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This is the century when the West achieves global dominance. In 1800, the gross domestic product of western Europe is not much more than that of the most prosperous parts of Asia. By 1900, it is more than 10 times greater. The story of Britain overseas in the Victorian era is the story of empire. In 1884, General Charles George Gordon (1833-85) is sent to Khartoum in the Sudan (then part of Egypt), which is threatened by a Muslim revolt against British imperial rule. On 26 January the following year, he is speared to death by a crowd of dervishes and instantly becomes a mythical hero. The painting of the event, Gordon's Last Stand by G W Joy, shows an arrogant if stoical European facing the rebels, an icon of white supremacy. It is an image that is intended to justify British rule not just in Egypt but across the world. Another example of British pride in empire is James Wyld's large model of the globe, known as Wyld's Great Globe, which is exhibited in London's Leicester Square from 1851 to 1862. It stands about 20 metres (66 feet) high, in a gas-lit circular building, and Wyld (181287) – an MP and master of the Clothworkers Company – dedicates it to Prince Albert because it illustrates the British crown's 'civilising sway'. By the end of the century, the maps in British schools show huge swathes of colonial territories coloured in pink: the British empire covers a fifth of the world's land surface and includes 400 million people. Informal imperialism The empire dates from about 1600, and takes a bewildering variety of forms – from self-governing dominions to crown colonies administered from London. The Victorian era is a time of enormous expansion. In 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, Britain is the world's trader, and British interests are found wherever there is trade. The adage 'Trade follows the flag' is incorrect – informal economic imperialism often precedes formal political annexation. The British empire grows in different ways, sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally. The result is the same: the last 40 years of the 19th century see huge areas of land being annexed by Britain in Africa, the Far East and the Pacific. Pax Britannica Certainly, there is middle-class pride in Pax Britannica, a term used to describe the perception that Britain is the world's policeman, maintaining a balance of power in Europe while ruthlessly advocating national interests. But the British people as a whole are not that interested in empire, and pressure groups campaigning for more empire are not particularly popular. But bouts of jingoism – especially during the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny and the Boer Wars – occasionally grip the white-collar classes. The colossal increase in Britain's wealth in the second half of Victoria's reign means that the 'Victorians' comprise not only Anglo-Saxon Britons but also Indians, Egyptians, Sudanese, black Africans and white South Africans. Canada, Australia and New Zealand In the old areas of mainly white settlement, such as Canada and Australia, Britain devolves authority. Witness the Dominion of Canada Act 1867 and Commonwealth of Australia Act 1900. However, this does not stop white settlers from destroying the lives and culture of Australian Aborigines and Maori New Zealanders. By the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the Maoris accept British sovereignty, and the colony is given self-government in 1853. But it takes Maori revolts in 1845-7 and 1860-72 to achieve concessions such as representation in the New Zealand parliament. India By contrast, imperial authority is extended in India – 'the chief jewel in the imperial crown', according to Benjamin Disraeli. Colonised since the 18th century; it is the centre of Britain's huge trade network. However, India does not acquiesce to British rule peacefully. In 1857-8, there is an armed uprising that is savagely put down. To downplay its significance, the rulers call it the 'Indian Mutiny'. As a result, the East India Company – a private firm, regulated by the state, that has been running British affairs in India since 1600 – is abolished and its territories taken under direct British control. In 1876, at Queen Victoria's own wish and with Disraeli's encouragement, a law is passed that makes her empress of India. To protect the strategically vital India, Britain annexes Singapore (1858), Malaysia (1874) and Burma (1886). For similar reasons, Egypt and the Sudan are seized. This thinking also affects the government's thinking about Russia and Africa. Crimean War The sensitivity of the route to India makes Britain's attitude towards the Russian empire (see below) one of guarded hostility. The problem is complicated by the fact that the Turkish (Ottoman) empire (see below) is in decline. European powers such as Britain and France want to prop it up to counter Russian dreams of expansion. The