Victorian Era
1838. The Chartist Movement. The Chartists demanded (1) Annual
Parliaments; (2) Manhood Suffrage; (3) Vote by ballot; (4) Equal
electoral districts; (5) Abolition of the property qualification for
members of Parliament; (6) Payment for members of Parliament. The
Reform Act of 1832 had brought the middle classes into power, and
the working classes were now striving to better their own condition.
The Anti-C
middle-class agitation supported by merchants and manufacturers.
The great northern towns had been enfranchised by the Reform Bill,
and sent as leaders of the movement Richard Cobden and John Bright.
Both parties in Parliament were opposed to a total abolition of the
Corn Laws.
1842. A motion for Free Trade defeated in Parliament by a large
majority.
1843. Agitation in Ireland for the Repeal of the Union. Daniel
O'Connell, the leader, arrested. He was found guilty of conspiracy,
but his sentence was afterward revoked by the House of Lords.
1845. Failure of the potato crop in Ireland.
1846. Repeal of the Corn Laws, in order to open the ports free to
food stuffs. Free Trade established and the prices of food begin to
fall.
1848. The year of Revolution. France proclaims a Republic with Prince
Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon I, as its President. Risings in
Austria and Italy.
Renewal of the Chartist agitation. The meeting in London to present
a Petition to Parliament proves a failure.
1853-56. Years of prosperity owing to Free Trade and growth of
intelligence among the working classes prove the chief causes of the
death of Chartism. The workers now begin to aim at reforms through
their Trades Unions. The Co-operative Movement set on foot in
Rochdale in 1844 leads to the formation of many other branches.
Between the years 1851 and 1865 national imports nearly treble, and
exports more than double, themselves.
THOMAS CARLYLE (1795-1881). His writings more than those of any other
man give us a key to the meaning of the early Victorian Age. 1839.
Chartism. 1841. Heroes and Hero Worship. 1843. Past and
Present. 1850. Latter-Day Pamphlets.
CHARLES DICKENS (1812-70). 1836. Pickwick Papers. 1838. Oliver
Twist (the evils of the Workhouse). 1850. David Copperfield
(contains sketches of Dickens' early life). 1853. Hard Times. 1857.
Little Dorrit (the Marshalsea prison for debtors).
DISRAELI, LORD BEACONSFIELD (1804-81). 1844. Coningsby (political
life and the 'Young England' policy). 1845. Sybil (the claims of
the people). 1847. Tancred (the Church and the State).
EBENEZER ELLIOTT (1781-1849). 1828. Corn Law Rhymes (the poet of
the workers and of sorrow).
ELIZABETH CLEGHORN GASKELL (1810-65). 1848. Mary Barton
(Industrial Lancashire during the crisis of 1842). 1855. North and
South (the struggle between Master and Man).
CHARLES KINGSLEY[7] (1819-75). 1848. Yeast (the hard lives of the
agricultural labourers). 1850. Alton Locke (life and labour of the
city poor).
[Footnote 7: The Prince Consort was a great admirer of the works of
Charles Kingsley, which, he said, in speaking of Two Years Ago,
showed "profound knowledge of human nature, and insight into the
relations between man, his actions, his destiny, and God." The Queen
was also one of his admirers, and in 1859 she appointed him one of
her chaplains. Later on he delivered a series of lectures on history
to the Prince of Wales.]
CHARLES READE (1814-84). 1856. It is Never too Late to Mend (life
in an English prison). 1863. Hard Cash (an exposure of bad
administration of lunatic asylums).
JOHN RUSKIN (1819-1900). 1859. The Two Paths. 1862. Unto this
Last. 1871. Fors Clavigera. (In the last-named book Ruskin
describes the scheme of his St George's Guild, an attempt to restore
happiness to England by allying art and science with commercial
industry.)
