How Did Queen Victoria Limit The Power Of Government

Rulers not only have the pressure to gain the respect of their followers, but also the stress of trying to leave a significant impact on the lives of others. Queen Victoria grew up unaware of the fact that she would later become one of England’s longest to reign. At the time of Queen Victoria’s rule, the British Parliament established major restrictions on the power of the British monarchy. Slowly, the balance of political power tipped away from the monarch’s responsibilities. Unlike past rulers, Queen Victoria, known for her tenacity, did not allow others to restrict her from doing as she desired. Queen Victoria’s long reign demonstrated that although the British Parliament heavily restricted the British monarchy of power, a determined ruler

When Victoria came to throne, the British empire along with the Industrial Revolution continued to rise, which allowed for the bankers and manufacturers rising to political power to repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, the Municipal Reform Act, and the Reform Bill (Briggs et al. 46). Both wealth and outraged pride proved to be demanded through these acts. The Reform Bill had transformed England into a constitutional monarchy, allowing for the absolute powers to become more moral than legislative. The industrial development allowed new machines for manufacturing and communication to be invented, leading to an increased amount of developments such as canals, roads, and railways. While Queen Victoria “cared little for the company of scientists,” she showed an interest in “the bravery of British troops in the Crimea” (Briggs et al. 38). Unlike most of the people, she stuck to tradition and did not completely approve of the new innovations. Queen Victoria’s “dismissal of growing demands for social reform” coincided with the era’s spirit of change (“Victoria”). Her resistance to change provoked the people of Britain to lose trust for her. Her ambitions for imperialism, particularly in India, allowed for her to maintain her popularity after Prince Albert’s passing, along with her support in colonial wars such as the Crimean War and the Boer War (“Victoria”). Due to Prince Albert’s passing and her adherence to tradition, people lost trust in Victoria, but her interest in imperialism and wars allowed for her to keep it. Rulers in the years to follow would learn from Victoria to always try their best to gain the approval of their people, regardless of how they may feel about a