned by the British nation.

The joint intervention undertaken by England, France and Spain in Mexican affairs had a completely unexpected outcome. Spain and England were not slow to realize that the plans of the French emperor went much further than the original goal of the expedition. First English and then Spanish troops left Mexico. This step could not help but touch the heart of the French emperor, but he hid his displeasure because he needed further assistance from England for his transatlantic plans.

On October 30, 1862, Minister Drouin de Luis sent an invitation to the London and St. Petersburg courts to take measures to end the internecine war in America, transparently hinting at the possibility of armed intervention. But the St. Petersburg court decisively rejected the French invitation, and Lord Rossel followed his example.

The revolution in Greece, which cost King Otto the throne (October 1862), produced a new turn in eastern policy England. In order to prevent the election of the Prince of Leuchtenberg, the nephew of the Russian emperor, as king, it was decided to make a territorial sacrifice to Greece. The Greeks were given to understand that if they made a choice pleasing to the British cabinet, the latter intended to agree to the annexation of the Ionian Islands to the Greek kingdom.

The bombing of a London prison to free Fenian prisoners again brought the Irish question to the fore. Realizing the impossibility of resolving it through persecution alone, Gladstone, at the very beginning of the 1868 session, introduced three famous resolutions into Parliament, which stated the need to destroy the Irish state church. They were adopted by a majority of 65 votes. The ministry, headed by Disraeli due to Derby's illness, decided to remain in office and appeal to the people. On July 31, the last parliament elected under the 1832 law dissolved.

By this time, the war with Abyssinia, caused by the refusal to release British prisoners, had ended successfully.

New elections gave a Liberal majority of 118 votes. Disraeli resigned; the drafting of the ministry was entrusted to Gladstone (December 1868). In addition to members of the former Liberal cabinet, the ministry included John Bright and Adulamite Low, who managed to make peace with the Liberals.

The 1869 session opened with the release of a significant number of Fenians and the announcement of the impending restoration of Habeas corpus in Ireland. On March 1, Gladstone introduced his Irish Church Bill into the Lower House. He proposed to immediately stop the payment of allowances to Irish priests and to transfer all church property into the hands of a royal commission, which would undertake the payment of lifetime income to the owners of ecclesiastical places. Irish bishops were to lose their seats in the upper house, Irish ecclesiastical courts were to cease their activities. Of the 16.5 million value of the property of the Irish Church, it retained the right to only 6.5 million, while the remaining 10 million were to be used partly for general useful purposes, partly for benefits to Catholics and Presbyterians. The Lower House adopted this bill with a majority of 361 votes to 247. Although the House of Lords approved it in the third reading, it did so with many amendments. Since these amendments were rejected by the lower house, and the Lords did not yield, fears arose at one time that the reform would not take place; but the conflict was removed by a compromise between the Earl of Granville and Lord Cairns, the leader of the opposition.

After the resolution of the Irish church question, another reform, which was in connection with the Irish unrest, should have come next - namely, a change in land relations in Ireland. This constituted the main task of the 1870 session. Already on February 15, Gladstone introduced his Irish Bill into the lower house. It was supposed to recognize farmers at the end of the lease period as having the right to compensation for all improvements and buildings they had made; to make it easier for farmers, through benefits from the state treasury, to purchase land property, and for farmers to cultivate infertile lands; finally, establish arbitration courts to resolve all disputes and misunderstandings between farmers and landowners. The bill passed both houses and became law on August 1. In addition, both houses approved the new law on public education proposed by Forster (initially for England and Wallis). The whole country was supposed to be divided into school districts and then found out how the existing schools in each district corresponded to the true needs of the population. Those districts in which the condition of the schools turned out to be satisfactory were to remain in the same position, while in the rest it was planned to open a corresponding number of new schools. The following three basic rules were established for these new schools:

• 1) compliance of teaching with the program approved by parliament,
• 2) supervision of government inspectors regardless of religious differences,
• 3) complete freedom of conscience, due to which none of the students can be forced, against the will of the parents, to participate in religious teaching.

The acceptance or non-acceptance of these rules is left to the good will of the school authorities, but only if they are accepted does the school become entitled to benefits from Parliament.

The English commissioners were greeted in London with noisy rejoicings, as messengers of an “honorable peace.” peace with honor). Lord Hartington's proposal to vote censure on the ministry's eastern policy was rejected by 388 votes to 195. Important legislative measures were out of the question during the 1878 session in view of the predominant importance of foreign policy. The Home Ruler Party resumed its obstructive tactics on various occasions, but refrained from repeating scenes like last year. An important event in history was the break between its moderate and revolutionary elements over the debate about the murder of a large landowner, the Earl of Leitrim.

Late Victorian period

Soon after the closure of parliament, news arrived of the Russian movement towards the Amu Darya and the arrival of the Russian embassy in Kabul. This was Russia's response to sending Indian troops to Malta. For his part, Lord Beaconsfield decided to abandon the policy of non-intervention in Afghanistan that his predecessors adhered to. When the Afghan emir Shir Ali did not agree to the presence of British residents in Kandahar and Herat, the Anglo-Indian army entered Afghanistan and quickly occupied the Peiwar Pass, thus removing one of the main obstacles to Kabul.

At the beginning of 1879, Shir Ali fled Kabul and soon died. His successor, Yakub Khan, made peace with England.

In Ireland the general excitement was maintained by huge rallies. Parnell proposed a system of public ostracism against anyone who dared to lease lands from which the previous tenants had been expelled, or who in any way acted contrary to the land league. A whole series of violence was committed against court officials, land agents, farmers who remained faithful to the contracts, and in general against all persons who for some reason were unpleasant to the league. All this aroused all the greater fears because the perpetrators were not found and the police were powerless.

