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179-413: [REDACTED]   United Kingdom [REDACTED]   Afghanistan Total: 10,000 dead Total fatalities are unknown The Second Anglo-Afghan War ( Dari : جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, Pashto : د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty ,

358-719: A much more limited form of home rule , opted-out of joining the Free State and remained part of the Union under this limited form of self-government. In light of these changes, the British state was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 12 April 1927 with the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act . The modern-day United Kingdom is the same state, that is to say a direct continuation of what remained after

537-584: A base and an outside sponsor corresponding to France. The state that was meant to serve as the locus for unification of the Balkans under a "Slavic" rule was not always clear, as initiative wafted between Serbia and Bulgaria. Italian rhetoric by contrast cast Romania as Latin , a "second Piedmont". The recognition of the Bulgarian Exarchate by the Ottomans in 1870 had been intended to separate

716-550: A commitment to the landed aristocracy. He used his London residence as a venue for intimate dinners and private consultations, together with extensive correspondence that kept him in close touch with party leaders in the Commons and with leading figures in the Lords. He gave public rhetorical support to Ultra-Tory anti-reform positions, but then deftly changed positions toward the party's centre, especially when Peel needed support from

895-440: A compensation for Southern Bessarabia, but even so it did not benefit of substantial gain of territory despite its consistent war effort alongside Russia. Romanians deeply resented the loss of Southern Bessarabia and Russo-Romanian relationship remained very cold for decades. Montenegro obtained Nikšić , along with the primary Albanian regions of Podgorica , Bar and Plav-Gusinje . The Ottoman government, or Porte , agreed to obey

1074-493: A complete list, see Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs . The coalition that defeated Napoleon was financed by Britain, and held together at the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815. It successfully broke Napoleon's comeback attempt in 1815. Castlereagh played a central role at Vienna, along with Austrian leader Klemens von Metternich . While many Europeans wanted to punish France heavily, Castlereagh insisted on

1253-523: A condolence message to Sher Ali, the British informed Sher Ali that the mission would leave Peshawar for Kabul in September. Lord Lytton , the viceroy of India , ordered a diplomatic mission to set out for Kabul in September 1878 but the mission was turned back as it approached the eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass . A deadline was established for 20 November, where if a response was not given by

1432-595: A constitutional government there and recognising the independence of Spain's American colonies after their wars of independence in 1824. British merchants and financiers and, later, railway builders, played major roles in the economies of most Latin American nations. In the 1825 to 1867 era, widespread public demonstrations, some of them violent, escalated to demand reform. The ruling Tories were dead set against anything smacking of democracy or popular rule and favoured severe punishment of demonstrators, as exemplified by

1611-639: A continuing buffer between the British Raj and the Russian Empire . Ironically many of these polices had been desired by Sher Ali Khan , and war could have been prevented had they been implemented earlier. The war was expensive for Britain, spending some 17 million pounds during the war, which was three times the estimated cost. The costs rose just before the British left in March 1881, estimating to be around 19.5 million pounds. Despite attempts from

1790-754: A different route. At the end of the first phase of the war in May 1879, the Peshawar Force was withdrawn, while the Kandahar Force was reduced in size. In September 1879, at the beginning of the second phase, additional British and Indian Army units were despatched to Afghanistan, while the Kurram Valley Force was reinforced, and redesignated the Kabul Field Force. [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from

1969-546: A disintegrating Ottoman Empire. According to historian Erich Eyck , Bismarck supported Russia's position that "Turkish rule over a Christian community (Bulgaria) was an anachronism which undoubtedly gave rise to insurrection and bloodshed and should therefore be ended". He used the Great Eastern Crisis of 1875 as proof of growing animosity in the region. Bismarck's ultimate goal during the Congress of Berlin

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2148-607: A few minor cabinet positions, but his reputation rests on his organising skills and his rhetorical leadership for reform. One historian summarised Bright's achievements: Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which had been won by Russia against

