Attitudes Towards Imperialism In Britain (1857-90) Flashcards
What did Britain associate ‘imperialsm’ with up to the 1840s?
Napoleonic France, despite colonisation with Cape colony and trade links with India
We’re conservatives or liberals more supportive of empire?
Conservatives - Benjamin Disraeli
What did Gladstone promise to show he was less supportive empire?
That eh would ‘abstain from any territorial acquisitions’
How were the British government less supportive of Empie at the start of C.19and how was it clear?
Resisted calls to claim new territory such as withholding charters from non-viable colonising
companies (hesitant to expand)
1865: Parliamentary Select Committee recommended withdrawal from Britain’s West African settlements on the grounds of cost (not too focused on Empire as of yet)
When was the turning point for attitudes shifting towards imperialism and why?
1870s
. Strategic rivalry grew as other European nations grew industrially stronger, becoming greater economic competition
. European and American protective tariffs made it harder to flood Western Hemisphere with British goods, had to expand empire now
How did Disraeli coin the conservatives in 1870s?
As the ‘party of the empire’, claiming that the Liberal party would allow the empire to crumble even though both parties somewhat ‘accepted’ the empire in some way
When did Disraeli present his views on the empire?
1872 Crystal Palace Speech
How did voting rights change in 1867?
Reform Act extended a larger electorate, extending votes to a part of the urban male working class
Vote was previously based on property and income
How did Conservatives hope to win 1874 election?
By playing the ‘imperial card’ - they hadn’t won since 1841
Lord Salisbury also played this card when he became PM
Both Disraeli and Salisbury were skeptical about any proper reconstruction of the empire
How was the political rivalry in 1870s over exaggerated by Disraeli?
Gladstone never fully tried to dissociate from the empire
What were Gladstone’s beliefs on empire?
. Avoid new acquisitions and develop existing colonies, leading to self-government
. Supported ‘empire’ but opposed ‘imperialsm’
. Accused Disraeli of stirring up ‘jingoism’
How did Disraeli first really show his imperial stance?
By buying shares in the Suez Canal in 1875
What act did Disraeli steer through the House of Commons and what was the significance of this?
The Royal Titles Act, embedded British rule into India and gave Queen Victoria the ‘Empress of India’ title in 1877 - showing imperial presence of Britian
Who did Disraeli appoint as Viceroy of India and how did he show off Britian?
Robert Lytton. Disraeli backed his ‘coronation Durbar’ in 1877 in Delhi
How did Lytton and Disraeli try to expand the British Raj?
By turning Afghanistan into a client state
What were the problems with turning Afghanistan into a client state?
. There was and incursion of Afghan tribes into India
. Russian aspirations here
When was the invasion of Afghanistan and how did it go?
November 1878
-British-Indian troops lost 10,000 (twice as many as Afghan side)
-eventually there was control over Afghanistan and the north-west frontier (strategically important)
When did north-west frontier become a province?
1901
How did war on Zulu nation and Pedi people come about and why?
After the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 by Disraeli’s government, in the hopes of a British confederation in South Africa
How did the War agains the Zulus go?
January 1879: British humiliation at Islandlwana (initial Zulu invasion)
August 1879: victory at Ulundi
When did Liberals come back into government and why?
April 1880 general election because of setbacks in Afghanistan and Zulu campaigns, Conservatives failed to show much military strength
What was in Lytton’s Durbar and what did it suggest?
Various ranks, titles and crests were given to Indian nobility from the new College of Arms established by the British in Calcutta
- this mirrored medieval practice of ennobling those who served the crown
. Suggested that Britain were destined to rule India and had a legitimate right to rule there
What parts of Disraeli’s government was Gladstone critical of?
His foreign and imperial polici3s
How did Gladstone have to pick up the pieces of Disraeli’s mistakes?
Transvaal Boers mobilised against British control and declared independence in 1880, leading to the First Boer War
- Gladstone refused to commit further time, money or troops after a defeat at Majuba Hill in Feb 1881, despite Disraeli’s ambitions of British hegemony over South Africa
How did the 1884 Madhist Rebellion reflect Gladstone’s beliefs?
. Urged withdrawal of Anglo-Egyptian troops
. Said Sudanese are ‘rightly struggling to be free’
Why did Gladstone get involved in Madhist rebellion desire his principles?
. Sudan was a safe passage to India
. Public pressure came about after 1881 Arabi Pasha uprising threatened the security of the Suez Canal and British investments in Egypt
