Week 4 Flashcards
Define Laissez-Faire Economics:
- Minimal government interference in the economy
Why did the British blame the Irish for the Irish Famine?
- Because they were accused of relying solely on one crop
What does the Irish Famine cause in terms of property?
- A spike in evictions of Irish families who can no longer pay rent
During the Famine, Irish Protestants typically settled in:
Appalachian America
During the Famine, Irish Catholics typically settled in:
Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Canada, etc.
True or False: In Ireland, many private farmers owned enough crops to solve the starvation, but chose to sell it abroad instead.
TRUE
State the significance of the Irish Famine:
- It devastated Gaelic as a spoken language (since poor families largely spoke it, and were decimated)
- Shattered the Irish economy
- 1 million died, 2.2 million emigrated
- Gave fuel for Irish Nationalism
Who said: The Almighty sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine
John Mitchel
How many Irish people emigrated due to the famine?
- 2.2 million
The term often given for the Ottoman Empire in the period is:
“The Sick Man of Europe”
What is the Eastern Question?
- Question of what would be done with the collapsing of the Ottoman Empire
- Competition with the Russians, namely, for control of Iran, the gateway to British possessions in India
In what years was the Crimean War?
1853-56
What did the British call the Crimean War at the time?
The Russian War
What directly caused the Crimean War?
- French wanted to be the protectors of Christians in the Ottoman Empire
- Russians also wanted to be the protectors of Christians in the Ottoman Empire
- Russians occupy modern day Romania in 1853
- Russia wants control of the Dardanelles
- British are concerned about Russian power projecting into Persia, Afghanistan, or to India
Who was the leader of the British Expeditionary Force in the Crimean War?
Lord Raglan
True or False: Lord Raglan had no wartime experience
TRUE
What is the problem with the British military
command structure during the Crimean War?
- All high ranking officers purchased their commissions
- Most didn’t even attend Sandhurst Military College
Describe the Charge of the Light Brigade and why it was significant:
- Battle of Balaclava, 1854
- Lord Raglan orders Lord Cardigan to attack a strong Russian position with the light brigade
- The brigade, however, is sent to the wrong place
- They get butchered in a causeway of Russian artillery
Who immortalized the famous event in his poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”?
Lord Tennyson
Which treaty ends the Crimean War?
The Treaty of Paris, 1856
What were the terms for the Treaty of Paris, 1856?
- Russians had to withdraw from Ottoman territory
- Russians had to give up ambitions in the Ottoman Empire
- Russians had to guarantee Ottoman Independence
- Russians had to give up any claim to be protectors of Christians in the Ottoman Empire
Why is the 1856 Treaty of Paris important?
- It temporarily froze the Eastern Question for Britain
What military lesson does Britain learn from the Crimean War?
- There is a recognition that aristocratic leadership in the army is ineffective
- A meritocracy is thus established
The English envisioned that the Indian population would greatly enhance the British economy by buying _____________
British wool
In what administrative way did Indians, not the British, pay for the EIC army and rule?
- The EIC collected its own taxes from Indian populations
Why did the British attempt to invade Afghanistan several times?
To secure India against the Russians
Who said that the British have no right to seize Punjab, but they will anyway?
Sir. Charles Napier
____________ allows the British to go from London to India in just 3 weeks.
The Suez Canal
In what year are Britain and India linked by telegraph?
1866
How did the EIC annex land ?
By deposing princes
What 2 Indian customs did the British see as “problematic”, and thus, tried to root out?
- Sati (The practice of a widow joining her husband while engulfed in flames on the funeral pyre)
- Thuggee (A murder cult that involved strangling stragglers)
How does British rule disrupt the Caste system in India?
- British governance allows English educated Indian people to rise in class
When was the Indian Mutiny?
1857-58
What flared the Indian Mutiny?
- First Issue for the Sepoys: It is hard to physically separate the different castes on a ship, so there was a risk of contamination of lower and higher classes and keep “pure” different caste groups
- Second issue for the Sepoys: New service rifle cartridges are rumored to have been waxed with cow or pig fat, and thus, sacrilegious to the Hindus (Who revered cows) and Muslims (who couldn’t eat pigs)
What was the General Service Enlistment Act (1856), and why was it important?
- It made Sepoys eligible for overseas service
- The use of ships to transport the Sepoys made separation of castes difficult, and thus, upset many of the men
Describe the Indian Mutiny:
- Sepoys kill many of their British officers
- Sepoys then march to Dehli, and reinstate the Mughal Emperor
- British respond with savage counter-attacks and reinforcements
- British put down the rebellion, and formally establish the British Raj, taking full control of the country
In what ways to the British tighten their rule after the Indian Mutiny?
