The Victorian Age in Britain

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key historical figures, reform acts, conflicts, and philosophical currents of the Victorian Era in Britain.

Queen Victoria

British monarch whose reign lasted from 1837 to 1901, solidifying Britain's status as a leading global empire and economic superpower.

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Husband of Queen Victoria who organized the Great Exhibition of 1851 and whose death in 1861 led the Queen to withdraw from public life for over a decade.

First Reform Act of 1832

Act that redistributed parliamentary seats to reduce rotten boroughs and extended voting rights to most of the industrial and landowning bourgeoisie.

Rotten Boroughs

Small towns with minimal populations that held disproportionate electoral power by electing the same number of MPs as much larger industrial cities.

Second Reform Act (1867)

Legislation that extended voting rights to a portion of urban male workers in Britain.

Secret Ballot Act (1872)

Law introduced in 1872 to ensure the secrecy of voting during elections.

Third Reform Act of 1884

Legislation that extended voting rights to urban male workers and farmers throughout Britain, redistributing parliamentary seats.

Factory Reform Act (1833)

Act that barred children under 9 years old from working and limited weekly working hours for children to 48 hours.

Poor Law Amendment Act (1834)

Act that introduced workhouses as deterrents against extreme poverty, offering labor at fair wages under brutal conditions.

Workhouses

Brutal institutions established to deter poverty where workers faced inhuman conditions, cheap and insufficient meals, and family separation.

Corn Laws

Laws favored by the countryside aristocracy that discouraged importing foreign grain, which were repealed in 1846 following the Great Irish Potato Famine.

Sir Robert Peel

Prime Minister who fought in the House of Commons to repeal the Corn Laws in 1846 to help alleviate Ireland's grain shortage.

People's Charter (1838)

Radical document outlining five demands: universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, secret ballot voting, pay for MPs, and annual parliamentary elections.

Great Exhibition (1851)

The first international Expo, organized by Prince Albert in Hyde Park to showcase British technological power and global achievements.

Crystal Palace

Structure designed by Sir Joseph Paxton using cast iron framing and glass panels in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition, inspired by the Victoria Amazonica water lily.

Sir Joseph Paxton

Architect who designed the Crystal Palace using prefabricated cast iron framing and glass panels inspired by a Victoria Amazonica water lily.

First Opium War (1839)

Conflict initiated against China to force open its ports and market to opium and international trade.

Sepoy Revolt (1857)

Uprising of Muslim soldiers against British rule triggered by forced usage of gun cartridges coated in pork or cow fat.

Crimean War (1853-1855)

War between allied powers and the Russian Empire, notable as the first military conflict reported live by British and international newspapers.

Florence Nightingale

Key figure during the Crimean War whose innovations in field medicine established the professionalization of nursing.

Victorian Compromise

The social and cultural double standard combining an emphasis on moral respectability with extreme social inequality, poverty, and discrimination.

Evangelicalism

Victorian movement influenced by Methodism that preached a strict code of behavior, social reform, and devotion to humanitarian causes.

Utilitarianism

Philosophical movement inaugurated by Bentham stating that all human problems could be solved through reason alone.

Empiricism

Philosophy holding that progress stems from mental energy and that legislation should help individuals develop natural talents, supporting educational, trade union, and women's rights reforms.

Social Darwinism

Societal reinterpretation of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory claiming that the poorest individuals deserved their plight because they were unfit to adapt.