The government increased the number of troops and brought 14 leading members of the Land League, including Parnell, to trial on charges of sedition. The extent to which the Irish people took to heart the means of social ostracism recommended by Parnell was shown by the story of Captain Boycott, a farmer and land agent in Mayo, after whom this whole system, which took on the character of real terror, received the name of boycott. Soon in Ireland, except Ulster, there was not a single corner left where the league did not have its own branches and secret courts, the members of which had at their disposal the terrible weapon of boycott. In the case of the Land League members, the jury could not reach an agreement, and the trial remained without result. At the beginning of 1881, a bill was proposed to parliament to suppress anarchy in Ireland and a land bill tending to transform agrarian relations. Home Rulers declared their firm intention to slow down the first of these bills at all costs. The debate dragged on for 42 hours straight. Finally the bill passed its first reading; but already on the same day, regarding the proposal for a second reading, the home rules resumed their obstructive tactics.

The need for changes in the charter of the chamber itself became absolutely clear. Gladstone's proposal in this regard caused new stormy scenes. It was adopted, but the Irish deputies still managed to delay the approval of the bill for as many as 12 meetings. Then came the turn of the Land Bill. It contained the following main regulations: restriction of the landowner’s right to refuse the farmer further maintenance of the lease; providing farmers with the cost of all improvements they have made on the leased plot; review of excessively high rents by special assessment offices, the determinations of which should be equally binding on both landowners and farmers; increase in lease terms; finally, the issuance of loans for the improvement or purchase of rented estates, for the raising of empty lands, as well as for the resettlement of the hopelessly impoverished. Despite many amendments, the bill remained unchanged in its essential points; but after being examined by the Lords he returned to the lower house unrecognized. The Ministry expressed its readiness to make concessions, but rejected all amendments that violated the main purpose of the bill. The lords stood their ground. Gladstone made several more concessions, and finally the bill received royal assent (August 1881).

In April of the same year, Lord Beaconsfield died, who was succeeded as leader of the Conservative Party in the upper house by Lord Salisbury. A Boer uprising broke out in the Transvaal. Through the Orange Republic, negotiations were opened, which ended in peace, which was based on the recognition of the sovereign rights of the Queen and self-government of the Boers.

The government calmly looked at the occupation of Tunisia by France, but in advance declared its protest against the expansion of French influence in Tripoli.

Efforts to renew the Anglo-French trade agreement concluded by Cobden in 1860, in which Charles Dilck took an outstanding part from the English side, were defeated by the resistance of French protectionists.

The Irish Land League was closed by the government; assessment presences for rent review opened their activities, reviving hopes for a better future. But already in the first days of 1882, a new ferment of hostile elements was discovered. Fenian secret societies tried to occupy the gap left by the destruction of the land league; they were supported cash benefits and emissaries from America.

At the beginning of the 1882 session there was a clash between Gladstone and the Upper House. The latter decided to elect a special commission to examine the results of the Irish Land Bill. In Gladstone's opinion, such a commission, appointed by and for the interests of landowners, could only provide bad influence to the work of pacification begun in Ireland. He therefore proposed that the censure be voted on by the upper house, which was adopted by a majority of 303 votes to 235.

The Lords nevertheless elected a commission, but without the assistance of the government, it remained stillborn. The Tories themselves found it necessary to meet the demands of the Land League and made a proposal to assist farmers in purchasing their leased plots with benefits from the treasury, while at the same time demanding stricter measures against secret societies. The conciliatory mood was disturbed by the news of the murder of the new Secretary of State for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and his comrade Bork in Phoenix Park, Dublin (May 6). This murder was the work of secret societies who did not want to hear about the agreement. Already on May 11, Garcourt introduced a crime prevention bill into the lower house, which, among other measures to protect public safety, included permission to conduct house searches day and night, the appointment of emergency courts, the right to ban newspapers and public gatherings. The bill was passed by both houses. Following this, Gladstone passed another law aimed at helping the poorest Irish tenants.

In the sphere of foreign policy, Egyptian affairs were of main interest. Back in the fall of 1881, a military party was formed in Egypt under the leadership of Arabi Pasha, which openly became hostile to foreigners. In this regard, on June 11, 1882, there was an indignation of the mob in Alexandria, and the British consul was wounded. On June 15, Gladstone formulated in parliament his Egyptian policy in 3 main points: joint action with France, respect for the sovereign rights of the Porte and the establishment of a lasting order in Egypt in the interests of Europe and with the approval of the great powers. The European Conference that met in Constantinople (June 23) acted in the same spirit. But the slowness of the Porte, the reluctance of France to intervene armed, and the increasingly provocative manner of Arabi's actions soon forced England to a more energetic course of action. On July 6, the English government sent Arabi Pasha a demand to suspend the fortress work he had begun in Alexandria, and since Arabi ignored this demand, on July 11 the British fleet under the command of Admiral Seymour opened fire on the Alexandrian forts.

On July 13, Arabi left the city, which was set on fire by the mob. Having occupied Alexandria, the British turned their forces against Arabi. The most outstanding English commander, Wolseley, was sent to Egypt, and on August 13 he won a brilliant victory over Arabi Pasha at Tel el-Kebir. The latter surrendered and was taken to the island of Ceylon.

By the end of the session, Gladstone's proposed changes to the parliamentary statutes were adopted. The most important of them was the so-called. closure rule closure), by which the speaker was given the right, with the consent of the majority, to declare the debate over and the establishment of the so-called large committees (eng. grand committees) for the preliminary development of special issues that have hitherto been discussed in the full sitting of the House. These two regulations largely limit the possibility of abuse of freedom of speech. There have been important changes in the composition of the ministry. Bright retired immediately after the bombing of Alexandria. Gladstone ceded the portfolio of finance to Childers, reserving only the post of First Minister, and new members joined the cabinet: Lord Derby, who openly went over to the liberal camp, and Charles Dilke, who belonged to the radical wing of the party.

