HISTORY.

BRITAIN: 19TH CENTURY

THE YEARS OF POWER AND DANGER
THE DANGER AT HOME
*How did the Napoleonic wars contribute to improve the economy of Britain?
*How did the end of the Napoleonic wars affect the economy? How did the government try to solve the social
problems?

REFORM
*What did Tories and Whigs think about Parliament?
*What was the Reform Bill? How did it impact on politics?

WORKERS REVOLT
*When were the workers allowed to join trade unions? (You need to see page 143 too). What were their aims? Why
were they difficult to achieve?
*What was the Tolpuddle affair? Why did it become a symbol for workers? How did the cheap postage system play a
part in the union of workers?
*What was the People’s Charter? Why did the Chartist movement split? Who was Robert Peel? What was his part in
the “death” of Chartism?
*What was the Corn Law? Why did Peel repeal it? How did this action affect the economy?
*What measures were taken to improve the economy and social life of the country?

THE YEARS OF SELF-CONFIDENCE

THE RAILWAY
*What was the first purpose in the creation of the railway? How did this purpose enlarge? How did the middle
classes take advantage of the railway? How did the railway impact on the life of the poor?

THE RISE OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES

*What kind of people belonged to the middle classes? How and where were their children educated?

THE GROWTH OF TOWNS AND CITIES

*What were towns and cities like in the 19 th century? How did government try to improve them?

POPULATION AND POLITICS

*When were Catholics and Nonconformists allowed to enter government service and to become MPs?
*Why did Peel (and other Prime Ministers as well) take measures against their wish?
*What’s Liberalism? What did Liberals seek?
*What was the role of England in the conflicts between Spain and its former colonies and between Greece and
Turkey?
*Why is it said that the foundations of the modern state were built in the 1860s and 1870s?

QUEEN AND MONARCHY (no questions)

QUEEN AND EMPIRE

*What was Britain’s main interest as concerns foreign affairs? Why did they fight the “Opium Wars”?
*How did Britain deal with the growing European competition?
*What was the Russian danger? What role did newspapers and Florence Nightingale play in the Crimean War?
*What was the “Indian Mutiny”?
*What were the British interests in Africa? What did European countries agree about Africa in 1890?
*What happened between the British and the Dutch in South Africa? What happened in Egypt?
*Why was there a contradiction between Britain’s foreign policy and its political ideas at home?
* How did the British cope with the rapidly increasing population? What policy did they develop in the “white
colonies”?

WALES, SCOTLAND AND IRELAND

*What were the political, social and economic conditions in Wales, Scotland and Ireland?

THE END OF AN AGE

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENTS
*What were the social and economic conditions between 1875 and 1914?
*What were the Educational Acts of 1870 and 1891 about? How did the new “redbrick” universities differ from
Oxford and Cambridge?

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPORT (no questions)

CHANGES IN THINKING
*What was the most important idea of the 19 th century?
*What did capitalist economists think about government?
*How did the economic policies of the time affect the working classes? How did government deal with the new
problems?
*How did literature illustrate the social conditions of the time? What effect did Darwin’s theory have on society?

THE END OF ENGLAND’S SUMMER

*What social reforms were carried out by the government?
*What’s “welfare state”?
*What new political party came into existence by the end of the century?

THE STORM CLOUDS OF WAR

*Why did Britain lose power? What did the war against the Boers teach the British?
*How did Britain try to deal with Germany’s power? Why?
*Why did Prussia and France ally?
*How did the First World War start? Why did Britain get involved in this war?