United Kingdom. The end of the Victorian era as the period of the country's greatest prosperity

The decline of the reign of Queen Victoria is characterized by stability and solvency - qualities that were especially appreciated in a country such as the United Kingdom.

The end of the Victorian era. Summary

Political and social life in England in the second half of the XIX century is called the Victorian era. By the end of the century Great Britain became the most important player in the political arena of the world. This time is characterized by the strengthening of the state of the country, the maintenance of the status of the imperial monarchy and the growing financial influence that the UK has exerted on other states.

The end of the Victorian era

The table below shows the general rise of the country's economy among other world powers.

The pace of development of the economy of the UK by the end of the XIX century slightly decreased. First of all, this is due to the fact that the process of concentration of banks has come to an end. Britain became the money capital of the world. The end of the Victorian era was marked by the formation of the "big five" of London banks. The powers of the head of the entire banking system of the country were transferred to the London bank. The pound sterling became the main settlement currency when concluding international transactions.

On the world map there was not a single civilized city in which there would not be a branch of a British bank. In total, British credit institutions by 1913 had more than 2,280 offices around the world. In addition, leading British entrepreneurs began to pay attention to other countries: steel mills in Russia and Belgium, manufactories of France and Spain, oil refineries in the Netherlands. But the greatest benefit came from exporting funds to non-European countries. South America and the British colonies have become priority areas for investing funds, which had the United Kingdom.

The end of the Victorian era did not stop economic growth, but only slowed it down. The active withdrawal of funds caused a decrease in the capitalization of enterprises located in the country itself. Nevertheless, the answer to the question of which European state and at what time period had the greatest economic development rates is as follows: Great Britain, the end of the Victorian era.

8th grade of the general education school already has an idea of political parties as the forces that influence the domestic policy of the country.

Political structure

In the UK, two political parties (liberals and conservatives) formed an internal policy at the end of the 19th century. Conservatives expressed the interests of large landowners, their leader was B. Disraeli. The liberals expressed the interests of the middle class, which represented V. Gladstone.

Both parties insisted on carrying out a number of reforms and changing the electoral system in the state. In the late 60's. Disraeli carried out parliamentary reform, significantly increasing the number of possible voters, whose country was the United Kingdom. The end of the Victorian era in the party life of the country is characterized by Gladstone, who carried out a series of social laws designed to improve the lives of the poorest sections of the population. Thus, strikes and strikes of workers were allowed, the work of children under 10 years old was abolished, the activities of cooperatives and trade unions were permitted, and the working day was limited.

The Irish question

At the end of the 19th century, the "Irish issue" became more acute. Over 400 years of stay under the rule of the British did not break the Irish's desire for independence. The mass movement of the Irish for the adoption of land reform and the establishment of self-government (Gomrul) was headed by C. Parnell. He tried all possible methods to draw attention to the problems of Ireland. In the parliament, the law on gomrul did not pass, but the Irish continued to defend their rights, and the British, in the end, had to give in.

Foreign policy

"Brilliant isolation" is a term that was first introduced by Great Britain. The end of the Victorian era in this country is characterized by imperial moods. Huge colonies and political ambitions led the country to "Brilliant isolation", in which it had no allies, and was guided only by its own interests. Colonial expansion reached the greatest scale, the total area of the empire exceeded 33 million square meters. Km.

Britain's interests in developing new deposits of diamonds and developing gold mines led to the Anglo-Boer War, which ended in 1901 with the defeat of Boers and the creation of dominions - pseudo-independent states within the British Empire.