United Kingdom history 1815–1914

For earlier periods of the history of the British Isles see Britain, ancient, Roman Britain, England: history to 1485, England: history 1485–1714, United Kingdom: history 1714–1815, Ireland: history to 1154, Ireland: history 1154 to 1485, Ireland: history 1485 to 1603, Ireland: history 1603 to 1782, Ireland: history 1782 to 1921, Scotland: history to 1058, Scotland: history 1058 to 1513, Scotland: history 1513 to 1603, Scotland: history 1603 to 1746, Scotland: history from 1746, Wales: history to 1066, and Wales: history 1066 to 1485.

The period that followed the Napoleonic Wars was one of great internal stress in Britain. The new machinery of the Industrial Revolution was attacked by those made unemployed by its introduction (see Luddite), and the large numbers of soldiers returning from the war made the unemployment situation worse. Demand for parliamentary reform from the increasingly radical middle classes emerged again, but those in power had, since the French Revolution, adopted a reactionary stance, fearing any concession to the would-be reformers would bring about full-blooded revolution.

King George III had been permanently insane from 1811, and his son, the future George IV, had taken over as Prince Regent. The death of George III in 1820 was in itself unimportant, but it marked the end of an era. The rate of technological progress that followed in the 19th and early 20th centuries was remarkable. Constitutional and social changes were equally sweeping; within 110 years of George III's death Britain became a democracy in a sense fuller than the most extreme reformers of his age could have believed either possible or desirable.

The epoch of reaction The Tory Lord Liverpool, who had become prime minister in 1812, continued in office until 1827. His government's repression of freedom of speech and of the press aroused such opposition that during 1815–20 revolution did indeed seem imminent. Public hostility was directed in particular at Liverpool's foreign secretary, Lord Castlereagh, one of the architects of post-Napoleonic reaction across Europe. Castlereagh was blamed for the Peterloo massacre of 1819, in which soldiers broke up a meeting in Manchester in support of parliamentary reform, leaving 11 people dead and 500 wounded. In the wake of this event, the home secretary, Henry Addington, introduced the notorious Six Acts, which further curtailed civil liberties.

After 1820, however, the aura of reaction began to lift somewhat. Following his suicide in 1822, Castlereagh was succeeded as foreign secretary by his arch-rival George Canning, who showed some sympathy towards nationalist and liberal aspirations abroad by lending significant support to the independence struggles in Greece and South America. At home, in 1824 the radical Francis Place secured the repeal of the Combination Acts that had banned trade unions, although strikes still remained illegal. Canning briefly succeeded Liverpool as prime minister, in coalition with the Whigs, but died in office (1827). He in turn was briefly succeeded in 1827–28 by a liberal Tory, Viscount Goderich (later created Earl of Ripon).

In 1828 another Tory, the Duke of Wellington became prime minister. Although generally reactionary in attitude, under pressure Wellington carried through some notable reforms, including the achievement of Catholic Emancipation and the repeal of the Test Act and the Corporation Act, both of which had excluded any but members of the established Church of England from holding public office. His government, which lasted until 1830, also modified the Corn Laws, whose effect of driving up food prices had made them extremely unpopular with the growing urban population. However, agitation for the complete repeal of the Corn Laws was to continue, and Wellington's resistance to parliamentary reform, and his lack of opposition to Catholic Emancipation, made him unpopular.

The great Reform Act of 1832 In 1830 George IV died and was succeeded by his brother, William IV. In the same year a reforming Whig government was formed by Charles Grey. The agitation for a parliamentary Reform Bill at last resulted in the passing of the great Reform Act of 1832 – to the aristocracy of the time the beginning of the end of all things.

Hitherto, the franchise had been limited to certain classes of property owner. Moreover, the distribution of parliamentary constituencies had remained unchanged for generations, and had failed to take account of the great demographic shifts that had been taking place over the previous century. This resulted in many ‘rotten boroughs’ with insignificant numbers of voters returning members to parliament, while some of the newly grown industrial cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester, had little or no parliamentary representation. There were also many ‘pocket boroughs’, so-called because they were ‘in the pocket’ of patrons, who by bribery or influence could ensure the election of their favoured candidates. In addition, the absence of a secret ballot meant that electors were open to pressure by others to vote for a particular candidate.

