Raised in isolation due to her mother, a German princess.
Granddaughter of the King, the only legitimate grandchild.
Became queen at 18 in 1837 and reigned until she was 81.
The British monarchy became more ceremonial during her reign; Prime Ministers held the power.
She had 9 children with her husband, Albert, who she loved very much.
After the Sepoy Mutiny in India, she became the empress of India.
She was also the grandmother to the three leaders who started the fighting during WWI.
Prince Albert’s Exhibition
Held in 1851.
Highlighted British successes.
Showed that Britain avoided the revolutions of 1848.
Highlighted technology.
Held in the Crystal Palace.
REFORMS UNDER VICTORIA
Expanded male suffrage.
Created the secret ballot.
Expanded education.
Added more care for the poor.
Gave more power to the Prime Minister.
Parliament passed the Second Reform Act of 1867, which increased the electorate by 1,000,000.
THE SECOND REFORM ACT (1867)
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (Conservative) pushed for the expansion of the electorate by allowing working-class males to vote.
He thought this would help him secure more votes.
In the next election, the Liberal party won, and William Gladstone became the new Prime Minister.
Materialism
Philosophy that everything, including the human mind and consciousness, is matter or inert substance.
Physicalism
Physics has shown that not everything is matter, but everything is affected by physical forces (gravity).
Positivism
Science alone provides knowledge.
Rational and scientific analysis of the world and human affairs.
Fact-based, not intuition-based.
Influenced by Enlightenment thinking of reason and logic.
Modernism
Rejected realism and traditional belief systems.
Thought they were hypocritical or outdated.
Responsible for new ideas in psychology and political theory.
Irrationalism
Went beyond rational interpretations of human actions and explained everything through impulse.
Conflict and struggle led to progress.
Human spirit mattered as much, if not more than science.
Friedrich Nietzsche
German philosopher.
Nihilism: decay of traditional social mores; nothing really matters.
Georges Sorel
French philosopher.
Social change requires revolutionary action.
Believed in the overthrow of church and state, replacing them with labor unions.
Henri Bergson
French philosopher.
Evolution made change inevitable; rejection of established values was normal.
Sigmund Freud
Austrian neurologist.
Psychoanalysis: study of the unconscious.
Dream analysis, talk therapy, hypnosis; irrational human behavior.
Albert Einstein
German physicist.
Theories of relativity changed our understanding of space, time, gravity, energy, and matter.
Max Planck
German physicist.
Matched theory with observations.
Quantum theory (mechanics): only certain amounts of energy can be given off, rather than all the values of energy possible.
Imperialism
Old Imperialism: Colonial period of the Americas.
New Imperialism: Colonization and European influence in Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Definition: The practice or policy of extending a state's rule over other territories or nations.
Imperialism Types
Direct Imperialism: Through political, economic, or military means, the imperial power may take over the government of a particular territory.
Indirect Imperialism:
Protectorates.
Sphere of Influence.
Imperialism Motives
Economic:
Need for Raw Materials.
Industrialization.
Economic scarcity.
Need for Markets for Selling Goods.
Cultural:
Desire to convert people to Christianity.
Social Darwinism.
Political:
Desire to be more powerful back home.
Military bases.
Nationalism.
Berlin Conference
Otto von Bismarck felt that the scramble could cause war among the European states.
Bismarck called an international conference in Berlin in 1884 for the nations to discuss boundaries and prevent a war.
African nations were not invited.
They made the Congo a free trade zone. Belgium’s King Leopold was supposed to help the nation.
Instead, he took it for his own property.
Outlawed slavery and the slave trade.
Allowed Liberia to remain free (had been under US control).
Tense Trade Between Britain and China
China was hesitant to trade with the rest of the world - isolationist.
Britain wanted a favorable balance of trade (for them).
In the late 1700s, many Chinese became addicted to opium.
The British supplied the opium.
China called for a stop in the trade, but Britain refused (smuggled it in).
1839 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860 (Opium Wars).
The Opium Wars
The Treaty of Nanking:
British took Hong Kong.
British opened five ports in China.
Britain received 21 million in silver.
Gave rights of British citizens to move to China.
The Taiping Rebellion
1850-1864
Caused the deaths of 20-30 million Chinese and forced the Qing to share power with regional commanders.
Taiping Rebels were mad at the Qing for multiple losses to western powers.