2327-419: A long process, emphasising the urgent need in 1832 to settle the intense and growing political unrest across Britain. He believed that the respectable classes deserved to have their demands for greater representation met, but he refused to extend political power to the mass of the lower middle class and working class, saying that they were not ready to be trusted with it. He wanted to preserve the basic elements of

2506-521: A major impact on British opinion at the time and on history ever since as a symbol of officialdom brutally suppressing a peaceful demonstration thinking mistakenly that it was the start of an insurrection. The Ultra-Tories peaked in strength about 1819–1822 then lost ground inside the Tory Party. They were defeated in important breakthroughs that took place in the late 1820s in terms of tolerating first dissenting Protestants. An even more decisive blow

2685-572: A mild peace, with the Kingdom of France to pay 700 million livre in indemnities and lose the territory seized after 1791. He realised that harsher terms would lead to a dangerous reaction in France, and now that the conservative old-fashioned Bourbons were back in power, they were no longer a threat to attempt to conquer all of Europe. Indeed, Castlereagh emphasised the need for a " balance of power ", whereby no nation would be powerful enough to threaten

2864-401: A minor stumble on the road to Russian hegemony in the Balkans, it actually gave Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia over to Austria-Hungary's sphere of influence and essentially removed all Russian influence from the area. The Serbs were upset with "Russia... consenting to the cession of Bosnia to Austria": Ristić who was Serbia's first plenipotentiary at Berlin tells how he asked Jomini, one of

3043-646: A mountain pass while it snowed, arriving at Rostaq , where its garrison defected. With the fall of Rostaq, Abdur Rahman met the Mir of Badakhshan in battle, forcing him to flee to Chitral while Abdur Rahman annexed Badakhshan. Abdur Rahman requested from Sultan Murad of Kunduz for military access so he could advance on Kabul . This request was denied. However, Ghulam Haidar Khan, Yaqub's governor of Balkh , attacked Kunduz, occupying it, and forcing Sultan Murad to flee to Fayzabad . Sultan Murad then aligned with Abdur Rahman, and encouraged rebellion against Ghulam Haidar, with

3222-541: A popular revolution along the French model, employed severe repression. In the mid-1820s, however, as popular unrest increased, the government made a series of dramatic changes. The more liberal among the Tories rejected the ultraconservative "Ultra Tory" faction. The party split, key leaders switched sides, the Tories lost power, and the more liberally minded opposition Whigs took over. The Tory coalition fell apart, and it

3401-433: A publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Abdur Rahman Khan ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 37–38. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state , established by

3580-410: A result, seeing some 6,000 women being enslaved, with forces from Sher Ali to repel the raids being defeated. With Sher Ali's death, a tumultuous period began over his succession. One of his sons, Muhammad Ali Khan, attempted to seize Takhtapul , however the garrison mutinied, forcing him to move south towards Dai Zangi , where he began assembling an army against Yaqub Khan. Yaqub Khan was declared

3759-677: A son of Mohammad Azam Khan . He occupied Aqcha , but was later defeated. Following his defeat, the Afghan governor of Balkh , Muhammad Khan, purged much of the province of Afzalid supporters, seizing lands and exacting imprisonment and execution on those thought to be sympathizers. Districts that had aided the rebellion faced hefty fines, and the rulers of the Chahar Wilayat were mandatorily forced to re-affirm their allegiance to Sher Ali Khan by traveling to Kabul every year. In 1875, Husain Khan,

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3938-535: A stronger Austria-Hungarian Empire, which threatened basically no one, to a powerful Russia, which had been locked in competition with Britain in the so-called Great Game for most of the century. Gorchakov said, "I consider the Berlin Treaty the darkest page in my life". Many Russians were furious over the European repudiation of their political gains, and though there was some thought that it represented only