The existing electoral system was thus largely geared to the interests of the mostly aristocratic landed classes, who viewed any attempt to change the system as an attack on their property rights. By this stage the Whigs had lost the support of many aristocrats, but found new support among progressive industrialists, the followers of the utilitarian reformer Jeremy Bentham, Nonconformists, and the middle classes. These groups were referred to collectively as the ‘Liberals’, although the Whig Party was not officially known as the Liberal Party until after 1840. The Liberals had developed a new ideology of free trade and a policy of nonintervention (laissez-faire) in economic affairs – and parliamentary reform. Parliamentary reform was also campaigned for by the radical leader of the working-class movement, William Cobbett.

The Reform Act of 1832 did not actually go as far as many reformers would have liked. However, rotten and pocket boroughs were abolished, and parliamentary seats redistributed to reflect new demographic realities. The Act extended the (male) franchise on the basis of certain property-related qualifications (see Reform Acts for details), but fell far short of granting universal male suffrage, and Parliament continued to be dominated by the landed classes. Nevertheless, the principle that Parliament could be reformed had been established.

Further reforms under Grey and Melbourne Grey's government also introduced a number of humanitarian measures, including the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire (1833), and the introduction of factory inspectors (also 1833) to regulate working conditions. The poor law of 1834, however, was a harsh manifestation of laissez-faire ideology, and extended the use of workhouses.

In 1834 Grey was briefly succeeded as prime minister by Lord Melbourne, who again became prime minister of a Whig government in 1835–41. During the period of his premiership the young Queen Victoria came to the throne (1837) in succession to her uncle William IV. Victoria much admired Melbourne, and regarded him a her political mentor. But apart from addressing the abuses of local government in the Municipal Corporations Act (1835), the introduction of the penny postage (1840), and the ending of the employment of children as chimney sweeps (the Climbing Boys Act, 1840) his government did not achieve that much, and the zeal for further reform seemed to have left the Whig Party.

Britain in the early Victorian era Commercially Britain continued to prosper, and great technological progress was being made. Britain from the mid-18th century had been the first country to embark upon the Industrial Revolution, and continued to benefit from this head start. By the middle of the 19th century Britain had become the first country in which the urban population outnumbered the rural population. The Napoleonic Wars had left it the ‘workshop of the world’, and for a time it had no competitors of any importance – it was not until the last quarter of the century that Britain's industrial power began to be surpassed by that of Germany and the USA. Transport was revolutionized by the introduction of the steamship and the railways, and heavy engineering began to emerge as one of Britain's most important industries. The first public railway in Britain was opened in 1825, and others soon followed. The rapid proliferation of the railways not only assisted in the spread of industrialization, but also had social and cultural impacts, increasing the mobility of labour and opening up new horizons for many people.

For the mass of the population, however, industrialization had resulted in few benefits. Living conditions in the new cities were crowded and unhealthy, and working conditions in the mines and factories were often appalling, with men, women, and children working extremely long hours in often dangerous environments. Wages were low, and trade union activity still circumscribed by law. The efforts of a few idealistic industrialists such as Robert Owen to improve the lot of their workers had little wider impact, although Owen's efforts did give rise to the cooperative movement.

Politically the two great parties still remained fairly true to the old ideas; nevertheless the Liberal Party, evolving from the Whigs, and the Conservative Party, evolving from the Tories, were both being permeated by more democratic attitudes. The people were at last being recognized as a real factor in political existence, though the majority of the adult male population still had no parliamentary vote after 1832, and the power of the crown and of the landed proprietors was still very great.

Radical agitation for wider parliamentary reform in the later 1830s and 1840s manifested itself in the mainly working-class Chartist movement (see Chartism), which included among its aims the achievement of universal adult male suffrage. However, Chartism had lost its momentum by 1850, and the progress towards full democracy was slow: universal male adult suffrage was not to be achieved until 1918, and that for women not until a decade later. Nevertheless, gradually from this period the power and prestige of the House of Commons increased, and its representative character was broadened, until it became the greatest power in the legislature.