In the 1883 session the ministry still had a majority in the House of Commons. A bill against the manufacture and sale of explosives passed both houses on the same day. Thanks to large committees elected on the basis of the new parliamentary statute, the chamber with unusual speed adopted laws introduced by the ministry on insolvency, on abuses in parliamentary elections and on protecting the rights of inventors. In the same way, a law was passed, although not without strong resistance, to improve the living conditions of English and Scottish farmers.

In Ireland things continued as before. How far the network of Fenian conspiracies spread was demonstrated by the murder of Carey, one of the crown witnesses in the trial against the murderers in Phoenix Park; he was killed on a British steamer just as he was about to land on the African shore.

In Egypt, matters became more complicated due to unrest that broke out in Sudan. Back in 1882, a national-religious movement arose there, headed by the Mahdi (prophet) Mohammed-Ahmed. On November 1, 1883, he utterly defeated the Egyptian army, commanded by British officers, and a few days later another detachment suffered a brutal defeat at Suakim. The outburst of indignation that gripped the entire nation forced Gladstone to agree to send General Gordon to the Sudan as Governor-General. Gordon immediately hurried to his destination, but was poorly supplied with troops and money. The Egyptian army under the command of the Englishman Baker was completely defeated (February 11, 1884) by Osman Digma at El-Teb, and Gordon himself was forced to lock himself in Khartoum, without provisions and with a garrison overcrowded with traitors. The whole nation demanded that the brave general not be abandoned to the mercy of fate, and the ministry decided to send General Wolsley to his rescue. But before the vanguard of the new army reached Khartoum, the city surrendered to starvation and Gordon was killed (January 26, 1885). Wolseley was ordered to retreat. By the end of May, all British military forces had returned to Upper Egypt.

If, despite the dismal outcome of Egyptian affairs, the House rejected the Tories' proposed censure of the ministry, this is explained by the fact that, through a number of reforms in the field of domestic policy, Gladstone was able to acquire reliable supporters among the radicals. Among these reforms, the first place was occupied by a new electoral law, which eliminated the difference between rural and urban voters and granted suffrage in the counties to every tenant of an apartment; In addition, the right to vote was granted to servants with a qualification of 10 pounds. In this way, 2 million new voters were created. The lower house passed this bill on June 26, 1884, but the upper house decided not to proceed to the second reading until the ministry introduced its bill on the distribution of electoral districts. Gladstone did not agree to this demand.

Under pressure from the press, the lords yielded; the electoral bill was adopted by them. Soon after this, the other half of the reform was carried out: many small towns were deprived of the right to have their own special deputy, the number of representatives from large cities was increased, the counties were divided into electoral districts of approximately equal population. Gladstone's weak successes in the field of foreign policy, and on the other hand, his courtesy to the radicals and Irish autonomists, had long caused an estrangement between him and the moderate Whigs. This led to the fact that when on June 3, 1885, regarding the budget, Gix Beach introduced a resolution expressing no confidence in the government, the latter was defeated and resigned.

The creation of a new cabinet was entrusted to the head of the Tories, the Marquis of Salisbury. He himself took over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Northcote, who at this time passed with the title of Lord Iddesley into the upper house, became president of the privy council, Gix Beach received control of finance, and Lord Churchill received the Ministry of Indian Affairs.

The new cabinet pursued its foreign policy quite happily: relations with Germany, shaken by the latter’s successes in Africa, improved, disagreement with Russia over the Afghan borders was settled, General Prendergast occupied Burma, and already on January 1, 1886, the Viceroy of India proclaimed the annexation of Burma to British Empire.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of December 1885, parliamentary elections took place on the basis of the new electoral law, giving the liberals a significant number of votes thanks to the assistance of rural voters who wished to express their gratitude to Gladstone and his friends for the political rights granted to them. In total, 333 Liberals, 251 Tories and 86 Irish autonomists were elected. In Parliament, the Irish united with Gladstone's friends, and already on January 26, 1886, the Salisbury cabinet was defeated over the address. The Tories resigned.

Since moderate Whigs, like Lord Hartington and Goshen, stood aside, the cabinet was composed mainly of Gladstone's friends and radicals - Lord Rosbury, Childers, Morley, Chamberlain. Gladstone immediately introduced two bills to pacify Ireland in the lower house. One of them intended, with the help of a redemption operation, to convert large land property, which was exclusively in the hands of the British, into free peasant ownership, and the other - to grant Ireland a native government and a special people's parliament. The new Irish Parliament was to consist of ²/3 elected members and 1/3 members appointed by the English government. All matters relating to Ireland were to be subject to his jurisdiction, with the exception of foreign policy, customs and military matters; in return, Irish members would lose their seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

There was a violent opposition in the country against this last bill; Not only all the conservatives, but also the moderate Whigs, led by Lord Hartington, took up arms against him; even many radicals spoke out against the law, the consequence of which would be such a far-reaching separation between Ireland and England. Chamberlain left the office with his friend Trevelyan. The Irish Autonomy Act was rejected in the Lower House (June 7) by a majority of 341 to 311. Gladstone appealed to the country, but after an unusually excited electoral struggle, the people spoke out, in July 1886, against the ministry. In addition to 86 Irish autonomists, only 191 Gladstone supporters got into the new parliament, while the Tories received 317 seats and the liberal unionists 76.

Since Hartington refused to join the cabinet, Salisbury formed a purely Tory ministry, which included, among other things, Lord Iddesley, Gicks Beach, Lord Churchill and Cranbrook. Ireland responded to the overthrow of Gladstone's ministry with new agrarian crimes and street riots. Dillon and O'Brien, leaders of the national league that was formed in place of the former land league, recruited supporters everywhere for their “plan for a new campaign.” By this plan it was proposed to appoint trustees from the league to fix the rents of every private estate in Ireland; If the landlords do not accept the assessments made by these trustees, then the tenants must stop paying rent altogether. Irish MPs tried to challenge the government in the lower house, but Parnell's amendment to the address was rejected along with his Land Bill, which would have reduced rents by 50%.

