QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE
Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, London, on 24 May 1819.
She was the only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of
George III. Her father died shortly after her birth and she became
heir to the throne because the three uncles who were ahead of her
in succession had no legitimate children who survived.
Warm hearted and lively, Victoria had a gift for drawing and
painting; educated by a governess at home, she was a natural diarist and kept a regular
journal throughout her life. On William IV's death in 1837, she became Queen at the age of
18.
Queen Victoria is associated with Britain's great age of industrial expansion, economic
progress and, especially, empire. At her death, it was said, Britain had a worldwide empire
on which the sun never set.
In the early part of her reign, she was influenced by two men: her first Prime Minister, Lord
Melbourne, and her husband, Prince Albert, whom she married in 1840. Both men taught
her much about how to be a ruler in a 'constitutional monarchy'.
Her marriage to Prince Albert brought nine children between 1840 and 1857.
Victoria was deeply attached to her husband and she sank into depression after he died,
aged 42, in 1861. She had lost a devoted husband and her principal trusted adviser in
affairs of state. For the rest of her reign she wore black.
Seven attempts were made on Victoria's life, between 1840 and 1882 - her courageous
attitude towards these attacks greatly strengthened her popularity.
While Victoria was Queen, there was a tremendous change in the lives of British people:
Britain became the most powerful country in the world, with the largest empire that
have never existed, ruling a quarter of the world’s population.
The number of people living in Britain more than doubled, causing a huge demand for
food, clothes and housing. Factories and machines were built to meet this demand and
new towns grew up, changing the landscape and the ways people lived and worked.
Railways, originally built to transport goods, meant people could travel easily around the
country for the first time. The Industrial Revolution accelerated the migration of the
population from the country to the city. The result of this movement was the development
of horrible slums and rows of houses in
the overcrowded cities.
With industrialization, there was more
leisure time. Going on holiday became e
regular part of Victorian life. Seaside
resorts such as Blackpool and Torquay
were very popular.
During the Victorian period, funerals were enormous, many with professional mourners
hired to walk in the procession. Widows from all social classes usually maintained
mourning for a full year and remarriage was allowed after 12 months. Widowers usually
wore black for two years.
Victorian clothes were very much a symbol of who you were, what you did for living, and
how much money you had. For the wealthy, silk stockings covered the legs. For the less
wealthy, it was socks. To own an umbrella showed that you were a
member of the upper class. Victorian dress was not complete without a
walking stick. Victorian fashion included eyeglasses, which were strictly
for looks and not for the correction of vision, decorated hats covered
with feathers and flowers, and bonnets.
The insides of Victorian houses were opulent. Windows were covered
with heavy curtains. Carpets and rugs decorated sitting rooms,
bedrooms and the entrance hall. Tables were usually in the corners of
the room, and were generally covered with photographs and knickknacks.
Although conservative in some respects - like many at the time she
opposed giving women the vote - on social issues, she tended to improve the conditions
of life of poor people. She also supported many charities involved in education, hospitals
and other areas.
In her later years, she almost became the symbol of the British Empire.
Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, on 22 January 1901 after a reign
which lasted almost 64 years, the longest in British history.
The British Empire was a global power that contained countries owned by the United
Kingdom. Victorian Empire was the largest empire in history and at its peak in
1921controlled one quarter of the world’s surface. All the following countries became part
of the colonial British Empire: India, Ceylon, the Malay States, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and part of Africa. The most
famous part of the British Empire was the East India Trading Company, which started
out as a small business becoming a very large trading company which many people
depended on.