Gladstone 1880-85 Flashcards
1
Q
When did economic growth start to slow down?
A
1873 - like most European economies
2
Q
How much did real wages fall 1873-79?
A
5%
3
Q
What was unemployment in 1871-74?
A
1-2%
4
Q
What was unemployment in 1878?
A
6-8%
5
Q
What was unemployment in 1879?
A
11.4%
6
Q
When did Gladstone criticise Disraeli’s foreign/imperial policies?
A
During 1879 and 1880 Midlothian campaigns
7
Q
What did Gladstone say about Beaconsfieldism?
A
Aggressive and expensive, not in British interest
8
Q
What did Gladstone say about Disraeli’s actions in South Africa and Afghanistan?
A
Called them pointless and barbaric
9
Q
When did Northcote reduce income tax?
A
1874
10
Q
Why did income tax have to be increased in 1880?
A
Due to increased expenditure, especially South Africa an Afghanistan
11
Q
What did income tax increase to by 1880?
A
From 2d/£ (1874) to 5d/£ (1880)
12
Q
By when had the Liberals overcome divisions?
A
1880
13
Q
Who surprisingly supported Gladstone’s attack on Beaconsfieldism?
A
Nonconformists, who had deserted in 1874
14
Q
Why were trade unions now supporting the Liberals?
A
Ironically because they were now satisfied with the Conservative trade union laws
15
Q
When was the Secret Ballot Act?
A
1872
16
Q
When was the Corrupt Practices Act?
A
1883
17
Q
What did the Corrupt Practices Act do?
A
Election expenses limited, election agents to produce accounts, clear definition of corrupt practices, fines/sentences for not complying
18
Q
When was the Franchise Act?
A
1884
19
Q
What did the Franchise Act do?
A
Gave the vote to all male householders over 21, £10 lodgers and those living in shops worth £10+
20
Q
When was the Redistribution of Seats Act?
A
1885
21
Q
What did the Redistribution of Seats Act do?
A
Boroughs under 15k lost both MPs, boroughs under 50k lost one MP, 142 seats redistributed
22
Q
Why did Chamberlain want electoral reform?
A
Wanted to take over party with new radical leadership, believed reform would produce more liberal voters
23
Q
Why did Gladstone want electoral reform?
A
Running into trouble over Ireland, attempted to win popularity
24
Q
Who took credit for electoral reform?
A
Gladstone, Chamberlain didn’t gain much
25
What was voting no longer tied to (3RA)?
property
26
What did the 3RA do to the franchise?
Uniform franchise in counties and boroughs
27
What did the 3RA do to the electorate?
Doubled from 3 to 6 million. 2/3 men could vote
28
Where did a lot of new voters come from (3RA)?
Rural areas
29
Where did Conservatives strengthen their support (3RA)?
Boroughs
30
What did new Irish voters do? (3RA)
Consolidated position of Parnell and Irish Nationalist Party
31
Why did Liberals lose Whig support? (3RA)
Due to abolition of so many seats
32
Why did radical Liberals become more influential?
Due to works of Joseph Chamberlain
33
What did Gladstone call the 1879 conflict with Afghanistan?
'A war as frivolous as ever waged in the history of man'
34
What was the 'new deal' with the Afghan Amir?
Gave Britain control of strategically placed points connecting Afghanistan and India, including the Khyber Pass; they recognised Afghan independence
35
When did the Russians start working on railways close to Afghanistan?
1885
36
When was there a clash at Pendjeh?
1885
37
What happened following events at Pendjeh?
Govt issued £11mil grant and prepared 25k troops from India. Posters printed saying war with Russia had begun
38
Who issued a warning to the Sultan not to open the Straits for Britain?
Germany, France and Italy
39
When did Russians annex Merv?
1884
40
What happened to resolve Russo-British arguments over Afghanistan?
Preliminary arbitration agreement drawn up in May 1885
41
Who declared a Jihad on Egyptians and westerners?
Mahdi Mohammed Ahmad
42
What happened an Anglo-Egyptian force, led by Hicks, at Shekan?