Peel and the Corn Laws In 1841 Robert Peel became prime minister. As home secretary in the 1820s he had founded the modern police force and reformed the prisons and the criminal law, and he had briefly been prime minister in 1834–35. Peel realized that his party needed to attract votes from the ever-growing middle classes, and his Tamworth Manifesto of 1834 had marked the beginnings of the transformation of the Tories into the Conservative Party.

Peel's second premiership saw the reintroduction of income tax (1842), which had first been introduced as a temporary measure during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the Coal Mines Act (1842), which forbade the employment of women and children underground. However, his premiership is most notable for the repeal of the Corn Laws (1846). Although his government was protectionist in principle, the Irish potato famine forced Peel's hand, and he was obliged to introduce the greatest free-trade measure hitherto achieved in Britain. The repeal of the Corn Laws had been pressed for by the Anti-Corn Law League, led by the laissez-faire Liberals, John Bright and Richard Cobden. The government was nevertheless slow in providing famine relief in Ireland, and this contributed further to Irish hostility towards British rule. In addition, the removal of protection for Irish wheat-growers led to the eviction of many smallholders by the impoverished landowners, adding to the distressed state of Ireland.

The Tories were split by the repeal of the Corn Laws, and Peel resigned (1846), never to hold office again. The Peelites, chief among whom were William Ewart Gladstone and Lord Aberdeen, ultimately joined forces with the Whigs to form the Liberals, while the protectionists, under George Bentinck and Benjamin Disraeli, ultimately formed the modern Conservative Party.

The beginning of the Palmerston era Peel was succeeded by the Whig Lord John Russell. His premiership (1846–52) was marked by the suppression of Chartist riots, and the Ten Hours Act of 1847, which introduced the ten-hour working day for women and young people in certain industries (1847). This last measure, as with the earlier Coal Mines and Climbing Boys acts, owed much to the efforts of the reforming Tory Lord Shaftesbury.

Russell's foreign secretary was Lord Palmerston, a former Tory who had served in the same capacity in two previous Whig cabinets. Palmerston's populistic nationalism and his championing of liberal and national causes in Europe (for example, supporting the independence of Belgium from France) made him liked by the public, but his high-handed methods alienated other ministers and Queen Victoria. He resigned from Russell's government in 1851, and brought it down by defeating the Militia Bill in 1852. Russell was briefly succeeded by the Conservative, Lord Derby.

Derby's ministry lasted only 10 months, after which time there was a Peelite–Liberal coalition under the leadership of Lord Aberdeen, whose chief ministers included Russell, Palmerston (as home secretary), and Gladstone, the last of whom abolished all remaining protectionist duties, making Britain a completely free-trade country.

Palmerston had in particular distrusted the ambitions of Russia, which appeared to be intent on filling the vacuum as the Turkish Ottoman Empire declined, and whose advance into Central Asia seemed to threaten British India (see Eastern Question). Russia's invasion of the Turkish Balkans in 1853 led to the outbreak of the Crimean War, but Aberdeen's government handled the war so badly that it was forced to resign in 1855.

Palmerston as prime minister Palmerston took over as prime minister, and saw the war to a more or less successful conclusion (1856). Over the following decade Palmerston dominated British politics. After two years he was defeated, but appealed to the country and was returned by a large majority. Later, in 1858, his Conspiracy to Murder Bill was thrown out, and Lord Derby formed his second administration, which lasted for only 15 months, after which Palmerston again came into power, remaining as prime minister until his death in 1865.

Foreign and imperial affairs continued to occupy Palmerston to the end of his life. In 1856–60 the Second Opium War was launched against China to protect British commercial interests, while his suppression of the Indian Mutiny in 1858 was followed by the government of India being transferred from the East India Company to the British crown (this last measure being carried through by Derby's government). During the American Civil War (1861–65), despite official British neutrality, Palmerston favoured the South, and incidents such as the Trent Affair – in which a Union warship seized two Confederate commissioners from a British ship – and the furore over the British-built Confederate warship the Alabama almost involved Britain in the war on the side of the Confederacy. In contrast, many textile workers in Lancashire boycotted slave-grown cotton from the South, at the risk of their own livelihoods.

