England
On the great issues which dominated British politics in the last quarter of the 19th century – the extension of the Parliamentary franchise, the limitation of the Power of the House of Lords, social reform, Home Rule for Ireland and the new aggressive imperialist policy abroad – Queen Victoria strongly sympathized with Conservatives and disapproved of Gladstone and Liberals.
B. Disraeli became Prime Minister in 1868 and first held the office for only nine months, but he managed to establish a very close relationship with the Queen and further developed it during his second term of office (1874-1880). В. Disraeli pleased the Queen greatly by persuading Parliament to agree to grant her the title of Emperess of India.
The contest of Disraeli and Gladstone was in full swing, and the two-party system had been already firmly established.
Jingoism (the word for extreme, flag waving patriotism) was encouraged by B. Disraeli, but it was condemned by his rival, the Liberal Leader, William Gladstone.
The Empire, that Great Britain had gained by the middle of the 19th century, was the result of the greatest power that Britain possessed through its command of trade, finance and manufacturing. The colonies were united by English law and by trade, the forms of governing administration varied. The whole population was growing due to the emigration from the British Isles: throughout the 18th, 19th centuries poor and disadvantaged people sought a new and a better life in the colonies. In 1850 New Zealand became the responsibility of the Crown. The population of Australia was expanding rapidly. There were four self-governing colonies: New South Wales, South of Australia, Victoria and Queensland. By the end of the century the Empire was spreading over the continents of Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Australia. The sun did not set on the Empire. The colonial office became a large and important ministry. Imperialism had become popular with the middle classes. The patriots of jingoism sounded more and more aggressive: Cecil Rhodes (the founder of Rhodesia) spoke about the British as a race superior to their colonials. The actions of the imperialists were no less dishonourable: a chain of “small colonial wars” was caused by the aggression of the British imperialism. But the Anglo-Boer War proved to be an unsuccessful surprise to the British people and the proof of a certain weekness of the Empire (1880-1881, 1899-1902).