Benjamin Disraeli. Upon Derby's retirement due to ill health in 1868, Disraeli became Prime Minister briefly before losing that year's election. He returned to opposition, before leading the party to a majority in the 1874 election. He maintained a close friendship with Queen Victoria, who in 1876 created him Earl of Beaconsfield. Disraeli's second term was dominated by the Eastern Question—the slow decay of the Ottoman Empire and the desire of other countries, such as Russia, to gain at its expense. Disraeli arranged for the British to purchase a major interest in the Suez Canal Company (in Ottoman-controlled Egypt). In 1878, faced with Russian victories against the Ottomans, he led the British delegation at the Congress of Berlin and secured a settlement favourable to Britain. This diplomatic victory over Russia established Disraeli as one of Europe's leading statesmen. Early life[edit] Childhood[edit] Disraeli's father, mother and sister—Isaac, Maria and Sarah 1820s[edit] 1830s[edit]
Sybil (novel) Sybil, or The Two Nations is an 1845 novel by Benjamin Disraeli. Published in the same year as Friedrich Engels's The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Sybil traces the plight of the working classes of England. Disraeli was interested in dealing with the horrific conditions in which the majority of England's working classes lived — or, what is generally called the Condition of England question. The book is a roman à thèse, or a novel with a thesis — which was meant to create a furor over the squalor that was plaguing England's working class cities.
Disraeli's novel was made into a silent film called Sybil in 1921, starring Evelyn Brent and Cowley Wright. Disraeli's interest in this subject stemmed from his interest in the Chartist movement, a working-class political reformist movement that sought universal male suffrage and other parliamentary reforms. Chartism demanded: Sybil GerardCharles EgremontLord MarneyLord Henry SydneyLord de MowbrayRigbyTaperTadpoleLady St.
Robert Owen. Saint Simon. William Godwin. Revolutions of 1848. Internationals. Paris Commune. Universal League for the Material Elevation of the Industrious Classes. The Universal League for the Material Elevation of the Industrious Classes was a 19th Century English political movement and organization. Its aims were ambitious and were to:- reduce working hourspromote franchise extensionpromote the international fraternity of workersincrease recreational and educational opportunities Townshend obtained rooms at 18 Greek Street to use as the Universal League's headquarters. They were also used as the home of the International Working Men's Association a few months later. Initial efforts concentrated on the right to public assembly and the amendment of the Master and Servant Act but once Gladstone declared his conversion to parliamentary reform the League's efforts were redirected to suffrage. A Universal League Reform Committee was formed to concentrate on manhood suffrage, however Townshend objected to its formation as he feared control was being wrested from his hands.
[edit] Further reading[edit] F.M. Corn Laws. "Corn" included any grain that requires grinding, especially wheat. The laws were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 (55 Geo. 3 c. 26) and repealed by the Importation Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 22). The laws are often considered examples of British mercantilism.[1] The economic issue was food prices.
The price of grain was central to the price of the most important staple food, bread, and the working man spent much of his wages on bread. The political issue was a dispute between landowners (a long-established class, who were heavily represented in Parliament) and the new class of manufacturers and industrialists (who were not). The Corn Laws enhanced the profits and political power associated with land ownership. Origins[edit] In 1813, a House of Commons Committee recommended excluding foreign-grown corn until the price of domestically grown corn increased to 80 shillings (£4) (2010 equivalent: £202.25) per quarter (1 quarter = 480 lb / 218.8 kg). Opposition[edit] Repeal[edit] Peterloo Massacre. Coordinates: Shortly after the meeting began local magistrates called on the military authorities to arrest Hunt and several others on the hustings with him, and to disperse the crowd.
Cavalry charged into the crowd with sabres drawn, and in the ensuing confusion, 15 people were killed and 400–700 were injured. The massacre was given the name Peterloo in an ironic comparison to the Battle of Waterloo, which had taken place four years earlier. Historian Robert Poole has called the Peterloo Massacre one of the defining moments of its age. Background[edit] Suffrage[edit] Economic conditions[edit] Nothing but ruin and starvation stare one in the face [in the streets of Manchester and the surrounding towns], the state of this district is truly dreadful, and I believe nothing but the greatest exertions can prevent an insurrection. Unknown to either Johnson or Hunt, the letter was intercepted by government spies and copied before being sent on to its destination. Rehearsals[edit] Assembly[edit] European Potato Failure. In 2013, researchers analysed biological collections in museums with DNA sequencing techniques to decode DNA from the pathogen in stored samples from 1845 and compare them to modern genetic types.
The results indicated the "strain was different from all the modern strains analysed".[1] The effect of the crisis on Ireland is incomparable to all other places, causing one million deaths, up to two million refugees, and spurring a century-long population decline. Excluding Ireland, the death toll from the crisis is estimated to be in the region of 100,000 people. Of this, Belgium and Prussia account for most of the deaths, with 40,000–50,000 estimated to have died in Belgium, with Flanders particularly affected, and about 42,000 estimated to have perished in Prussia.
The remainder of deaths occurred mainly in France, where 10,000 people are estimated to have died as a result of famine-like conditions.[2] Aside from death from starvation and famine diseases, suffering came in other forms.
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