The Victorian Age The Victorian Age Historical Context Queen Victoria When Victoria ascended the throne she was only 18.The queen was inexperienced so the government was in the hands of Parliament,led by Conservative (Tory) and Liberal (Whig) Prime Ministers. Industrialization and social unrest During the“Age of Empire”,as the Victorian Age was called,the process of industrialization continued.Because of the harsh working conditions in factories,the labourers began to organise into working-class movements. Chartism Their discontent was voiced by the Chartist,a group of radicals and workers who presented to Parliament a document called the People's Charter advocating radical reform of Parliament in six points.But the Charter was rejected and disappeared without achieving its objectives. Worker's rights Factory workers had to wait fot the Reform Bill (1867) and the Trade Union Act (1871) have their unions legalised and to be enfranchised. Famine in Ireland In Ireland the failure of the potato crop in 1845 caused a terrible famine which killed thousands and caused massive emigration. Corn Laws The price of corn was kept high by the Corn laws.When,in 1846, they were repealed,there were political and economical consequences. It broke up the Tory Party and brought the Whigs to power while the reduction of the bread price and new techniques in agriculture brought better production and prosperity to farmers and partly relieved labourers'hardships.When revolutionary movements broke out throughout Europe in 1848, England was not affected. Political unrest in Ireland The reduction of the bread price brought some relief also to the terrible conditions of the Irish population,but the problem of Ireland was political as well as economic. Irish Roman Catholics,who did not have the same political and civil rights as Irish Protestants,had demanded political reform and equal civil rights.Their clams became even more pressing and political trouble was a constant problem. The Crimean War The peace that Britain had enjoyed since Waterloo was suddenly broken in 1854 by the Crimean War against the Russia. This war demonstrated the inefficiency of the nation's armed forces. The influence of J.S. Mill When the Whigs (now Liberals) were in power with the philosopher and economist Gladstone as Prime Minister the ideals of democracy became increasingly accepted under the influence of the political philosopher John Stuart Mill.He accepted the basic principle of Utilitarism,that is the pursuit of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people,recognised the limits of the laissez-fare economic policy associated with it and argued the need for a certain balance between individual freedom and State intervention. The growth of the Empire Britain's Empire continued to prosper and towards the end of the century it covered a quarter of the earth's landsurface.In 1876 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India. Economic depression In the 1870s the country e Continua »