Victorian England

Queen Victoria: the Namesake• Queen from 1837 to 1901

– Key royal personality for most of 19th Century

– Symbolizes the prosperity, expansion, and morality of 19th-C England

• Raised by German mother; married German 1st Cousin, Albert

• 9 children married into royalty across Europe: “The Grandmother of Europe”

• Had little constitutional power, but served as a beloved figurehead of the nation

• Longest serving female monarch of all time

British Industrialism: Early 1800s

• Britain led Europe toward the Second Industrial Revolution

• Steam Engine and large coal deposits fueled mechanization

• Manchester: textile industry• Newcastle: Coal• Mechanization split family during

working hours– Many laborers earned basic wages, but

skilled labor earned higher wages– Women and children often worked in

factories– Shifts of working hours separated family

members– More skilled fathers could send children

to school

• English Factory Act of 1833 limited child labor: children over 9 only; required factory-paid education

British Industrialism• 1847: Parliament mandated a 10-

hour work day, allowing families to regroup

• Increased demand for raw materials increased colonial ties to India and Africa

– Cotton– Rubber– Latex– Tea, coffee, sugar, cocoa

• Free-market Economics• Adam Smith: “Invisible hand”• David Ricardo:

– Comparative Advantage– Benefits of free trade

• Thomas Malthus– Population would grow geometrically,

but food production would grow arithmetically: future shortage

Parliamentary Democracy• Liberalism already existed in

England, so no revolution was necessary

• 1867: Second Great Reform Bill– Led by Conservative Benjamin Disraeli

(wanted to gain support of increasingly prosperous working class)

– Nearly doubled electorate, allowing nearly all urban men to vote (determined by paying taxes or having a degree)

• 1868-74: William Gladstone, Liberal prime minister

– Secret ballot, reformed officer corps, severed universities from church control

– Education Act of 1870: public elementary schooling

• 1874-1880 Disraeli– Conservative cared for working class– Government sponsored housing projects– Gave rights to unions to picket

Gladstone and Disraeli

Ireland• By 1807, Ireland represented in

Great Britain’s parliament• Tension remained over “Home

Rule,” including demands for– Irish autonomy or control over Ireland– Land ownership reform– Tenant rights

• Gladstone passed two land reform acts

• Charles Parnell led Irish MPs in as a consolidated bloc to gain more concessions, allying with Liberal party, and then threatening Conservatives

• 1903: final transfer of land to tenant ownership

• 1914: Irish home rule approved, but implementation interrupted by WW1

Gladstone debating Irish Home rule