Disraeli and the second Reform Act Palmerston was succeeded by Lord John Russell, who attempted to pass a further parliamentary Reform Bill (a measure Palmerston had refused to countenance during his lifetime), but was so bitterly attacked by many members of his own party that he resigned and was succeeded by Lord Derby (1866).

In Derby's government Disraeli was chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the Commons, and in this capacity in 1867 he introduced a Reform Bill, and, ‘educating his own party’ up to it, passed it. It was described by Lord Derby as ‘a leap in the dark’, and contained many amendments proposed by Gladstone. The second Reform Act made a further redistribution of parliamentary seats, and extended the franchise to all male heads of households in towns and cities, but effectively continued to exclude agricultural labourers. The fact that it was a Conservative government that introduced the successful Reform Bill allowed them to take the credit for it, but it was also a landmark in Disraeli's development of ‘one-nation’ Conservatism.

For the next decade and a half the field of politics was dominated by the duel between Gladstone and Disraeli. In 1868 Disraeli became prime minister following the retirement of Lord Derby, but a few months later was defeated in the general election.

Gladstone's first government, 1868–74 Disraeli was succeeded by Gladstone, whose policies embodied 19th-century Liberal ideology: free trade, reduction in government intervention in the free market, and social reform. As chancellor of the Exchequer in two earlier governments (1852–55 and 1859–66) he had reduced government expenditure and cut tariffs. During his first period as prime minister (1868–74) his government passed more reforming measures than almost any previous one. Elementary (primary) education was made universally available in 1870 (although it did not become compulsory until 1880, and not free until 1891). The secret ballot in general elections was introduced (the ballot act 1872), and trade unions were more fully legalized (1871), following the formation of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 1868. The minister for war, Edward Cardwell began to modernize the organization of the army.

However, Ireland continued to be an intractable problem for British governments. Following the potato famine of 1845–48 Irish resentment at what was seen as the callousness of the Anglo-Irish land-owning classes and the indifference of the British government had led to a renewal of nationalist unrest, including an unsuccessful uprising in 1867 by the Fenian movement. In 1870 the Irish Home Rule Association was formed (see home rule, Irish), and the question of Irish home rule was to dog Gladstone to the end of his political career. In his first government Gladstone was opposed to any such move, but attempted to address Irish nationalist and economic grievances by the Irish Church Act of 1869 (which ended the position of the Anglican Church of Ireland as the established church there) and the first of the Irish Land Acts. However, growing agitation on the land question in Ireland at that time led to the introduction of repressive Coercion Acts, and from this time Irish nationalist MPs in the House of Commons began a campaign of deliberate obstruction as a tactic for achieving home rule.

The foreign policy of Gladstone's government was unpopular; Britain's attitude towards Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War and towards the USA's claims for compensation relating to the Alabama affair were thought to be decidedly weak. Also unpopular were Gladstone's Licensing Acts, putting restrictions on the sale of liquor. In 1874 the Liberal government was defeated in the election, ‘borne down in a torrent of gin and beer’, as Gladstone put it. The Conservatives were returned to power, having for the first time since 1841a real majority in the House of Commons.

Disraeli's second government, 1874–80 Disraeli demonstrated the ‘one-nation’ nature of the his brand of Conservatism by introducing such social-reform measures as the Artisans' Dwelling Act, which encouraged slum clearance, and the Public Health Act (1875), which strengthened earlier legislation. A further Trade-Union Act of 1875 legalized peaceful picketing, and the 56-hour working week was introduced in 1878. Above all, however, his government is remembered for its commitment to British imperialism. From around this time Britain's industrial monopoly was being challenged by Germany and the USA, and to seek new markets and sources of raw materials the Conservatives under Disraeli launched the UK on a career of imperialist expansion.

A great upholder and flatterer of the monarchy, Disraeli conferred on Queen Victoria the title of empress of India, and personally secured for Britain the majority of shares in the Suez Canal – thus securing a crucial connection to British India, and paving the way for British control in Egypt.