Crimean War (1854-6), fought to prevent the growth of Russian power, is marked by British military ineptitude, most obviously in the fiasco of the Charge of the Light Brigade. By contrast, the work of Florence Nightingale inspires public sympathy at home. However, after the battles of the Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman and Sebastopol, a peace is signed in Paris. Egypt In Egypt, part of the Ottoman empire, the building of the Suez Canal in 1869 greatly helps Britain's sea links with India. In 1875, Disraeli's government buys masses of shares in the canal, and in 1882, when Egypt becomes bankrupt, Gladstone is forced to invade and occupy it to protect Britain's investment. Although the country is never formally annexed, the British remain in occupation until 1922 and maintain a substantial military presence until 1954. Under their de facto rule, Egypt annexes the rebellious Sudan in the 1880s. The Mahdi, whose followers kill General Gordon, is ruthlessly crushed by General Horatio Kitchener (1850-1916) at the battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898 – the last cavalry charge of the British army. The 'Dark Continent' Britain leads the 'Scramble for Africa'. In east and central Africa, the pace is set by religious missionaries. Evangelical doctors such as David Livingstone (1813-73) preach the gospel, heal the sick and criticise the local slave traders. In 1871, Livingstone is presumed lost in the 'Dark Continent', but is 'rescued' by American journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) who, on meeting him, supposedly utters the words: 'Dr Livingstone, I presume?' Stanley's self-publicising account of the event is one of great Victorian imperial adventure stories. In west Africa, Lagos in Nigeria is annexed in 1861, supposedly having been bought from a chief by British traders. General Garnet Wolseley (1833-1913) – immortalised by Gilbert and Sullivan as 'the model of a modern major general' – defeats the Ashanti in 1874. Then come the great land grabs: Botswana (1885), Gambia (1888), Malawi (1891), Uganda (1894), Kenya and Zimbabwe (1895). North and south Nigeria are formed in 1900. South Africa The Cape in South Africa is a British colony, protecting the sea route to India. But while Britain manages to impose a confederation on the white South African Boers in 1877, the black Zulu war is harder to deal with. At Isandlwana in 1879, the Zulus win a major victory, killing 800 British soldiers. But then, after the heroic defence of Rorke's Drift, the British massacre the Zulu armies at Ulundi. Three years later, in the 1st Boer War, the Boers defeat the British at Majuba Hill, and achieve some independence. However, following the discovery of diamonds and gold in 1886, some imperialists get greedy. Cecil Rhodes, for example, provokes the Boers by such manipulations as the ill-fated 'Jameson Raid' in 1895. In this, one of Rhodes' cronies, Dr Leander Starr Jameson (1853-1917), and 500 troopers fight against the Boers on behalf of the mainly British uitlanders (outsiders) who are taking part in the gold rush. In 1899, the imperialist British high commissioner, Alfred Milner (1854-1925), pushes the Boers into the 2nd Boer War. Early Boer successes are followed by British armies taking the major cities – the relief of Mafeking is wildly applauded at home. But then they are confronted by Boer guerrilla tactics. The British response – concentration camps and a scorched-earth policy – create immense outrage in Britain, and the final negotiated settlement of 1902, the Peace of Vereeniging, is a conditional Boer surrender. China In China, Britain forces the country to allow India to have a monopoly of the lucrative opium trade and free trading access to the Chinese empire (see below). After several Opium Wars – the first time a European power has waged war on China – the Treaty of Tien-tsin (produced by Britain in 1858 but only ratified by China two years later) is a Chinese surrender to a deliberate act of imperial expansion. Hong Kong has already been grabbed in 1842. Afghanistan Two wars are also fought to protect India's north-west frontier with Afghanistan: in 1838-42, when the British garrison in Kabul is wiped out; and in 1878-80, when General Frederick Roberts (1832-1914) captures Kabul and relieves Kandahar. Ireland After 1800, when the Act of Union is passed, Ireland is ruled by the British Parliament. Home rule and famine By the start of Victoria's reign, there are moves for Irish independence or 'home rule'. Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) sets up the National Association in 1840, which holds peaceful 'monster meetings' demanding the repeal of the Act of Union. However, this movement is overtaken by a natural disaster that is made worse by Ireland's colonial landlords. In 1845, the outbreak of potato blight results in the disastrous Irish famine (1845-51). This causes massive death, distress and then emigration – by 1901, the population of Ireland is half of its 1841 level. The Fenians Following an unsuccessful rising in 1848, feelings about British rule simmer. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB, familiarly known as the Fenians) is set up in 1858. The Fenian Brotherhood, comprised mainly of Irish émigrés, is established in the United States a year later. From 1865, the latter attacks British interests in Canada, Britain and Ireland. In 1867, following an unsuccessful rising in Ireland, the IRB attacks Chester Castle in mainland Britain. They rescue two of their leaders from a Manchester prison van, killing a prison officer; Clerkenwell gaol in London is also bombed. British public opinion is outraged, but liberal opinion swings around to the Irish cause when three men – the Manchester Martyrs – are hanged for the firing of a single bullet in the prison van rescue. The Land War By 1870, with the question of land ownership being ineffectively tackled by the 1st Land Act, the Home Government Association is formed, which quickly turns into the Home Rule Party. In the 1874 general election, 60 Home Rule MPs are returned, who begin to obstruct the House of Commons by filibustering. By 1877, the charismatic Charles Stewart Parnell becomes president of the party, and parliamentary agitation for independence gathers pace. Meanwhile, the Irish countryside explodes in a 'land war' with boycotts (an newly coined word arising from the protests) against landlords who resist the Land League, founded in October 1879 by Michael Davitt, a former member of the IRB. The problem is only partly solved by the 2nd Land Act of 1881. Phoenix Park murders Meanwhile, renewed terrorism – particularly the Phoenix Park murders of Irish secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas H Burke by a gang called The Invincibles in 1882 – is evidence of the worsening situation. In 1886, the 1st Home Rule Bill is defeated in Parliament, and the 2nd Home Rule Bill is rejected in 1893, three years after Parnell has had to resign over the scandal of his relationship with Kitty O'Shea. The century ends with the 'Irish question' still unresolved. Europe In Europe, this is the era of unsuccessful revolutions, declining empires and successful nation-state building. In 1848 – the 'year of revolutions' – there are uprisings in Paris, Milan, Berlin and Vienna. In France, king Louis Philippe (1773-1850) abdicates and the Second Republic is established. In Austria and in many German states, liberal constitutions are granted. Most of these revolts collapse, either because of their own inherent weaknesses or because of military suppression. But by 1865, some of them have achieved their democratic aims: a number of European states end up with wider voting franchises than Britain, despite that country's pride in its liberalism. By 1900, the European continent is locked into a diplomatic stalemate held together by international treaties. Everything seems stable until 1914. The First World War is the result of competitive European countries going to war with each other to honour treaties that had originally been made to keep the peace. France In France, the Second Republic lasts only until 1851, when Louis Napoleon (1808-73), nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, seizes power and is crowned as Napoleon III a year later. But he loses power following the invasion of France and its humiliation during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1. This also sees the bloody suppression of the left-wing revolt known as the Paris Commune (18 March-28 May 1871), when 20,000-30,000 people are massacred. As a direct result, the Third French Republic comes into being. Germany At the same time, Germany is unified under Prussian leadership headed by Otto von Bismarck (1815-98). The Prussians have already seized the north German duchies of Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark in 1864. In 1871, following the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war, the Second Reich is set up, ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888). Following his father Friedrich's brief three-month rule (9 March-15 June 1888), Wilhelm II (1859-1941), a grandson of Queen Victoria, becomes Kaiser. He presses the government to compete in earnest with the British empire in the acquisition of colonies (see Scramble for Africa). Italy Following the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Italy is divided between Austria, Naples, Sardinia, the papal states and four duchies. At the same time, there is an upsurge of nationalism known as the Risorgimento. In 1831, Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-72) founds the 'Young Italy' movement with the aim of creating a unified republic. In 1848-9, liberal revolutions occur throughout the country, which are reversed everywhere except Sardinia. This becomes the centre of nationalism under the leadership of Count Camillo di