Concetti Chiave
- After Prince Albert's death, Queen Victoria remained in mourning, while political leaders like Benjamin Disraeli and Gladstone alternated as Prime Ministers in the late Victorian era.
- Significant reforms improved urban living conditions, including housing, sanitation, and factory working hours, reflecting a shift from early Victorian self-confidence to uncertainty.
- During this period, Britain's foreign policy focused on free trade and liberalism, with significant influence in Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand, and expansion in the Suez Canal.
- The British Empire, the largest in history, spanned four million square miles and faced challenges in control, with a growing sense of the "white man's burden" and commercial interests.
- Ideological conflicts and pessimism arose, influenced by Social Darwinism and critiques of industrialization, affecting intellectuals and artists' views on Victorian society's stability.
Cambiamenti sociali e riforme
After Prince Albert's death In those years the self-confidence of early Victorian decades was being replaced by a growing sense of uncertainty. there were more people living in towns than in the country and the middle classes had risen to become 25% of a fast-growing population. Important reforms were brought in to improve living Conditions the expanding towns. Disraeli's government passed an Artisans' and Laborers' Dwellings Act (1875), which allowed local authorities to clear the slums and provide housing for the poor; a Public Health Act (1875), which provided sanitation and running water; and a Factory Act (1878), which limited factory working hours. Gladstone's government passed the 1870 Education Act, which established a national system of primary education. Parliamentary reform continued with the legalization of unions of workers under the Trade Union Act in 1871, the introduction of a secret ballot in 1872 the vote to the Third Reform Act in 1884, which extended the vote male householders.
Politica estera britannica
Britain's foreign policy was based on free trade and liberalism. Great Britain ruled Canada, considerable areas of India, Australia and New Zealand. Trade with India became increasingly important and led Disraeli to purchase more shares in the Suez Canal Company in 1875 to protect Britain's route eastwards. Queen Victoria was given a new title, Empress of India. In South Africa, around 1870, the English controlled two colonies, Cape Colony and Natal, while the Dutch settlers had the two republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. When Britain conquered the Transvaal in 1877, the Boers rebelled and war broke out. The Boer Wars (1880-1881; 1899-1902) ended in 1902 with a British victory.
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Conflitti ideologici e pessimismo
During the second half of the nineteenth century, Great Britain had ideological conflicts that undermined the positive attitude. These changes affected various areas such as scientific achievements, industrialization, sexuality and religion. A growing pessimism struck intellectuals and artists, who expressed their doubts about the stability of Victorian society. Karl Marx considered England the most advanced European country, but criticized the effects of industrialization.In 1884 a middle-class socialist organization was formed, aimed at transforming Britain into a socialist state not through revolution, but through gradual reforms. The pessimism regarding human existence was reinforced by Social Darwinism, The philosopher Spencer (1820-1903) applied Darwin's theory of natural selection to human society. He argued that races, nations and social classes, like biological species, were subject to the principle of the 'survival of the fittest' and that the poor and oppressed did not deserve compassion.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the key reforms introduced during the Late Victorian Age to improve living conditions in expanding towns?
- How did the British Empire expand its influence in India during the Late Victorian Age?
- What was the outcome of the Boer Wars, and how did they affect the British Empire?
- How did ideological conflicts and pessimism affect British society in the second half of the nineteenth century?
- What was the significance of Queen Victoria's reign by the time of her death in 1901?
Key reforms included the Artisans' and Laborers' Dwellings Act (1875) for housing, the Public Health Act (1875) for sanitation and running water, and the Factory Act (1878) to limit working hours in factories.
The British Empire expanded its influence in India by increasing its shares in the Suez Canal Company in 1875 to protect its route eastwards, and Queen Victoria was given the title Empress of India.
The Boer Wars ended in 1902 with a British victory, but they highlighted the difficulties in controlling the vast British Empire and contributed to a growing sense of the "white man's burden."
Ideological conflicts and growing pessimism affected various areas such as scientific achievements, industrialization, sexuality, and religion, leading to doubts about the stability of Victorian society.
Queen Victoria's reign was significant for embodying decorum, stability, and continuity for almost a century, marking the end of the Victorian Age with her death.
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