Fear of Russian expansionism continued to dominate British policy in the Balkans, and overrode humanitarian considerations. Thus Gladstone fiercely attacked Disraeli in 1875 when the latter appeared indifferent to the atrocities committed by Turkish troops in Bulgaria. The atrocities led to the intervention of Russia in support of its fellow Slavs in Bulgaria, and Turkey was defeated in a short war (1877–78). Russia obliged Turkey to agree to a humiliating peace at San Stefano (March 1878), by which Turkey recognized the independence of some of its Balkan possessions, including an enlarged Russian-dominated Bulgaria, and ceded a large area in the Caucasus region to Russia.

The other European powers, including Britain, put pressure on Russia to revise this settlement, and at the Congress of Berlin (June–July 1878), although the independence of Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro was recognized, the enlarged Bulgaria was reduced, Bosnia–Herzegovina was handed to Austria-Hungary, and Russia was forced to return a portion of the Caucasus territory.

Disraeli returned from the Congress claiming he had achieved ‘peace with honour’. He had in addition achieved the transfer of Cyprus from Turkish to British rule, thus further increasing the British presence in the eastern Mediterranean region. In 1880, however, Disraeli was badly defeated at the election, and resigned.

Gladstone's second and third governments, 1880–86 Gladstone now formed his second administration, and again remained in power for about five years. Britain continued to extend its imperial ambitions, although in South Africa Britain's attempt to annex the Boer republic of the Transvaal from 1877 ended with the British defeat at Majuba Hill in 1881 (see South African Wars). In 1882 a nationalist uprising in Egypt was suppressed by British troops, and British control was more thoroughly imposed, although the khedive of Egypt still ruled under the nominal suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. In Sudan, which was ruled by Egypt, and in which Britain therefore had an interest, the revolt by the Mahdi led to the death of Gen Gordon at Khartoum (1885). Meanwhile, British representatives met in Berlin with representatives from Germany, France, Portugal, and Belgium in 1884–85 to decide on the partition of Africa, and also agreed to abolish slavery on the continent.

At home, the second Irish Land Act was introduced in 1881, and an act of 1882 empowered local authorities to provide proper services for sewage, water supply, and street lighting. A further parliamentary Reform Act, which extended the franchise to male agricultural workers, became law in 1884, increasing the franchise to about 5 million voters. In 1885 Gladstone resigned following criticism of his government's failure to relieve Gordon at Khartoum. He was succeeded by Lord Salisbury, but his Conservative government was only in office for a short time.

In 1886 at the general election the Liberals were again returned to power. Gladstone formed his third ministry, but his majority was dependent on the Irish nationalist MPs, under the leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell. Gladstone determined to introduce a Home Rule Bill for Ireland, which led to a split in his own party. The dissidents, such as Spencer Hartington, Joseph Chamberlain, and the veteran John Bright, became known as the Liberal Unionists, and the bill was defeated by a majority of 30. Gladstone appealed again to the country, but was defeated in the election.

The Conservative era, 1886–1906 Lord Salisbury now formed his second administration. Generally acting as foreign secretary as well as prime minister during his premierships, Salisbury espoused a policy of ‘splendid isolation’ for Britain, while other European powers involved themselves in complex alliances and counter-alliances.

From 1886 to 1906, broken only by a short Liberal administration, the Conservatives were constantly in power. The introduction of the Home Rule Bill had seriously split the Liberal Party, and later, on the retirement of Gladstone, differences became still more marked – although the dissident Liberal Unionists at first refused to cooperate with the Conservatives.

This period, although dominated by the Conservatives in the House of Commons, also witnessed the politicization of the labour movement. Unskilled workers began to become unionized, a process encouraged by the success of the London dockers' strike of 1889. The first socialist MP, Keir Hardie, was elected in 1892, and the following year Hardie founded the Independent Labour Party (ILP). In 1900 the ILP combined with trade unionists and members of the Fabian Society to form the Labour Representation Committee, the nucleus of the Labour Party, which was formed in 1906.

In 1892 the Liberals succeeded to office. Gladstone introduced a second Home Rule Bill, which passed through the Commons, but was rejected by the House of Lords. After this defeat Gladstone finally retired and was succeeded as prime minister by Lord Rosebery.