More
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The Closing Years
One autumn day in 1896 vast numbers of telegrams were sent to Queen Victoria, not only from the English colonies, but from almost all the countries of the world. They were full of congratulations on the length of her reign; for now she had been on... The Coming Of The Prince
The coronation ceremonies in Westminster Abbey were, indeed, magnificent, but it must not be supposed that England was satisfied with no further celebration of so joyful an event. Throughout the realm there were for several days fairs, balls, and ... The Condemnation Of The English Duel
On the 1st of July, 1843, duelling received its death-blow in England by a fatal duel--so unnatural and so painful in its consequences that it served the purpose of calling public attention to the offence--long tolerated, even advocated in some qu... The Coronation
The coronation was fixed for June 28, 1838 a little more than a year from the accession. The, Queen had been slightly troubled at the thought of some of the antiquated forms of that grand and complicated ceremony--for instance, the homage of th... The Coronation
When the young Queen awoke on the morning after her accession, she must have fancied for a moment that she had dreamed all the events of the previous day. She had gone to bed expecting a quiet morning of study; she had been aroused to hear that sh... The Emperor And Empress Of France Visit Windsor
The Queen's kind heart was really pained by the sudden death of the Czar, her sometime friend and "brother"--whose visit to Windsor was brought by the startling event vividly to her mind--yet she turned from his august shade to welcome one of his li... The End
The evening had been golden; but, after all, the day was to close in cloud and tempest. Imperial needs, imperial ambitions, involved the country in the South African War. There were checks, reverses, bloody disasters; for a moment the nation was s... The First Christening The Season Of 1841
The Queen was able to open Parliament in person at the end of January. The first christening in the royal household had been fixed to take place on the 10th of February, the first anniversary of the Queen's wedding-day, which was thus a double g... The First Months Of Marriage
In this mere sketch of the great life of the Queen of England, I can give little space to the political questions and events of her reign, important and momentous as some of them were, even for other lands and other people than the English. For a ... The Great Exhibition
The idea of a "great exhibition of the Works and Industries of all Nations" was Prince Albert's. The scheme when first proposed in 1849 was coldly received in this country. It was intended, to use the Prince's own words, "To give us a true test an... The Indian Mutiny
Exactly one hundred years after Clive had laid the foundation of our empire in India by the victory of Plassey, events occurred in that country which completely cast into the shade the tragic incident of the 'Black Hole' of Calcutta. During the ce... The Jubilee Season
With the exception of Prince Alfred, the Queen's children had married according to the German proverb, "The oldest must leave the house first." The next in age was Prince Arthur, or the Duke of Connaught. He married in 1879 Princess Louise of Prus... The Last Day Of Victoria's Real Girlhood
It seems to me that the momentous day just described was the last of Victoria's real girlhood; that premature womanhood was thrust upon her with all the power, grandeur, and state of a Queen Regnant. I wonder if, weary and nervously exhausted as s... The Little Folk
In the midst of all the royalties that were present at the wedding of the Prince of Wales were the two great novelists of the realm, Thackeray and Dickens; but Tennyson, the Poet Laureate, was not there. Again "someone had blundered," and his invi... The Maiden Queen
When the great event of the coronation was over the Queen was left to fulfil the heavy demands of business and the concluding gaieties of the season. It comes upon us with a little pathetic shock, to think of one whom we have long known chiefly in... The Marriage
The 10th of February rose dark and foggy, with a lowering sky discharging at frequent intervals heavy showers. But to many a loyal heart far beyond the sound of Bow bells the date brought a thrill of glad consciousness which was quite independent ... The Prince Of Wales' Trip To America
In May, Prince Albert ran over to Germany to visit his old home, and his new son, and his darling daughter, whom he found well and happy. In one of his letters to the Queen from Gotha, he says: "I enclose a forget-me- not from grandmama's grave." ... The Princess Opens The Victoria Park At Bath
When she was eleven years old, the Princess opened the Victoria Park at Bath. She began the opening business thus early, and has kept it up pretty diligently for fifty years--parks, expositions, colleges, exchanges, law courts, bridges, docks, art... The Proroguing Of Parliament The Visit To Guildhall And The Coronation
Buckingham Palace had been a seat of the Duke of Buckingham's, which was bought by George II., and in the next reign was settled on Queen Charlotte instead of Somerset House, and called the "Queen's House." It was rebuilt by George IV. but not occ... The Queen And The Children