- They bring in more British troops to replace the Sepoys
- They spend money on railroads to facilitate transportation of soldiers
By the 1850s-60s, why do both Conservatives and Liberals see reform as inevitable?
- Education rates increase
- Greater literacy rates
- 1/3rd of working class men could vote
True or False: During the American Civil War, Lancashire cotton workers did NOT support the Confederates, even if it put them out of business
TRUE
What did the Second Reform Act, 1867 do?
Made 1 in every 3 men eligible to vote
Which Liberal PM was known for his numerous reforms?
W.E Gladstone
Who removed the Anglican Church of Ireland from being the state church of Ireland, and stops funding for it?
Gladstone
What were some of Gladstone’s greatest reforms?
- 1871 → He made it so you could no longer simply purchase an army commission
- 1872 → He instates the Secret Ballot for voters
- 1870-71 → He instates a National Education System in England and Wales manditory for all children
What was Gladstone’s nickname?
The Grand Old Man
______________’s first novel, “Sybil” was about the conditions of the working class.
Benjamin Disraeli
Which PM is famous for promoting conservatism to the working class?
Benjamin Disraeli
Who came up with the idea to give Queen Victoria the title of “Empress of India” in 1867?
Benjamin Disraeli
Upon reaching the position of PM, what is Benjamin Disraeli famous for having said?
“I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole”
Who lead British efforts to purchase the Suez Canal?
Benjamin Disraeli
What was the Land Question?
- Calls for land reform in Ireland
- The select few owned the most land in Ireland
- Most Irish families had to rent
- The largest landowners were Protestant (but not all)
- Calls for more equitable redistribution of land became part of the larger nationalist movement
What was the Irish National Land League?
- An Irish organization of tenant farmers opposing high rents of landowners
- They provoke changes in land laws
Who founded the Irish National Land League?
Charles Parnell
What were the Land Leagues’ three demands (3 F’s)?
- Fixity of Tenure
- Fair Rents
- Free Sale of Land
What was the Land War?
- 1879-1882
- The period of agitation and discontent of Irish tenant farmers
Due to the land war, ____________ had become convinced of the need for the suspension of civil liberties to the Irish.
Gladstone
What did Home Rule mean in the context of the Land War?
- The return of Parliament in Dublin (self-government)
Which portion of people opposed Home Rule? Why?
- Northern Irish Protestants from Ulster
- They feared an Irish parliament, which, would be dominated by Catholics
Who said, “Ulster will fight, Ulster will be right”?
Lord Randolph Churchill (Winston’s father)
Why is Home Rule important?
- It split the Liberal Party, and assured Conservative dominance in Parliament
- Showed demarcation of the unsympathetic northerners
- Fuelled Irish nationalism, and paved the way towards later reform and desire for independence
Who was the last PM to lead from the House of Lords, rather than the House of Commons?
The Marquess Salisbury
Who was referred to as a “skeptical imperialist”?
The Marquess Salisbury
Who criticized Oscar Wilde for his homosexuality?
Lord Queensbury (Wilde was in love with Queensbury’s son)
What occurred when Oscar Wilde took Lord Queensbury to court for slandering his homosexuality?
- Oscar Wilde lost the case, and was put in prison for 2 years
- He moved to Paris subsequently as a broken man
The Liberal party did not run candidates against ____________
The Labour Party
What was the Parliament Bill of 1911?
- Prevents the House of Lords from blocking budget bills
- Put a two-year max limit for House of Lords vetoes
Who succeeds King Edward in 1910?
George V
What issues form what is known as the Edwardian Crisis?
—> Women fight to vote
—> Widespread Labour Strikes
—> Civil Unrest in Ireland
What was the Home Rule Bill of 1912?
- Gives limited self-government to Ireland
- Ireland got its own parliament, but the British still dealt with its foreign policy
Where did most opposition to the Home Rule Bill of 1912 occur?
Ulster
What was the Ulster Covenant (1912) ?
- A document signed by many to repeal the Home Rule Bills, and promote a unionist Ireland
- Almost all Protestants from Ulster
What protestant paramilitary force was established following the Ulster Covenant of 1912?
- The Ulster Volunteer Force
- Senior NCO’s from the British army led it
What was formed in the south to counter the Ulster Volunteer Force?
The Irish Volunteer Force
Why was official home rule, set for 1914, postponed?
Because of the outbreak of the First World War
