Empire and industry

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Britain itself was peaceful. Abroad, it was aggressively expanding its empire. It became a powerful and rich country because of its empire and its industry. Cheap raw materials, produced by badly paid or unpaid workers, were imported from the colonies. The technological changes of the Industrial Revolution allowed Britain to manufacture products cheaply for export back to the colonies and other countries.

The Industrial Revolution caused great social changes in Britain. Many people moved from the land to the cities. These people worked in the factories, creating an urban working class, which was often very poor. In Queen Victoria´s reign (1837 - 1901), children as young as four had jobs in factories and mines. Their parents had no right to vote and try to change things.

The Reform Act of 1832 gave the vote to all men who owned a house, but it was not until 1918 that the right to vote was given to all men over 21 and to women over 30. Women under 30 had to wait until 1928 for the vote.

Britain at its most powerful had colonies in every continent, but the end of the Empire came quickly, after the Second World War (1939 - 1945). India, one of the most important colonies, became independent in 1948. In the 1960s, the African and Caribbean countries also became independent. British people began to realise that their country was no longer an imperial world power but just a country in Europe.

1

a  Did your country ever have any overseas colonies?

b  When were women given the vote in your country? Did this happen sooner or later than in Britain?

2

a  Choose one of the following dates and give a short description of what happened in Britain: 1534, 1588, 1649, 1833, 1948.

b  What was happening in your country at the same time?

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain. 21st Century Edition, Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 14