Victorian Britain

1. What does the expression the workshop of the world tell us about Britain?

2. What change did the Reform Bills (1832, 1867, 1872) bring? Elaborate.

3. In what way is Chartism linked with the First Reform Acts? What were the demands of the
Chartists?

4. When was the railway network completed? What was its impact?

5. Explain the role and reputation of the workhouse in the 19th century?

6. Give the most flagrant examples of poor working conditions in mid19th-century Britain.

7. What does Darwin have to do with religiosity in the Victorian period?

8. List the most important benefits science provided to the British society in the course of the 19th
century.

9. What were the most remarkable changes in the field of education and leisure? How did they
change the lives of different classes of the society?

Education: 1) Improving national literacy(many learned to read)--supported a national

press(invention of rotary press)

2) Offering middle-classes a practical education(science)

3)The 1870 Education Act made schooling compulsory.

4) The school leaving age was raised to 11 and schools were established for the deaf and blind.

Leisure: 1) Sports developed from street games into professionaly organised business(codified in the
schools and colleges).

10. What does Home Rule stand for in the context of Irish affairs? Elaborate.

11. What were the causes and consequences of the Indian Mutiny?

Indian Mutiny – widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in India in 1857–59.

Doctrine of lapse – lands of native princes who died without heir became British posessions.

Causes: 1)Absolute british dominance in Indian political, economic, and cultural life. An old Indian
aristocracy was being replaced by British officials. 2) The increasing pace of Westernization, by which
Hindu society was being affected by the introduction of Western ideas. Challenging the religious
beliefs of the Hindus. Belief that the British aimed at breaking down the caste system. 3) Low position
of Indians in administration.

Indian troops at the Meerut army refused to use new gunpowder cartridges that had been greased
tish pig and cow fat.

Consequenses: 1) The financial crisis--- reorganization of the Indian administration's finances on a

modern basis. 2)The Indian army was also extensively reorganized.

3)beginning of the policy of consultation with Indians and policy of annexation stopped.

4)Mutual distrust between natives and British.

12. Why did the Boer War break out? How did it influence the image of the British in Africa and in the
world?