5-Attitudes Towards Imperialism In Britain✔️

Question 1

Benjamin Disraeli -background 1

Answer 1

-conservative party leader
-short lived prime minister in 1868
-maintained a friendship with queen Victoria
-he presented Victoria with the Suez canal shares he had purchased without parliamentary permission
-he flattered her with the empress of India title in 1877

Question 2

William Gladstone -background 1

Answer 2

-served as prime minister
-spoke out against the abolition of slavery in 1832
-was colonial secretary in a conservative government before leading a newly formed liberal party

Question 3

Shift in attitudes

Answer 3

-from 1870s, the British gov adopted a more imperialist policy because:
-responds to ambitions of Germany and France and the associated economic competition
-the long depression meant that foreign export markets became more attractive

Question 4

Disraeli and the conservatives (beliefs)

Answer 4

-He was a champion of social reform and believed that the government had a responsibility to help the poor and disadvantaged.
-Disraeli also played a key role in expanding the British Empire
-he is credited with helping to establish the modern Conservative Party as we know it today.
-his actions reflect a pro-imperalist stance
-1875 he secured a private loan to purchase £4 million worth of the Suez canal-established the conservatives imperial attitudes

Question 5

Gladstone and the liberals (beliefs)

Answer 5

-served as Prime Minister four times during the 19th century. -Gladstone was known for his progressive views and his commitment to social reform.
-He believed that the government had a responsibility to help the poor and disadvantaged, and he worked to expand voting rights and improve working conditions for the working class.
- often referred to as a ‘relucant imperialist’
-thought India should be ran for the good of the Indian people
-his actions reflect an inconsistent attitude towards British expansion

Question 6

What did Gladstone do as a prime minister?

Answer 6

-Gladstone passed a number of important pieces of legislation, including the Education Act of 1870, which established a system of elementary education for all children in England and Wales
- Gladstone was also a committed opponent of slavery, and he played a key role in the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.
-He was a gifted orator and writer, and he is known for his speeches and essays on a wide range of topics, including politics, religion, and literature

Question 7

What did Disraeli do as prime minister?

Answer 7

-passed a number of important pieces of legislation, including the Public Health Act of 1875, which helped to improve living conditions in Britain’s cities, and the Elementary Education Act of 1870, which made it mandatory for all children to receive a basic education.
-Disraeli was also a skilled orator and writer, and he is known for his novels, including “Sybil” and “Coningsby”, which explored social and political issues of the day.

Question 8

The British public

Answer 8

-the education act of 1870 increased national literacy rates and the extension of the vote in 1867 and the 1884 reforms act made the public more politically aware
-ealry 1857 the press had shown its power to influence public attitudes to empire in its reporting of the Indian rebellion
-the British were horrified by stories of massacres and tortures such as Cawnpore
-the boys own paper first appeared in 1879 and featured stories portraying soldiery and bravery

Question 9

The impact of empire at home

Answer 9

-by 1870s stories of explorers and missionaries were being avidly read in British new papers and magazines
-the British saw the empire as an ‘empire of races’ and believed themselves to be superior to other races
-this was accompanied by a belief that bringing these people into the empire could somehow ‘civilize’ them
-this attitude was encouraged by the publication of Charles Darwin’s ‘on the origin of species’ in 1859

Question 10

Expeditions

Answer 10

-a series of popular expeditions such as an African expedition in 1890 hosted by London were displayed
-it’s celebrated explorers and provided A display of photographs and maps showing European colonial expansion in Africa
-The expedition stimulated scientific and anthropologic interests and appeared to ‘justify’ the British presence in Africa
-these expeditions are now often referred to as human zoos and demonstrate the ways in which colonial peoples were paraded in Europe for the purposes of entertainment