At the end of 1886 and at the beginning of 1887, some changes took place in the ministry. First of all, Lord Churchill unexpectedly resigned. His place was offered to the leader of the Liberal Unionists, Lord Hartington, who himself refused to accept the position, but persuaded his friend Goschen to join the ministry as Chancellor of the Exchequer. This marked the beginning of a rapprochement with the moderate Whigs. Lord Iddesley and Geeks Beach then left the ministry; the latter's place was taken by Balfour, Salisbury's nephew.

The unrest in Ireland forced the government, at the end of March 1887, to introduce a draft of a new pacification law. Despite strong opposition from Gladstone's supporters and Irish MPs, the ministry's proposal received a majority and came into force in June 1887.

In August 1887, the Irish National League was closed as a dangerous society, and its branches were dissolved; the consequence of this was new disturbances.

In April, the Imperial Conference opened in London. Imperial conference) of all British colonies with the aim of more closely linking the ties between the colonies and the mother country.

In the field of foreign policy, disagreement arose with France over the New Hebrides Islands, which was soon settled; There were misunderstandings with Russia on issues of the Afghan borders and Bulgarian affairs. When, after a long interregnum, the Bulgarians elected Ferdinand of Coburg as prince, the St. Petersburg cabinet turned to the Porte with a demand to recognize the illegality of this election. But England, supported by Austria and Italy, refused to accede to this demand, and the meeting of Queen Victoria with Emperor Franz Joseph in April 1888, apparently, did not remain without influence on the fact that Austria and England took a hostile position in the Bulgarian question Russia.

In Ireland, despite special laws and emergency courts, agrarian unrest did not stop. Severe irritation caused a statement in the country by the Roman Curia (1888), which in harsh terms condemned the boycott system. The Irish replied that they did not intend to borrow their policy from either Italy or England, and flatly refused to stop the measures of violence condemned by the Pope. In August, Parliament discussed a proposal to set a trial for Parnell, accused by the Times newspaper of being an accomplice to the murderers of Cavendish and Borke. Parnell, without waiting for the decision of the commission appointed by Parliament, began legal action against the Times for libel; Pigot, who delivered letters compromising Parnell to The Times, confessed to the forgery and committed suicide (February 1889).

Parnell's trial with the Times made a deep impression in the country. The series of private elections that followed showed that the Tory cabinet was increasingly losing ground. New trial of Parnell, convicted of illegal cohabitation with married woman(whom, however, he later married), alienated Gladstone’s supporters from him and created a split within the Irish autonomists themselves, who demanded that Parnell temporarily renounce leadership of the party and parliamentary activities in general. The most important internal measure that marked the reign of the Conservative Ministry for last years, consisted of transforming local government on a more democratic basis.

This new law came into force on April 1, 1889. In the same year, a special Ministry of Agriculture was established. In 1890, £33 million was allocated to assist Irish tenants in purchasing their leased estates; in 1891 a new bill was passed to the same end, allowing tenants who were forcibly removed for non-payment of rent to sell their tenancy to others within a period of five years. The Conservative majority in the House of Commons, although reduced (through separate elections favorable to the Liberals), is still strong enough to prevent the adoption of radical reforms, such as free primary education, rejected (February 1890) by a majority of 223 votes to 163. Budgetary the surplus is, however, used for development public education and improving the situation of public teachers. The queen's request to allocate special sums for the maintenance of her grandchildren (the son and daughter of the Prince of Wales) met with opposition from the leaders of the radical party, Labouchere and Morley. The House of Commons agreed only to a slight increase in the funds allocated to the Queen personally (August 1889).

In both 1889 and 1890 there were major workers' strikes in London and other large cities in England.

English troops took part in the defeat of the Dervishes who invaded Egypt from the south.

Disagreements arose between the United States and Great Britain over freedom of navigation. Bering Sea, between France and England - due to fishing off the coast of Newfoundland (1890). England recognized the rights of France to Madagascar, France - the rights of England to Zanzibar (established under the Zanzibar Treaty of 1890 with Germany).

1899 - the beginning of the Anglo-Boer War.

Fight for Africa

Long-standing misunderstandings between England and Germany on the issue of the South African possessions of both powers were put to an end by the treaty of July 1, 1890, according to which Germany made great concessions to England in Africa, but received the island of Heligoland from England.

In Africa, there were reasons for strife between Portugal and England, which at one time threatened war.

In 1891, Parnell, who failed to return to his former role as leader of the Irish autonomists.

Victorian morality

The values ​​professed by the middle class and supported by both the Anglican Church and the opinion of the bourgeois elite of society began to prevail in society. Middle-class values ​​and energy underpinned all the achievements of the Victorian era.

Sobriety, punctuality, hard work, frugality and thrift were valued even before Victoria's reign, but it was during her era that these qualities became the dominant norm. The queen herself set an example: her life, completely subordinate to duty and family, was strikingly different from the life of her two predecessors. Most of the aristocracy followed suit, abandoning the flashy lifestyle of the previous generation. The skilled part of the working class did the same Lewis Carroll You can Middle Ages Wikipedia

The Victorian era, or the era of the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) was a strange time when some traditions were broken and others were born - strange and repulsive. Perhaps the reason was that the British were crazy about their kings, and with the death of Victoria's husband, Prince Albert in 1861, widespread, continuous mourning began in the country. In conditions of eternal grief, you begin to look at the death of a loved one from a different angle. What now terrifies and causes unpleasant movement of the hair on the head was then not obvious, but the norm...

Attention: the article contains shocking images and is not recommended for viewing by site visitors under 18 years of age, as well as by people with a traumatized psyche!

