Every country has a leader who helps change the country and the world. William was that leader in Great Britain. Born in 1809 to a self-made Scottish merchant, which taught him to help the average person; he entered the politics at the age of 22 in 1833 where he was a “tireless administrator” with “tremendous eye for detail” (Wilson 112). At first a very strong Tory, who felt that any electoral reform would lead to revolution, he became one of the founding members of the Liberal Party in 1859. He would later say that “I was brought up to distrust and to dislike liberty, and I learned to believe in it. That is the key to all my change” (Wilson 102). As Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition for many years he “was the standard bearer [and champion of many reforms], and his gov from 1868 to 1874 was one of the foremost reforming administrations of the century” (Tompson 287). His ability “to manage big crowds and to use the power of the crowd as an extra-parliamentary weapon” (Wilson) allowed him to push tough legislation through Parliament and “his sheer bigness, and grandeur, and moral weightiness was never to be repeated on the political scene” (Wilson 118, 103). William Gladstone was a British statesman whose reforms had a greater influence than Queen Victoria. With the era named after Queen Victoria, many people believe that Queen Victoria was the most important person of this age. The Queen wasn’t popular until later in life. People hated her for her refusal to come out of mourning after the death of her husband and her unenlightened political views. The royal pair had an active role together until 1861 where she went into prolonged sadness and never made public appearances. She emerged 1870s to a much-diminished role in g... ... middle of paper ... ...y 2012. . Findling, John E., ed. Events That Changed Great Britain Since 1689. Ed. Frank W. Thackeray. Westport: Greenwood, 2002. 75-80. Print. Kagan, Donald, Steven E. Ozment, and Frank M. Turner. "Great Britain Toward Democracy." The Western Heritage: Since 1300. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. 684-87. Print. Olechnowicz, Andrzej. The Monarchy and the British Nation, 1780 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print. Tompson, Richard S. Great Britain: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York: Facts On File, 2003. Print. "William Ewart Gladstone." Spartacus Educational. Web. 14 May 2012. . Wilson, A. N. "William Ewart Gladstone." Eminent Victorians. London: W.W. Norton &, 1989. 99-132. Print.
Fraser, Rebecca. "George III (1727-1760)." The Story of Britain. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
Canny, Nicholas: The Oxford History of the British Empire,vol I, TheOrigins of the Empire (New York 1998)
When examining the bloody and often tumultuous history of Great Britain prior to their ascent to power, one would not have predicted that they would become the global leader of the 18th century. Prior to the Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War, the Spanish and the Holy Roman Empire held much of the power in Europe. Only with the suppression of Catholicism and the development of national sovereignty did Great Britain have the opportunity to rise through the ranks. While much of continental Europe was seeking to strengthen their absolute monarchies and centralized style of governing, in the 17th and 18th centuries Great Britain was making significant political changes that reflected the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment. The first of the political philosophers was Thomas Hobbes who first introduced the idea that the monarch ruled not by “divine right” but through the consent of the people. This was a radical idea with ramifications that are reflected in the great changed Great Britain made to to their government in the 17th century. Through a series of two violent civil wars between the monarchy and Parliament and the bloodless civil war known as the Glorious Revolution, Parliament was granted the authority to, in essence, “check” the power of the monarchy. The internal shifts of power in Great Britain and the savvy foreign policy skills demonstrated by the British in much of the conflict happening in continental Europe can be credited with England’s rise to power.
J. Hoppit , 1999 - Parliaments, Nations and Identities in Britain and Ireland, 1660-1850 – Manchester university Press Publishing – Accessed via: http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/ - Quote from Daniel Defoe.
Randell, Keith. Henry VIII and the Government of England, Hodder Education; 2nd Revised edition edition 1 Jun 2001.
The Differences of Gladstone And Disraeli In Their Policies Regarding The British Empire and Foreign Policy
Hill, Christopher. The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution. London: Temple Smith, 1972.
Vickers, K. H. A History of England: (Volume III) England in the Later Middle Ages (London, 1937).
The second chapter is a brief introduction to the situation in Great Britain in the 18th century. It helps to explain why and how the so called “the First British Empire” was built up and later destroyed, and what led to the creation of “the Second British Empire”.
Carswell, John. The Descent on England; a Study of the English Revolution of 1688 and Its European Background. New York: John Day, 1969. Print.
Darwin, John. 2011. BBC - History - British History in depth: Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire, 3 March 2011. Accessed 11 April 2014. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml.
Gascoigne, Bamber. "HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN (from 1707)." History World. (2001): n. page. Print. .
In 1603 the Scottish and English monarchies were united and at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the monarchy of the United Kingdom was deprived of the decision-making privilege they once had. For the purpose of this essay, I intend to examine the many different arguments both for and against the British monarchy being abolished. Proponents argue strongly that the monarchy symbolises all that is British throughout Britain and the Commonwealth Realms. However, contrary to this, the monarchy receives exorbitant financial aid from the British taxpayers to maintain the monarchy. Does the monarchy have a place in the twenty first century?
Burns, Julia. "Notes MLA 6318". Church and State in Early Modern England. Fall 2013. Dr. D. David.
Hill, Christopher. The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution. London: Temple Smith, 1972.