4117-632: A successful campaign against the Corn Laws. These were tariffs on imported food that kept up the price of grain to placate Tory landowners. The major factor in the cost of living was the price of food , and the Corn Laws kept the price high. Bright was a powerful speaker, which boosted him to election to parliament in 1843. His radical program included extension of the suffrage, land reform and reduction of taxation. He opposed factory reforms, labour unions and controls on hours For workers, women and children, arguing that government intervention in economic life

4296-495: A uniform fashion, and city officials were elected by the local taxpayers. By far the most important of the reforms was the democratisation of Parliament, which began in a small but highly controversial fashion in 1832 with the Reform Act of 1832 . The main impact was to drastically reduce the number of very small constituencies , with only a few dozen voters under the control of a local magnate. Industrial cities gained many of

4475-670: A very large portion of Macedonia as well as access to the Aegean Sea , could easily threaten the Dardanelles Straits , which separate the Black Sea from the Mediterranean Sea . The arrangement was not acceptable to the British, who considered the entire Mediterranean to be a British sphere of influence and saw any Russian attempt to gain access there as a grave threat to British power. On 4 June, before

4654-838: A watered-down reform. He routinely gave the same advice to foreign governments. Diplomats across Europe took careful note of his move from the Tories to the Whigs, and suspected him of sympathy with the reform movements which were setting off upheavals in France, Belgium and elsewhere, and which frightened the reactionary governments of the major powers Russia, Austria and Russia. In reality he drew his foreign policy ideals from Canning. His main goals were to promote British strategic and economic interests worldwide, remain aloof from European alliances, mediate peace in Europe and use British naval power sparingly as needed. He worried most about France as an adversary, although he collaborated with them as in securing

4833-672: The Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form for over a century. In 1927, it evolved into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , after the Irish Free State gained a degree of independence in 1922. The United Kingdom, from its islands off the coast of Europe, financed the coalition that defeated France during the Napoleonic Wars , and further developed its dominant Royal Navy enabling

5012-719: The Allied and Associated Powers including the British Empire, France, Russia, Italy and the U.S. against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire . The deadliest conflict in human history up to that point, the war ended in an Allied victory in November 1918 but inflicted a massive cost to British manpower, materiel and treasure. Growing desire for Irish self-governance led to

5191-580: The British Empire to become the foremost world power for the next century. For nearly a century from the final defeat of Napoleon following the Battle of Waterloo to the outbreak of World War I , Britain was almost continuously at peace with Great Powers . The most notable exception was the Crimean War with the Russian Empire , in which actual hostilities were relatively limited. However,

5370-603: The British Empire . Industrial Revolution accelerated, with textile mills joined by iron and steel, coal mining, railroads and shipbuilding. The second British Empire, founded after the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolutionary War of the 1770s, was dramatically expanded in India , other parts of Asia, and Africa. There was little friction with other colonial powers until

5549-477: The British Isles , but it was smaller in terms of industry, finance, mercantile marine and naval strength. Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from Continental Europe would end its economic hegemony. On the contrary Britain possessed the greatest industrial capacity in the world, and its mastery of the seas allowed it to build up considerable economic strength through trade to its possessions and

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5728-423: The Congress of Vienna , they were to be sadly disappointed. Bismarck, unhappy to be conducting the Congress in the heat of the summer, had a short temper and a low tolerance for malarky. Thus, any grandstanding was cut short by the testy German chancellor. The ambassadors from the small Balkan territories whose fate was being decided were barely even allowed to attend the diplomatic meetings, which were between mainly

5907-677: The Continental System . This policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. The British Army remained a minimal threat to France; it maintained a standing strength of just 220,000 men at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, whereas the French Imperial Army exceeded a million men—in addition to the armies of numerous allies and several hundred thousand national guardsmen that Napoleon could draft into

6086-517: The Crimean War against the Russian Empire in the 1850s. That war was strictly limited in terms of scope and impact. The major result was the realisation that military medical services needed urgent reform, as advocated by the nursing leader Florence Nightingale . British diplomats, led by Lord Palmerston , promoted British nationalism, opposed reactionary regimes on the continent, helped the Spanish colonies to free themselves and worked to shut down