Posthumous portraits

Until 1839, portraits were painted with a brush on canvas (or wood) - this was a long and expensive task, not accessible to everyone, but with the invention of the daguerreotype, acquiring your own portrait, or a portrait of loved ones, became accessible to almost everyone. True, the middle class often did not think about this, and grabbed their heads only after family members “played the box.”

Post-mortem portraits began to become very popular. And with the invention of the carte de visite in the middle of the century, photographs could be printed in any quantity and distributed to all close and distant relatives and friends.

Given the high infant mortality rate, postmortem photographs of infants of all ages have become especially popular. At that time, such images were not perceived as taboo, but were a kind of norm.

The idea of ​​post-mortem photographs caught on so well that it eventually reached a new level. Photographers tried to add “life” to the portraits, and corpses were photographed surrounded by family.

The deceased children had their favorite toys shoved into their hands, and their eyes were forcibly opened and propped up with something so that they would not accidentally slam shut during the slow filming process. Sometimes the photographer's students added rosy cheeks to the corpse.

Sad decorations

The only acceptable thing for women was to wear items made of brown coal as mourning jewelry - dark and gloomy, it was supposed to represent longing for the departed. Jewelers, it must be said, took no less money for products made from coal than for jewelry with rubies or emeralds.

This was worn during the first stage of mourning. A year and a half. On the second, the woman could afford to wear some jewelry. But with one caveat - they had to contain hair. Human. Hair from the head of the deceased.

Brooches, bracelets, rings, chains, everything was made from hair - sometimes they were included in gold or silver jewelry, sometimes the jewelry itself was made exclusively from hair cut from a corpse.

The widow was required to wear a heavy black veil that hid her face for the first three months after her husband's death. After three months, the veil was allowed to be lifted onto the hat, which, of course, significantly facilitated the movement of women in space.

Almost nothing was visible through the mourning veil. The woman wore a veil on her hat for another nine months. In total, the woman did not have the right to remove her mourning for two years. But the majority, along with the queen, preferred not to take it off for the rest of their lives.

Haunted houses

When a family member died, the mirrors in the house were covered with dark cloth. For some reason, this norm took root in Russia, but not in such a global time frame - in Victorian England, mirrors were kept closed for at least a year.

If a mirror fell and broke in the house, this was considered a sure sign that someone in the family would definitely die one of these days. And if someone did die, the clocks in the whole house were stopped exactly at the moment of his death. People sincerely believed that if this was not done, it would bring more deaths and troubles.

But they carried the dead out of the house head first, so that the rest of the family would not “follow” him.

With all this, coffins with bells were especially popular in the Victorian era. So, it seemed, he died and died, but just in case, the corpses were not buried for almost a week, and then they hung a bell over the grave, in case the deceased, by coincidence of circumstances, turned out to be alive and well and, waking up in the grave, would be able to tell the whole world, that it needs to be dug up.

The fear of being buried alive was so great that bells were attached just in case to everyone who was buried in the ground, even to a corpse with obvious signs of decomposition. To make the task completely easier for a potential living person, the bell was connected by a chain to a ring, which was put on forefinger deceased.

Well, and for a snack – completely unrealistic photographs of people without heads from the Victorian era. If you believe all sorts of archives, this method of photo manipulation was exactly in second place after post-mortem photography. Damn these Englishmen...

Victorian Britain is the period of Queen Victoria's reign on the English throne, which lasted from 1837 to 1901. This period is also called the “Victorian era” or “Victorian age”.
The ideal partner for parliamentary rule is Queen Victoria. She was the force that ensured stability in Great Britain.
Victoria is the last queen of the Hanoverian dynasty (the Hanoverian dynasty ruled in Great Britain for 123 years). Under Victoria's rule, Great Britain became one of the leading countries in the world, where the industrial revolution was one of the first to end. Queen Victoria strictly adhered to all laws regulating the activities of Parliament. During the reign of Queen Victoria, a two-party parliamentary system was legally established.
Great Britain - “workshop of the world”
50-60s pp. XIX century - the beginning of the “golden era” of economic and political development of Great Britain. At this time she did not have a single serious opponent in the world. Great Britain has become the “workshop of the world”, the “world banker”, the “world carrier”. Capitalist Great Britain was an all-powerful master of the world market for industrial goods, which were distinguished high quality and relatively low prices. They were better and cheaper than products from other countries.
Great Britain has turned into. a large worldwide workshop that processed not only its own raw materials, but also raw materials that were exported from other countries. It had no serious rivals either in industry or trade.
Hence the explanation of the concept: Great Britain is the “workshop of the world.”
Preconditions for turning Great Britain into a “workshop of the world”
Completion of the industrial revolution.
Industrial monopoly.
The system of protectionism that operated in England.
Colonial expansion.
A series of wars that were fought for the sake of English trading capital.
1. Heavy industry developed rapidly, which was the basis for rearmament based the latest achievements science and technology throughout industry.
2. The population of Great Britain in the 50-60s of the 19th century. accounted for less than 3% of the world's population, but it provided half of the world's volumes of pig iron, coal, cotton fabrics and many other goods.
3. Iron smelting and coal production in Great Britain were constantly growing.

