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Nelson's victory at sea in 1805 and Wellington's (left) on
land at Waterloo in 1815, marked the end of major wars for a century.
Britain was the dominant power, and the defeat of Napoleon (right) removed
French aspirations to rule the world |
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| The death of George IV (right)was not regretted by the
nation - the Times wrote "there was never an individual less regretted by
his fellow creatures than this deceased king" |
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It was an age of poets - Keats, Shelly and Byron. Of
Science - Faraday and Davy in electricity, Stephenson with his steam train
, artists like Constable and Turner. It was against this background that
Victoria came to the throne in 1837, to commence a reign that spanned 64
years |
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Victoria (left) was 18 when she became queen. She became a
symbol of her age. It was an age of steam and iron, men like Brunel came
to prominence, He surveyed the Great Western railway to Bristol, he built
bridges and tunnels that still exist today, he built the Great Eastern,
the largest ship afloat. |
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| The Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park was a showcase
for British achievements. Authors like Dickens (below) and the Bronte
sisters wrote novels. A new parliament building was constructed at
Westminster after the old building burnt down |
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1854 brought British involvement in the Crimean War in
Russia, and one of those heroic defeats when the Light brigade charged
massed Russian guns. One outcome of this defeat was that in future the
British army would be better officered, with wealth no longer being the
sole key to promotion. |
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Charles Darwin (left) completed his voyage in the Beagle
in 1837 and produced his theories of evolution. Africa was explored by men
like David Livingstone |
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| Slavery was abolished throughout the Empire, and Britain
used her naval power to blockade the West African coast and arrest
slavers |
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The British Empire, like all empires, was acquired by
force of arms. By 1900 Britain had the largest navy in the world, and used
it to control an Empire "on which the sun never set". The map (below left)
shows the British Empire in 1900, with Canada, Australia, India, large
chunks Africa, the Caribbean and the Far East |
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However by Victoria's death in 1901, Britain was being
challenged militarily by Germany. European countries rushed to arm
themselves and protect themselves with a series of alliances. |
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| The result of these warlike happenings was that
, when an Austrian Archduke was assassinated in Bosnia in 1914, the
alliances led to virtually every nation in Europe becoming involved, with
the Central Powers (coloured green above left) fighting the Allies
(coloured red) - 10 million men were to die before peace was declared in
1918 |
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