Cavour (1810-61). In 1859, France and Sardinia forcibly expel the Austrians from Lombardy, and the following year, Sardinia annexes duchies and papal states (except Rome), while troops under Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-82) overthrow the Neapolitan monarchy. In 1861, the country of Italy comes into being at Turin when Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia is proclaimed king. Three years later, it gains Venetia following the defeat of Austria by Prussia, and in 1870, the unification of Italy is complete when its forces occupy Rome in defiance of the pope. Russian empire At the end of the century, Russia is still ruled by the absolutist Romanov dynasty, headed by another relative of Queen Victoria, Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918). He is preceded by: • Nicholas I (1796-1855), who blunders into the Crimean War • Alexander II (1818-81), who is assassinated by a nihilist terror group • Alexander III (1845-94), who persecutes the Jews. Russia's desire to expand its territories brings it into conflict with other powers. It occupies lands beyond the Ural mountains, extending into Asiatic Siberia and Central Asia. The building of the Trans-Siberian Railway (1891-1905) consolidates this process. But expansion to the Pacific brings Russia into dispute with the Chinese empire in Manchuria and with Japan. This culminates in the disastrous Russo-Japanese war of 1904–05. Expansion southwards to Afghanistan creates rivalry with Britain, which needs this north-west frontier to protect imperial India (see above). In 1861, serfdom is abolished in Russia on not very favourable terms for the peasants. This is followed by a rapid growth in industry, which leads to a boom in urbanisation and the creation of a working class. In 1887, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov's brother is executed for his part in an assassination attempt on Alexander III. Vowing to overthrow the tsar, young Vladimir takes his first steps on the road that will lead him, under the name of Lenin (1870-1924), to lead the Russian Revolution in 1917. In 1898, the Russian Social Democratic Party is founded and begins agitating for reform. Poland, which has been partitioned between Austria, Germany and Russia, experiences ill-fated revolts in 1830 and 1863. Austrian empire The Austrian empire is in trouble. The wave of nationalist feeling that sweeps across Europe in the 19th century inspires the Habsburgs' subject peoples – Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Czechs – to revolt. In 1848, revolutions break out in most major cities of the empire, and Prince von Metternich (1773-1859) – the architect of peace after the Napoleonic wars (1803-15) – flees from Vienna and takes refuge in London. By 1851, however, these uprisings are suppressed. In 1866, as a result of its defeat by Prussia in the Seven Weeks' War, Austria loses Venetia to Italy. The rise of Hungarian nationalism is particularly strong, and to assuage it, in 1867 the empire is renamed the 'Dual Monarchy of Austro-Hungary', ruled by the Emperor Franz Josef (1830-1916). This comprises Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, as well as parts of Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and Italy. In 1878, the Treaty of Berlin gives Austro-Hungary responsibility for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Balkans, although these lands remain nominally Turkish until 1908. Turkish (Ottoman) empire Muslim Turkey is also in decline and is called (by Russian tsar Nicholas I, see above) 'the sick man of Europe'. It is the centre of the Ottoman empire, whose control over its vast Middle East territories is slipping and whose treasury is almost bankrupt. During his reign (1839-61), the Sultan Abdul Mejid I attempts to reform the state machine. One of his first acts is to declare war on Mehemet Ali, the ruler of Egypt, in 1839, but the Turks go on to lose the battle of Nazib. Partly due to the Crimean War (1854-6), Turkey becomes bankrupt in 1875. This inspires uprisings in the Balkans and a war with Serbia. In 1876, the massacre by the Turks of Bulgarians in the Balkans causes outrage in Europe – see The Eastern Question revisited. In the same year, Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918) – a new sultan, destined to be Turkey's last – sets aside the new constitution and rules as a despot. He fights a war with Russia in 1877-8, which results in Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria gaining their independence. In 1897, however, the Turks defeat Greece in a dispute over Crete. From 1890 to 1897, several uprisings by Christians in Armenia are brutally suppressed by Turkey, discrediting the country in Western eyes. Chinese empire The Chinese empire, ruled by the Qing (Manchu) dynasty since 1644, is also weak in the face of European power. By the mid-19th century, there's a real danger that the country might be partitioned by the United