In 1865, the tonnage of steam ships exceeded the tonnage of sailing ships.
9. The steam merchant fleet ensured the transportation of English goods, and also transported goods from other countries, which allowed shipowners to make huge profits.
Great Britain in the middle of the 19th century, as well as Holland in the 17th century. called the “world carrier.”
10. In the middle of the 19th century. The world's largest ship, the Big Eastern, was built. She could sail to India and back on her coal, carrying 4,400 passengers.
11. British products were exported to different countries of the world, which, in turn, supplied Great Britain with raw materials and food products.
Reasons for Britain's predominance in industry and trade
1. In Great Britain, the industrial revolution occurred earlier than in other countries of the world.
2. It was equipped with the best machinery and equipment in the world:
mechanical machines for metal processing;
mechanical spindles;
steam engines.
3. Many goods were produced only in Great Britain, which no other country in the world had:
improved headers;
sewing machines;
refrigerators.
4. In Great Britain, thanks to the use of machines, labor productivity at that time was the highest in the world.
5. Great Britain had no serious competitors in the world market.
6. Machinery and equipment at that time were exported only from Great Britain.
7. Possession of a colonial empire is one of the conditions for industrial and commercial advantage in the world.
8. Stability monetary unit- English pound sterling.
conclusions
The position of Great Britain as the “workshop of the world” provided the English bourgeoisie with huge profits.
Great Britain has become the richest and most powerful state in the world.
English entrepreneurs were the first in the world to begin exporting not only goods, but also capital, abroad, building enterprises, railways, and founding banks.
Affirmation of liberalism
50-60s of the XIX century. The period of establishment of the principles of liberalism in Great Britain.
Liberalism is a socio-political movement that unites supporters of the parliamentary system, political rights and freedoms, democratization of society, and private entrepreneurship.
In the 50-60s of the 19th century. Great Britain was the most democratic country in Europe, in which the principles of liberalism were established. No country had such personal freedoms, freedom of free trade and entrepreneurship, freedom of assembly and the press. Great Britain served as a refuge for political emigrants.
Liberalism developed in two parallel directions.
1. Political liberalism, which defended:
rule of law;
individual freedoms and rights, which should be limited only when they infringe on the rights of other people;
a small amount of police forces;
small bureaucratic administrative apparatus;
religious tolerance;
universal suffrage;
providing political protection to emigrants from other countries;
reform course of development;
local self-government rather than centralization of power.
2. Economic liberalism, which was based on:
inviolability of private property;
free trade concepts;
the policy of non-interference by the state in the economic life of the country;
eliminating all restrictions on trade and industrial activities;
development of free competition;
eliminating economic barriers within the country and between countries.
The ideologists of British liberalism were G. Cobden and D. Bright, who developed theories of the country's liberal development. They believed that:
“freedom of trade and entrepreneurship” ensures unhindered control over all trade transactions;
“freedom of competition” helps to encourage new branches of industry, the unhindered search for new markets for their goods;
victory over competitors due to industrial and economic advantages;
the personality must be freed from all obstacles;
the state should not interfere in the activities of a private entrepreneur.
Formation of the liberal and conservative parties
In the 50-60s of the 19th century. the country was dominated by landowners and the monetary bourgeoisie, who ruled the country without the industrial bourgeoisie, headed by both main political parties - the Tories (conservatives) and the Whigs (liberals). Subsequently, the industrial bourgeoisie began to play an increasingly important role.
In the middle of the 19th century. The two-party system was finally established. This period became the “golden age” of English parliamentarism, because parliament played the role of the center of state life. There were no significant differences between the Conservative and Liberal parties, but there was a constant struggle for power.
The Liberal Party sought reforms.
The Conservative Party tried not to change anything, to adhere to old traditions. Both parties defended the existing system and the foundations of democracy, and sought to prevent the possibility of a repetition of a political movement of workers similar to Chartism.
The most prominent politician in the ranks of the Conservative Party was Benjamin Disraeli, and the Liberal Party - Henry Palmerston and Gladstone.
For 20 years (1850-1870 pp.), the Tories (conservatives) formed government cabinets for only three years. For the remaining 17 years, power was in the hands of the Whigs (liberals). The Liberal Party was led for 36 years by outstanding statesmen G. Palmerston and J. Russell, who, showing flexibility, made timely concessions to broad sections of the population. However, the Whigs stubbornly resisted the further expansion of voting rights after the reform of 1832 and did not want to carry out new democratic changes.
The main content of the foreign policy actions of all British governments was to ensure the interests and protection of British capital.
British political system
In the XIX century. Great Britain was constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament in which the lower house (House of Commons) played the main role. The government headed by the Prime Minister, who was appointed only from the representative of the party that won the elections, had broad powers in governing the country.
Features of the English political system
1. At that time, Great Britain was the most democratic state in Europe, in which the principles of liberalism were established.
2. No country had such personal freedoms, freedom of free trade and entrepreneurship, freedom of assembly and the press. Great Britain served as a refuge for political emigrants.
3. No one represented workers, farmers, or farm laborers in parliament.
4. In political life, Great Britain was distinguished by the fact that it did not have a large bureaucratic apparatus.
5. The role of the state was reduced to maintaining law and order, legality, providing defense, conducting foreign policy, collecting taxes and facilitating trade.

Considering the Victorian era in a global context, it should be noted that for a significant number of states - the British colonies - it was marked by the acquisition of greater independence and freedom, as well as the opportunity to develop their own political life. In addition, the discoveries that were made in Britain at this time were important not only for the country, but also for all humanity as a whole. The appearance in Britain of several outstanding representatives of art at once and, first of all, fiction, influenced the development of world art. For example, the work of the English writer Charles Dickens had a significant influence on the development of the Russian novel.

If we consider the significance of this period for Britain itself, it should be noted that the Victorian era occupies a very special place in the history of Great Britain. This period of British history is characterized by two main circumstances. First of all, during the Victorian era, Britain was not involved in any significant wars on the international stage, apart from the infamous Opium Wars in China. There was no serious tension in British society caused by the expectation of any catastrophe from outside. Since British society was and remains quite closed and self-centered, this circumstance seems especially important. The second circumstance is that interest in religious issues has grown significantly with the simultaneous rapid development of scientific thought and self-discipline of the human personality, which was based on the tenets of Puritanism.

The development of scientific thought in the Victorian era was such that as the importance of Darwinism increased and in the wake of more and more new scientific discoveries, even British agnostics turned to criticize the basic tenets of Christianity. Many nonconformists, including, for example, the Anglo-Catholic W. Gladstone, viewed the domestic and foreign policies of the British Empire through the prism of their own religious beliefs.

