Disraeli and Gladstone

Question 1

Who was William Gladstone

Answer 1

• He served as colonial secretary (1845-46) in a conservative government before becoming the leader of the newly formed Liberal Party from 1868.
• He was influenced by his other’s commitment to Scottish non-conformism
• It was argued that Gladstone was, at heart, a domestic politician whose views were anti-imperialist and non-interventionalist –> he had little enthusiasm for colonial expansion.
• the ‘reluctant imperialist’.

Question 2

What were Disraeli’s and Conservatives’ attitudes to the Empire

Answer 2

• Disraeli began to assert that the conservatives were the party of Empire and that the liberals would allow it to crumble.
• He presented this new perspective in his Crystal Palace speech in 1872 – arguing that it was the government’s duty to reconstruct the colonial Empire.
• As PM, Disraeli established the conservative party’s imperial attitudes and agenda by buying £4 m worth of Suez Canal shares in 1875. This gave Britain a permanent strategic interest in the area.
• Disraeli steered the Royal Titles Act through the House of Commons in order to bestow the title of ‘Empress of India’ on Queen Victoria in 1877 which was a means to establish British control over India.

Question 3

What were Gladstone’s and the Liberal’s attitudes to the Empire

Answer 3

• According to Gladstone, Britain should concentrate on developing existing colonies, helping them towards self-government.
  -> He distinguished between ‘imperialism’ which he opposed and ‘empire’ which he supported.
• During the Mahdist Rebellion in the Sudan in 1884, Gladstone urged the withdrawal of Anglo-Egyptian troops and reflected that the Sudanese were ‘rightly struggling to be free’.
• Despite his principles, Gladstone became embroiled in Egypt, not for its own sake but for the sake of safe
  passage to India but also as a result of public and press pressure. Arabi Pasha’s uprising of 1881 threatened the security of the Suez Canal, European lives and British investments (he himself had a large personal investment there) in Egypt.
  -> Once order was restored in 1882, Khedive Tewfiq was installed as a ruler in Britain’s newest occupies territory.