States and the European powers, since most of its trade is now controlled by imperialist countries through treaty ports under their control. But the empire is also being undermined from within. Arising in 1850, the Taiping rebellion is a popular revolt, triggered by famine. It is led by Hong Xiuquan (1813-64), who declares himself the younger brother of Christ. Early successes see the rebels occupying vast tracts of land and instituting rural reforms. But internal dissent among the Taipings leads to defeat in 1864 at the hands of the warlord Zeng Guofan (1811-72) and the 'Ever-Victorious Army', led by the American F T Ward and General Gordon, the future British martyr of Khartoum (see above), who earns the nickname 'Chinese Gordon'. In 1900, the Boxer rebellion against foreign influence is brutally suppressed by European troops. Japanese empire Meanwhile, there is a threat to China from the east. Japan's international isolation ends in 1853 as the United States insists on opening trade relations. The shoguns – the military strongmen who have virtually ruled Japan since the 12th century – abdicate in 1868. During the next 30 years of the Meiji ('enlightened rule') era, the emperor Mutsuhito assumes full power, abolishes the privileges of the samurai class, Japan's equivalent to knights, and launches a policy of swift Westernisation. In 1894-5, Japan fights a war with China, securing control of south Manchuria, Taiwan and Korea. Seven years later, it forms a defensive alliance with Britain, which lasts until 1921. United States The United States experiences a massive expansion of territory as the populations of the eastern seaboard move west and, by a mixture of negotiation, purchase and conquest, colonise land previously held by Native Americans. 'Manifest destiny' Under the slogan 'Manifest destiny', coined by journalist John O'Sullivan in 1845, the expansion west involves a war with Mexico in 1846-8. As a result of this, a vast area comprising Arizona, California, Texas (which achieved its independence from Mexico after the battle of the Alamo in 1836) and other future states are acquired by the US. In 1846, the Oregon Treaty defines the border with Canada along the 49th parallel. Alaska is bought from Russia in 1867, and Hawaii cedes itself to the US in 1898. Politically, the American Civil War (1861-5), which is bitterly fought between the northern anti-slavery states and the southern plantation-owning ones, leaves a legacy of bad feeling. President Abraham Lincoln (born 1809) is assassinated in 1865. Settlement and growth In that year, the end of slavery and the end of war together stimulates huge industrial growth. During the second half of the century, the American economy becomes much bigger than Britain's. The construction of roads and railways westwards across the great prairies facilitates frontier settlement. In 1848-9, a massive gold rush gives California's economy a boost, and the 1862 Homestead Act encourages occupation of the west. Wars with Native Americans are also fought in the 1870s and '80s, and culminate in the battle of Wounded Knee in 1890, in which the Native Americans are thoroughly defeated. By 1900, the United States has the biggest economy in the world. Large-scale European immigration from Italy and Germany, among other countries, and by the Jewish populations of eastern Europe, provides its manpower and its culture. South America In South America, this is an age of revolutions and struggles for independence, often closely modelled on events in Europe. Following the toppling of the Spanish throne by Napoleon I in 1808, the Spanish colonies begin their fight for independence, led by Simón Bolívar (1783-1830) and José de San Martin (1778-1850). Brazil becomes independent peacefully under a monarchy, but other countries choose to become republics. By the start of Victoria's reign, the continent is made up of the Brazilian empire, plus the republics of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela and the colony of Guiana (partitioned between Britain, Holland and France). The relations between these countries are not always good. In 1862, Francisco Solano Lopez (1827-70) becomes president of Paraguay in his father's footsteps. A dictator, he involves his country in a disastrous war (1865-70) with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Paraguay is invaded and Lopez killed at Aquidaban. The war leaves the country depopulated – more than half of the population has died – and it takes a generation to recover. In 1879-83, the Pacific War is fought by an alliance of Bolivia and Peru against Chile. Chile seizes Antofagasta and the coast, denying Bolivia access to the sea. Then Chile annexes the southern Peruvian coastline, including the nitrate fields of the Atacama Desert. Large-scale European immigration to South America from Spain, Italy and Germany creates the continent's distinctive culture. |
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