Hicks was killed and the army was trapped. November 1883
43
Who did Gladstone send to resolve issues in Sudan?
Sent General Gordon to Khartoum
44
When did Gladstone send a relief team for Gordon?
December 1884
45
When did the British relief team arrive in Khartoum?
23rd Feb - two days after Gordon had been killed
46
What was Gladstone called as, in response to Gordon's death?
GOM - Gordon's Own Murderer
47
What did Evelyn Baring say may happen if the Egyptians pulled out of Khartoum?
The Khedive would become so unpopular, his regime may fall
48
What did the queen advise Gladstone to do in regard to Sudan?
Wage war against the 'wild Arabs' to save Sudan from 'murder, rapine and confusion'
49
When was Baring's advice rejected?
January 1884
50
What happened in March 1884?
Gordon's troops surrounded in Khartoum by Mahdi's troops - siege lasted 10 months
51
How much was raised for Gordon's rescue expedition?
£300k
52
What happened at the 1880 conference of London?
Persuaded Turkey to give Thessaly to Greece
53
What response did the Great Powers give to Gladstone's proposal to seize Smyrna?
France and Italy supported. Bismarck said he would merely 'pray' for the expedition. Austria feared Britain would take over turkey so rejected it
54
Who did Turkey begin to look to for support over Britain?
Germany
55
When did Germany send a mission to Constantinople?
1882
56
What did the Sultan do before multilateral action against him was vetoed?
Agreed to the transfer of land
57
What sort of policy did the High Commissioner, Sir Bartle Frere, pursue in South Africa?
Same as Carnavon, policy of confederation
58
When did the Transvaalers rise in revolt? (First Boer War)
16 December 1880
59
What happened in Feb 1881 at Majuba Hill, Natal?
British forces (under Sir George Colley) were defeated by Boers
60
When was the Convention of Pretoria?
August 1881
61
What did the Convention of Pretoria mean?
Britain recognised independence of Transvaal, subject to suzerainty (British would control their foreign policy)
62
What happened at the 1884 Treaty of London?
Anglo-Transvaal relations to be formalised, vetoed suzerainty and announced annexiation of Bechuanaland
63
When did the Boers wage war on the Transvaalers?
December 1880
64
What did the Cabinet think of South African issues?
Divided - amongst others Granville and Derby opposed proactive stance, others favoured being more firm - esp Hartington who believed Boers needed to be taught a lesson in order to prevent rebellion in other parts of the Empire
65
What did Gladstone say about reaction to the First Boer War?
To put aside 'unworthy emotion' and not seek vengeance
66
What did the Transvaal settlers do in 1884 that worried the British?
Moved west into Stellaland, making war on local chiefs, seemed likely they would move to Bechuanaland (unoccupied by Europeans)
67
Who was the Transvaal leader?
Paul Krueger
68
Why did the British annex Bechuanaland?
Purely to maintain peace
69
What did Derby say about Bechuanaland was to the British?
'Of no value'
70
When was the Khedive of Egypt declared bankrupt?
1876
71
What was set up to deal with Egypt's foreign investors after Khedive was bankrupt?
Public Debt Commission
72
Who was appointed to the Public Debt commission and what did they do?
Two ministers, one English and one French; look after and run the financial side of Egypt's government
73
By when was it clear that the Public Debt Commission was a failure?
1878
74
What did the Law of Liquidation do?
Gave six major European powers 66% of Egypt's revenue to pay off foreign debt
75
What did the Law of Liquidation lead to?
A nationalist revolt, let by Arabi Pasha at the end of 1881
76
What did Gladstone want in terms of intervention in Egypt?
Joint Anglo-French force
77
Why did the Anglo-French joint force in Egypt fail to materialise?
Unstable French govt 1881-82, pro-British PM Gambetta fell from power 27th Jan 1882
78
Why did the May 1882 naval protest fail?
France failed to involve the Turks
79
What was the result of the May 1882 naval protest?
Failed, sparked anti-Western riots in Alexandria on 11 and 12 June 1882, 50 Europeans killed in 2 days
80
When did Admiral Seymour bombard Alexandria and why?