6265-663: The First Anglo-Afghan War . Mazar-i-Sharif was safe as well, with winter already ongoing, the British would be unable to pass the snow littered Hindu Kush . Alongside this, over 15,000 Afghan soldiers were present in Afghan Turkestan , which Sher Ali began preparing to assemble more men across Afghanistan. Sher Ali also attempted to appeal in person to the Russian Tsar for assistance, but he wasn't allowed to enter Russian territory, and their insistence

6444-760: The First World War . In the 'Salisbury Circular' of 1 April 1878, the British Foreign Secretary, the Marquess of Salisbury , clarified the objections of him and the government to the Treaty of San Stefano because of the favorable position in which it left Russia. In 1954, the British historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote: "If the treaty of San Stefano had been maintained, both the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary might have survived to

6623-518: The French Revolution in 1793. Historians find that the violent radical element was small and weak; there were a handful of small conspiracies involving men with few followers and careless security; they were quickly suppressed. Nevertheless, techniques of repression included the suspension of Habeas Corpus in 1817 (allowing the government to arrest and hold suspects without cause or trial). Sidmouth 's Gagging Acts of 1817 heavily muzzled

6802-532: The Industrial Revolution progressed, society changed, becoming more urban. The postwar period saw an economic slump, and poor harvests and inflation caused widespread social unrest. British leadership was intensely conservative, ever watchful of signs of revolutionary activity of the sort that had so deeply affected France. Historians have found very few signs, noting that social movements such as Methodism strongly encouraged conservative support for

6981-680: The Irish War of Independence almost immediately after the conclusion of World War I, which resulted in British recognition of the Irish Free State in 1922. Although the Free State was explicitly governed under dominion status and thus was not a fully independent polity, as a dominion it was no longer considered to be part of the United Kingdom and ceased to be represented in the Westminster Parliament . Six northeastern counties in Ireland, which since 1920 were being governed under

7160-540: The Ottoman Empire . Represented at the meeting were Europe's then six great powers : Russia , Great Britain , France , Austria-Hungary , Italy , and Germany ; the Ottomans ; and four Balkan states: Greece , Serbia , Romania and Montenegro . The congress concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Berlin , replacing the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano which had been signed three months earlier. The leader of

7339-579: The Peterloo Massacre in Manchester in 1819. The Tory ranks were cracking, however, especially when Robert Peel (1788–1830) broke away on several critical issues. Nevertheless, the Whig party gets most of the credit. The middle classes, often led by nonconformist Protestants, turned against the Tories and scored the greatest gains. For example, symbolic restrictions on nonconformists called

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7518-824: The Principality of Elba , peace appeared to have returned. Napoleon suddenly reappeared in 1815. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher defeated Napoleon once and for all at the Battle of Waterloo . To defeat France, Britain put heavy pressure on the United States , seizing merchant ships suspected of trading with France, and impressing sailors (conscription) born in Britain, regardless of their claimed American citizenship . British government agents armed Indigenous American tribes in Canada that were raiding American settlements on

7697-646: The Russo-Turkish War in 1877–1878 , Russia had liberated almost all of the Ottoman European possessions. The Ottomans recognised Montenegro , Romania and Serbia as independent, and the territories of all three of them were expanded. Russia created a large Principality of Bulgaria as an autonomous vassal of the sultan. That expanded Russia's sphere of influence to encompass the entire Balkans, which alarmed other powers in Europe. Britain, which had threatened war with Russia if it occupied Constantinople , and France did not want another power meddling in either

7876-525: The Test Acts were abolished in 1828 . Much more controversial was the repeal of severe discrimination against Roman Catholics after the Irish Catholics organised, and threatened rebellion, forcing major concessions in 1829 . Financial reform, led by William Huskisson and Peel, rationalised the tariff system, and culminated in the great repeal of the tariffs on imported grain in 1846, much to