The Victorian era was marked by the acquisition of new social functions by Britain, which was required by new industrial conditions and rapid population growth. As for personal development, it was built on self-discipline and self-confidence, reinforced by the Wesleyan and evangelical movements.

Distinctive features of the Victorian era

The beginning of the Victorian era dates back to 1837, when Queen Victoria ascended to the English throne. At that time she was 18 years old. Queen Victoria's reign lasted for 63 years until 1901.

Despite the fact that Victoria's reign was a time of unprecedented change in British history, the foundations of society during the Victorian era remained unchanged.

The Industrial Revolution in Britain led to a significant increase in the number of factories, warehouses, and shops. There was rapid population growth, which led to urban sprawl. In the 1850s, all of Britain was covered in a network railways, which significantly improved the situation of industrialists, as it facilitated the delivery of goods and raw materials. Britain has become a highly productive country, leaving others far behind European states. At the International Industrial Exhibition of 1851, the country's successes were appreciated; Britain earned the title of “workshop of the world.” Leading positions in industrial production remained until the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. However, it was not without its negative sides. Unsanitary conditions were typical for the working-class neighborhoods of industrial cities. Child labor was common, and low wages were coupled with poor working conditions and exhausting long working hours.

The Victorian era was marked by the strengthening of the position of the middle class, which led to the dominance of its basic values ​​in society. Sobriety, punctuality, hard work, frugality, and thrift were held in high esteem. These qualities soon became the norm, as their usefulness in the new industrial world was undeniable. Queen Victoria herself acted as an example of such behavior. Her life, completely subordinate to family and duty, was significantly different from the life of her two predecessors on the throne. Victoria's example influenced much of the aristocracy, which led to the rejection of the flashy and scandalous lifestyle characteristic of the previous generation in the upper circles. The example of the aristocracy was followed by the highly skilled part of the working class.

At the heart of all the achievements of the Victorian era were, of course, the values ​​and energy of the middle class. However, it cannot be said that all the features of this middle class were examples to follow. Among the negative traits so often ridiculed in the pages of English literature of that period are the bourgeois belief that prosperity is the reward for virtue, and extreme puritanism in family life, which gave rise to hypocrisy and feelings of guilt.

Religion played a big role in the Victorian era, despite the fact that a significant part of the British population was not at all deeply religious. Various Protestant movements, such as Methodists and Congregationalists, as well as the evangelical wing of the Church of England, had a great influence on the people's minds. In parallel with this, there was a revival of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Anglo-Catholic movement within the Anglican Church. Their main tenets were adherence to dogma and ritual.

Despite Britain's significant successes during this period, the Victorian era was also a period of doubt and disappointment. This was due to the fact that the progress of science undermined faith in the inviolability of biblical truths. At the same time, there was no significant increase in atheists, and atheism itself still remained an unacceptable system of views for society and the church. For example, the famous politician who advocated social reform and freedom of thought, Charles Bradlow, who became famous among other things for his militant atheism, was able to get a seat in the House of Commons only in 1880 after a number of unsuccessful attempts.

The publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859 had a great influence on the revision of religious dogmas. This book had the effect of a bomb exploding. Darwin's theory of evolution refuted the previously seemingly indisputable fact that man is the result of divine creation and, by the will of God, stands above all other forms of life. According to Darwin's theory, man evolved through the evolution of the natural world in the same way as all other animal species evolved. This work caused a wave of harsh criticism from religious leaders and the conservative part of the scientific community.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that England was experiencing an undoubted surge of interest in science, which resulted in a number of large-scale scientific discoveries, but at the same time the country itself remained quite conservative in terms of way of life and value systems. The rapid development of Britain from an agricultural state to an industrial state led to rapid urban growth and the emergence of new jobs, but did not improve the situation of workers and their living conditions.

Page from the first edition of On the Origin of Species

Political structure of the country

The Victorian Parliament was more representative than during the reigns of Queen Victoria's predecessors. More than in previous times, he listened to public opinion. In 1832, before Victoria came to the throne, parliamentary reform gave the vote to a large section of the middle class. Laws in 1867 and 1884 granted suffrage to most adult men. At the same time, a vigorous campaign began to give women the right to vote.

During Victoria's reign, the government was no longer subordinate to the reigning monarch. This rule was established under William IV (1830-37). Although the Queen was highly respected, her influence over the ministers and their political decisions was extremely small. Ministers were subordinate to parliament and primarily to the House of Commons. But since party discipline in those days was not strict enough, the decisions of ministers were not always implemented. By the 1860s, the Whigs and Tories had formed into much more clearly organized parties - Liberal and Conservative. The Liberal Party was led by William Gladstone and the Conservative Party by Benjamin Disraeli. However, the discipline in both parties was too liberal to keep them from splitting. The policy pursued by Parliament was constantly influenced by the problem of Ireland. The famine of 1845–46 forced Robert Peel to reconsider the grain trade laws that kept British agricultural prices high. The Free Trade Act was introduced as part of a general Victorian movement to create a more open, competitive society.

Meanwhile, Peel's decision to repeal the Corn Laws divided the Conservative Party. And twenty years later, the activities of William Gladstone, aimed, in his own words, at the pacification of Ireland, and his commitment to the policy of home rule caused a split among liberals.

During this reformist period, the foreign policy situation remained relatively calm. The conflict came to a head in 1854-56, when Britain and France started the Crimean War with Russia. But this conflict was only local in nature. The campaign was waged to curb Russian imperial aspirations in the Balkans. In fact, it was just one round in the long-running Eastern Question (a diplomatic problem related to the decline of the Turkish Ottoman Empire) - the only thing that seriously affected Britain in the pan-European politics of the Victorian era. In 1878, England found itself on the brink of another war with Russia, but remained aloof from the European alliances that would later split the continent. British Prime Minister Robert Arthur Talbot Salisbury called this policy of refusing long-term alliances with other powers brilliant isolation.