Boxer Rebellion
Anti-Manchu, anti-European, and anti-Christian Rebellion led by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists or Boxers.
Empress Dowager Cixi supported the “Boxers” militia.
Fighting broke out in 1899.
They attacked foreigners and Christian Chinese throughout China.
The British East India Company
The main ambition was to make money.
The British started to make changes like building roads, sending out missionaries, and setting up an education like in Britain.
Sepoy Mutiny
Indian troops within the British East India Company Army were called Sepoys.
They received many new rifles in 1857.
The British told the Hindus and Muslims to open these cartridges with their mouth, and they later found out that the cartridges were surrounded by animal fat.
Peasants and elites joined in on the revolt, which turned it into a huge rebellion.
Eventually, the British defeated the rebellion.
The fighting was horrible for civilians on both sides. Sepoys killed British men, women, and children, and the British took their revenge on various Indian villages, torching them and killing unarmed men.
Resulted in Queen Victoria’s takeover as Empress of India.
The Good and the Bad of British Imperialism
Britain Improved:
Hospitals
Transportation
Communication
Roads
Canals
Education
Laws & safety
Improved status for women
Britain Ruined:
Freedom
Self-determination
Social system
Habits/customs
Increased racism
Economic exploitation
The Scramble for Africa
European expansion in Africa occurred at a faster rate than anywhere else during the era of New Imperialism.
As late as 1880, European nations ruled only a tenth of the continent.
By 1914, Europeans claimed everything except Liberia (a small territory for freed slaves from the U.S.) and Ethiopia (who defeated the Italians).
Egypt
Sold cotton as a cash crop on the international market.
Financed the Suez Canal through foreign loans, encouraged to do so by France and Britain.
The loans were too burdensome, and the government went bankrupt and was overthrown by the army in 1881.
Britain defeated the army and installed administrators to ensure repayment of their loans for the Suez Canal and access to the path to India.
Leopold’s Congo
King Leopold (Victoria’s uncle) owned the Congo as his personal colony.
Rubber trees were the main crop of the Congo.
All the profits from rubber harvest went to King Leopold II as it was his personal colony.
Rubber Harvest in the Congo
Congolese would be kidnapped and forced to collect rubber.
Killed for damaging the trees.
Their families would be held as prisoners until the individual harvested enough rubber.
If he did not harvest enough rubber for that day, he would watch his family members be punished.
Common punishment was to lose a hand.
South Africa
The Dutch arrived in southern Africa in 1652 and set up a colony.
They set up a direct-settlement colony.
Generally lived peacefully with the neighboring Zulus.
Over time called the Boers.
The Boers and the British
When diamonds were discovered in the north, the British sought to take over the territory as well.
British moved the Boers into Zulu territory.
The Boer Wars lasted from 1899-1902.
In the end, the British were victorious - set up a protectorate run by the Boers.
South Africa (cont.)
After a series of bloody wars, the British arranged with the Boers for a white-only ruling class.
Apartheid: “Separateness” – the policy that segregated non-whites and granted virtually no civil rights in South Africa.
This system would continue until the 1990s.
Japan
Japan successfully kept out foreigners for centuries by closing their borders.
Citizens were not allowed to travel abroad.
Only China and the Dutch could trade at the port in Nagasaki.
With the Industrial Revolution, Japan was now technologically inferior to the Western Powers.
Their navy could not protect them anymore.
1853 Commodore Matthew Perry (USA) arrived on a steamboat.
Japan realized quickly that they needed to modernize.
Meiji Restoration:
Shogun Out, Samurai out
Emperor In
Emerged a world power, which was seen after the Russo-Japanese War.
Modeled themselves after British and US Military/Economy
Meiji Reforms
Land Redistribution
Westernize education system
New banking system
Written constitution
Human rights
Religious freedom
Emperor worship
Modern and industrialized navy and army.
Military Technology
Minie Ball - 1849 - increased speed and accuracy
1870’s - 10 shot barrel
Maxim Gun - 1880 - 500 rounds/minute
Medical Technology
Public Health Act 1848 (England):
Education efforts
Removal or prevention of causes of diseases
Improved water sources
Improved sewage systems
Louis Pasteur:
French chemist
Developed germ theory
Joseph Lister:
Developed antiseptics
Reduced infections of limb removal
Sir Humphry Davy: Anesthesia
Other scientists advocated vaccination of military