There had been only one drawback to the Queen's happiness during the Jubilee rejoicings, and that was the poor health of her favorite son-in-law, the Crown Prince of Germany. In the procession he had looked superbly well and strong, but his throat... The Queen As An Artist And Author
The Prince-Consort, as we have seen, was accomplished in music and painting, and knew much about many subjects. The Queen is not only an author, but an artist, and takes a great interest in art. To an exhibition under the auspices of the Royal Ang... The Queen In Mourning
Henceforth the great Queen was 'written widow,' and while striving nobly in her loneliness to fulfil those public functions, in which she had hitherto been so faithfully companioned, she shrank at first from courtly pageantry and from the gay whir... The Queen In Sorrow
It had certainly become clear to all her Ministers that Victoria was no mere figurehead, for while she yielded if their judgment was against her, yet she never failed to have an opinion and a reason for her opinion. In 1861, the fact that both she... The Queen's First Visit To Scotland
The Queen had never been abroad. It was still well-nigh an unconstitutional step for a sovereign of England to claim the privilege, enjoyed by so many English subjects, of a foreign tour, let it be ever so short. However, this year the proposal of... The Queen's First Visit To Scotland
This year of 1842 was not all joy and festivity. It was the year of the massacres of the British forces in Cabul; there was financial distress in England, which a charitable masked ball at Buckingham Palace did not wholly relieve; and in May occur... The Queen's Sympathy During The Illness Of President Garfield
On the 7th of March, 1863, all London and nearly all England went mad over the coming of the Princess Alexandra, from Denmark, to wed the Prince of Wales. Lord Ronald Gower, a son of the beautiful Duchess of Sutherland, gives in his "Reminiscences... The Queen's Trip To Ostend Drayton Chatsworth And Belvoir
"Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute." In the course of another week the Queen took a second trip to the Continent, sailing to Ostend to pay the most natural visit in the world--the only thing singular about it was that it had been so long delay... The Royal Young People
Many people had thought that the Russians hoped to get control of India. If they had succeeded in doing so, the Queen would have been saved the sorrow that came to her from a revolt of her Indian troops which was known as the Sepoy Mutiny. The com... The Schooldays Of A Princess
Nothing could be more simple than the order of the Princess' day at Kensington. Breakfast was at eight, and it was eaten out of doors whenever the weather was good. The Princess sat in a tiny rosewood chair beside her mother, and the little girl's... The Sovereignty Of England And Hanover Severed Forever
Ever since the accession to the throne of Great Britain of the House of Brunswick, the Kings of England had also been Kings of Hanover. To carry on the two branches of the royal business simultaneously must have been a little difficult, at least p... The Twilight Life After
"There is no one near me to call me 'Victoria' now!" is said to have been the desolate cry of the Queen, when, on waking from that first sleep, the cruel morning light, smote upon her with a full consciousness of her bereavement, and a new sense o... Victoria Life
Victoria Alexandrina, only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III. Born at Kensington, May 24, 1819. Became Queen, June 20, 1837. Married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Consort, born August 26, 1819, died Dec... Victoria The Great
The keynote of Queen Victoria's life was simplicity. She was a great ruler, and at the same time a simple-minded, sympathetic woman, the true mother of her people. She seemed by some natural instinct to understand their joys and their sorrows, and... Victoria's Early Education
Queen Victoria tells little of her childhood, but speaks of it as rather "dull." It seems, however, to have never been empty or idle. All her moments were golden--for study, or for work, or healthful exercise and play. She was taught, and perhaps ... Victoria's First Christmas At Windsor Castle As Queen
On Lord Mayor's Day, the Queen went in state to dine with her brother- monarch, the King of "Great London Town." It was a memorable, magnificent occasion. The Queen was attended by all the great ladies and gentlemen of her Court, and followed by a... Victoria's First Meeting With Prince Albert
In May, 1836, the Princess saw, for the first time, her cousins, Ernest and Albert, of Saxe-Coburg. These brothers, one eighteen and the other seventeen, are described as charming young fellows, well-bred and carefully educated, with high aims, go... Victorian Era
1838. The Chartist Movement. The Chartists demanded (1) Annual Parliaments; (2) Manhood Suffrage; (3) Vote by ballot; (4) Equal electoral districts; (5) Abolition of the property qualification for members of Parliament; (6) Payment for members of ... Widowhood
I The death of the Prince Consort was the central turning-point in the history of Queen Victoria. She herself felt that her true life had ceased with her husband's, and that the remainder of her days upon earth was of a twilight nature--an epilo... Youth
In the month of August, 1831, the Princess went with her mother to profit by the soft, sweet breezes of the Isle of Wight. The Duchess and her daughter occupied Norris Castle for three months, and the ladies of the family were often on the shore w...