Based on the available data, the Victorian era was a period of parliamentary restructuring, as well as the formation and strengthening of the main parties that exist in Britain today. At the same time, the nominal power of the monarch made it impossible for him to have a significant influence on the political life of the country. The figure of the monarch increasingly became a tribute to the traditions and foundations of Britain, losing its political weight. This situation continues to this day.

British foreign policy

The Victorian era for Britain was marked by the expansion of colonial possessions. True, the loss of the American colonies led to the fact that the idea of ​​new conquests in this area was not very popular. Before 1840, Britain did not seek to gain new colonies, but was concerned with protecting its trade routes and supporting its interests outside the state. At that time, there was one of the black pages of British history - the opium wars with China, the cause of which was the struggle for the right to sell Indian opium in China.

In Europe, Britain supported the weakening Ottoman Empire in its fight against Russia. In 1890, the moment of redistribution of Africa came. It was to be divided into so-called “zones of interest.” The undoubted conquests of Britain in this case were Egypt and the Suez Canal. The British occupation of Egypt continued until 1954.

Some British colonies received additional privileges during this period. For example, Canada, New Zealand and Australia received the right to create a government, which weakened their dependence on Britain. At the same time, Queen Victoria remained the head of state in these countries.

By the end of the 19th century, Britain was the strongest maritime power and also controlled a significant part of the land. However, the colonies were sometimes an exorbitant burden for the state, since they required significant cash injections.

Problems haunted Britain not only overseas, but also on its own territory. They came mainly from Scotland and Ireland. At the same time, for example, the population of Wales quadrupled during the 19th century and amounted to 2 million people. Wales boasted rich coal deposits in the south, making it the center of a booming coal mining and metallurgical industry. This led to almost two-thirds of the country's population seeking to move south in search of work. By 1870 Wales had become an industrial country, although there remained large areas in the north where farming flourished and most of the inhabitants were poor peasants. Parliamentary reforms allowed the people of Wales to get rid of the wealthy landowning families that had represented them in Parliament for 300 years.

Scotland was divided into industrial and rural areas. The industrial estate was located near Glasgow and Edinburgh. The industrial revolution dealt a severe blow to the inhabitants of mountainous regions. The collapse of the clan system that had existed there for centuries was a real tragedy for them.

Ireland caused many problems for England, the battle for freedom of which resulted in a large-scale war between Catholics and Protestants. In 1829, Catholics received the right to participate in parliamentary elections, which only strengthened the sense of national identity of the Irish and encouraged them to continue their struggle with great effort.

Based on the data presented, we can conclude that the main task of Britain in that period in the foreign policy arena was not the conquest of new territories, but the maintenance of order in the old ones. The British Empire grew so large that managing all its colonies became quite problematic. This led to the granting of additional privileges to the colonies and a decrease in the role that Britain had previously played in their political life. The rejection of strict control of colonial territories was due to the problems that existed on the territory of Britain itself, and the solution of which became a priority task. It should be noted that some of these problems have not yet been properly resolved. This is especially true of the Catholic-Protestant confrontation in Northern Ireland.

Introduction

The reign of Queen Victoria is one of the most exciting years in British history. I also call the early Victorian era a romantic period, and there are good reasons for this.

The Victorians had romantic ideas about nature, and these ideas were no doubt fueled by the philosophical ideas of cultural representatives. It is the directions of cultural development that became the subject of research in this essay. Several books formed its basis. The names of the authors on the same issues are different, but it is the almost opposite assessments that help give an objective assessment of something.

General characteristics of the Victorian era

1837 - 1901. These years, like the Elizabethan era, are often depicted as a golden age in English history. Trade flourished, industrial production gained unprecedented strength, vibrant cities grew everywhere, and the possessions of the British Empire extended throughout the world.

Among the many changes that occurred in those years, I would like to note one, the most significant, - the outflow of the population from rural areas to cities. If in 1801, according to the census, the urban population accounted for 30% of the total number of Englishmen, then by the middle of the century this figure had increased to 50 percent, and in 1901 80% of the population lived in cities. This trend, undoubtedly, was very convenient for developing industry, since it created an inexhaustible reserve of labor, but it also generated serious problems. Due to the great overcrowding, dirt and poverty reigned in the cities. At first, the government tried to turn a blind eye to the plight of poor citizens, but then individual employers appeared who tried to take care of their employees. Gradually they realized that this could only be done properly if there were appropriate state laws. Such laws began to appear only under pressure from industrialists, and each new law controlling the living and working conditions of workers meant more and more interference in the lives of British citizens. The army of civil servants grew steadily: in 1832 there were about 21 thousand, by 1880 there were already over 50 thousand, and in 1914 there were state enterprises Over 280 thousand hired workers worked. 2) pp. 311 - 312

Against the background of these transformations and changes, English culture developed widely. And in many ways the direction of its development depended on the personality of the ruling monarch - Queen Victoria.

Biography of Queen Victoria

Alexandrina Victoria (05/24/1819 - 01/22/1901) Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837 - 1901), Empress of India (1876 - 1901) the last representative of the Hanoverian dynasty on the British throne. Victoria is the only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III and daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria inherited the throne on June 20, 1837 after the death of her uncle William IV. On 02/10/1840 she married the German Prince Albert, a representative of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who received the title of Prince Consotre. From him she gave birth to 9 children, who eventually became related to the oldest royal families of Europe (Victoria was jokingly called “the grandmother of Europe”) Victoria’s eldest son, after her death, ascended to the British throne under the name of Edward VII. During the reign of Victoria, Great Britain became the leading industrial power in the world and the owner of the largest colonial empire, its influence on world politics increased, and significantly greater successes were achieved in the development of culture. This period in Great Britain was called the Victorian era.