11 July 1882, misinterpreted his instructions
81
When did Gladstone send an expedition to restore law and order in Egypt?
20th July 1882
82
What did Gladstone hope the expedition to Egypt would be?
'Rescue and retire', however found it impossible to leave without a break down of law and order
83
What happened at the London Conference in March 1885?
European powers failed to agree with the British (Dec 1884 loan plans) and forced British to remain in Egypt
84
When did Arabi Pasha seize power?
1881
85
What did Arabi do about foreign intervention in Egypt?
Banned it
86
What did Khedive Tewfik have to do starve off bankruptcy?
Sack thousands of army officers
87
What did Arabi and other officers do in September 1881?
Forced out the government in order to return the army to its former strengths
88
What did Gladstone say should be the long term solution to Egyptian problems?
'Egypt for Egyptians', wrote to Granville saying he wanted 'minimum interference'
89
What did the French demand of the Egyptians via letter in 1881?
To accept European financial control or face consequences
90
What was Gladstone's reaction to the French letter to Egypt?
Initially opposed, but then persuaded by Granville, who said it 'was to strengthen the government and maintain order'
91
How did the Egyptian nationalists respond to the French letter?
Installed and extremist government (Arabi as Minister of war) in Jan 1882
92
What did the Cabinet think about the Egyptian issue by 1882?
Divided. Hartington was particularly pro-action, he and others saw Arabi as a military adventurer, not a leader trying to free his country
93
What did Hartington say he would do if there was no invasion of Egypt?
Resign
94
What was noted by a minister about Gladstone, Granville and Bright on the Egyptian issue?
That they 'stood alone against the rest of the party in supporting a let-alone policy'
95
When were Egyptian coastal defences bombarded?
11 July 1882
96
Who resigned over intervention in Egypt?
John Bright
97
What were the two options for intervention in Egypt?
Work with French and possibly Italians to safeguard Suez, or an expedition to destroy Arabi (this won over parliament - troops sent to Cyprus and Malta)
98
By how many votes was the expedition to Egypt passed in parliament?
275 to 19
99
How much did the government pay for an expedition to Egypt?
£2.3million
100
When did British forces enter Egypt?
August 1882
101
Why did France withdraw support for Britain over intervention in Egypt?
Due to a last minute vote by the Chamber of Deputies against the venture - hence unilateral British action
102
When was the Battle of Tal el Kabir?
September 1882
103
What happened at Tal el Kabir?
Britain won a key battle, then occupied Cairo
104
What did Gladstone say about his intention to occupy Cairo?
Insisted it wasn't his intention, he merely 'intervened' and called for 'withdrawal... as early as possible'
105
Why could Britain not withdraw from Egypt quickly?
Had to ensure order was in place. Put the ringleaders of revolt on trial, reinstalled the Khedive with a British consul to 'advise' him, trained a new police force and army
106
What was negotiated between European bondholders in Egypt by early 1883?
New loan, with Britain as the guarantor. Ensured bondholdedrs would receive their debt repayments
107
What did Gladstone say about leaving Egypt in 1883?
That he would leave within a year, provided the Great Powers accept British influence in Egypt and would guarantee free passage along the Canal - Germany and France rejected this
108
When was the abolition of the Malt Tax?
1880
109
What did abolishing Malt Tax do?
Eased tax burden on farmers on malted barley - replaced with 'beer tax'
110
When was the Ground Game Act?
1880
111
What did the Ground Game Act do?
Allowed tenant farmers to shoot hares and rabbits to supplement their diet
112
What did the 1883 Agricultural Holdings Act do?
Made Disraeli's permissive 1875 legislation compulsory - gave tenant farmers security of tenure
113
When was the Mundella Education Act?
1880
114
What did the Mundella Education Act do?
Made elementary education compulsory and created 'truency officer' position to enforce attendence
115
When was the Employers Liability Act?
1880
116
What did the Employers Liability Act do?
First act to provide financial compensation for injury at work
117
When was the Women's Property Act?
1882
118
What did the Women's Property Act do?
Gave married women legal protection of their property in case of divorce