In 1895 the Conservatives again came to power, and the Liberal Unionists formed a coalition with them, the Duke of Devonshire (Hartington), Lord Lansdowne, and Joseph Chamberlain accepting office. Chamberlain, an ardent imperialist, quickly made a name for himself as colonial secretary, and was responsible for relations with the Boer republics of South Africa. In 1899 the Boer War (the second of the South African Wars) broke out, and ended in 1902 with the annexation of the Boer republics by Britain. However, Britain subsequently pursued a conciliatory policy towards the Boers (Afrikaners), leading to the Union of South Africa in 1910. Britain's other white-settled colonies had already become self-governing dominions: Canada in 1867, Australia in 1901, and New Zealand in 1907.

On a wave of wartime patriotism, the Conservatives had again been returned to power at the ‘khaki’ election of 1900. In 1902 Lord Salisbury died and was succeeded by Arthur Balfour. Queen Victoria, who had celebrated her diamond jubilee in1897, died in 1901 and was succeeded by her son, Edward VII.

During Balfour's administration the highly controversial Education Act was introduced, which replaced the school boards (which had been dominated by the Church of England) with local education authorities (LEAs). There was also a further Irish Land Act (the Wyndham Act, 1903). The foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne, ended British isolationism by forming an alliance with Japan and the Entente Cordiale with France. In 1903 Chamberlain put forward a tariff-reform scheme, which succeeded in dividing the Conservative Party, and Chamberlain resigned to campaign for imperial preference.

Asquith's Liberal government The Conservative split contributed to the overwhelming Liberal victory of 1906. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman formed the new administration, which rapidly introduced the Trades Disputes Act (1906). This replaced the judgement reached by the House of Lords in the Taff Vale case (1901) that trade unions could be made financially liable by their members' actions. Campbell-Bannerman was succeeded shortly before his death by Herbert Asquith (1908). Edward VII died on 6 May 1910 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, George V.

Asquith's chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, introduced a number of radical measures that marked the beginnings of the welfare state in Britain. Old-age pensions were introduced in 1908, and health and unemployment insurance in 1911. The rejection by the House of Lords of Lloyd George's 1909 budget – which included proposals for graduated income tax and the taxation of land values – led to a constitutional crisis. Asquith retaliated by introducing the Parliament Act 1911, which severely curtailed the power of the Lords. The Act only came into being after Asquith had obtained from the king a reluctant promise to create enough peers to swamp the Conservative majority in the House of Lords if it were rejected.

In 1912 Asquith introduced a third Irish Home Rule Bill. This was vehemently opposed by the Protestants in the north of Ireland, who feared domination by the Catholic south. The Ulster Unionists under Edward Carson threatened to resort to armed struggle if necessary, which in turn led to the Curragh ‘Mutiny’ of March 1914. However, the crisis was put on hold by the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.

One other major domestic issue dominated the prewar years in Britain: that of votes for women. This was pressed for by the radical suffragettes, whose treatment at the hands of the authorities, together with the government's refusal to consider extending the franchise to women, showed the illiberal side of an otherwise fairly enlightened administration. The campaign of the suffragettes was called off with the outbreak of war in 1914.

The road to war The causes of World War I are complex. For Britain, Germany was an imperial and commercial rival, and the decision by the Germans to build up their navy to protect their colonial and trading interests was regarded as a direct threat by Britain, and a naval arms race ensued. The precipitating event was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. Following this event, the elaborate sequence of alliances in Europe led to a domino effect, as country after country was drawn into the conflict. When Austria-Hungary went to war with Serbia, Russia became involved on behalf of its fellow Slavs in the Balkans, then Germany in support of Austria-Hungary, then France in support of Russia. As part of their strategy against France, German forces invaded Belgium. As a guarantor of Belgian neutrality since 1839 Britain demanded that the Germans withdraw. When no response to this request was received, Britain declared war on Germany (4 August 1914). For more details of these events, the wider causes, and the course of the war, see World War I.

Asquith was to continue until 1915 as prime minister of a Liberal government, and then as head of a coalition until 1916.

For the later history of Britain see United Kingdom: history 1914–45. For British history since 1945 see United Kingdom.