8055-515: The Treaty of Berlin . The meetings were held at Bismarck's Reich Chancellery , the former Radziwill Palace, from 13 June to 13 July 1878. The congress revised or eliminated 18 of the 29 articles in the Treaty of San Stefano . Furthermore, by using as a foundation the Treaties of Paris (1856) and of Washington (1871), the treaty rearranged the East. The principal mission of the participants at

8234-580: The Treaty of Gandamak on 26 May 1879. According to this agreement and in return for an annual subsidy and vague assurances of assistance in case of foreign aggression, Yaqub relinquished control of Afghan foreign affairs to Britain. British representatives were installed in Kabul and other locations, and their control was extended to the Khyber and Michni passes, and Afghanistan ceded various North-West Frontier Province areas and Quetta to Britain, including

8413-421: The Treaty of Gandamak was then signed on 26 May 1879. The British sent an envoy and mission led by Sir Louis Cavagnari to Kabul, but on 3 September this mission was massacred and the conflict was reignited by Ayub Khan which led to the abdication of his brother Yaqub. During this period, Abdur Rahman Khan , an opponent of the British, began distinguishing himself as a possible successor candidate to become

8592-544: The civil war on Dost Mohammad's succession . The Afzalids were eventually defeated by Sher Ali Khan but many fled in exile to Samarkand in the Russian Empire under the authority of Abdur Rahman Khan , who was actively given asylum by the Russian government and brought worries to the British about a future pro-Russian claimant to the throne of Afghanistan. On one such occasion, the Bukharans aided Muhammad Ishaq Khan,

8771-509: The frontier . The Americans felt humiliated and demanded war to restore their honour, despite their complete unpreparedness. The War of 1812 was a minor sideshow to the British, but the American army performed very poorly, and was unable to successfully attack Canada. In 1813, the Americans took control of Lake Erie and thereby of western Ontario , knocking most of the Indian tribes out of

8950-566: The independence of Belgium from the Kingdom of the Netherlands . He much preferred liberal and reform-oriented nations to reactionary powers. He placed a high priority on building up British strength in India, He spoke often of pride in British nationalism, which found favour in public opinion and gave him a strong basis of support outside Parliament. Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was an intellectual who focused on reforming English law . He

9129-401: The " sick man of Europe ". Russia resented the lack of rewards, despite having won the war that the conference was supposed to resolve, and felt humiliated by the other great powers in their rejection of the San Stefano settlement. Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece all received far less than they thought they deserved, especially Bulgaria which was left with less than half of the territory envisioned by

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9308-486: The "betrayal" of the working classes and the "sacrificing" of their "interests" by the "misconduct" of the government. In 1838, Chartists issued the People's Charter demanding manhood suffrage, equal-sized election districts, voting by ballots, payment of Members of Parliament (so that poor men could serve), annual Parliaments, and abolition of property requirements. The ruling class saw the movement as dangerous. Multiple large peaceful meetings across England demanded change but

9487-411: The 'Iron Amir'. He also refused to give information regarding his troops, with his own autobiography criticizing British policy, while also violating the Lyall agreement by instead of allowing the British to oversee his diplomatic affairs, held them himself with numerous countries including Iran , the Ottoman Empire , and the German Empire . Abdur Rahman also wrote in pamphlets, encouraging Jihad against

9666-450: The 1790–1815 period there was an improvement in morals caused by the religious efforts by evangelicals inside the Church of England, and Dissenters or Nonconformist Protestants as people: became wiser, better, more frugal, more honest, more respectable, more virtuous, than they ever were before." Wickedness still flourished, but the good were getting better, as frivolous habits were discarded for more serious concerns. The leading moralist of

9845-410: The 1890s. British foreign policy avoided entangling alliances. Britain from the 1820s to the 1860s experienced a turbulent and exciting "age of reform". The century started with 15 years of war against France, ending in Wellington's triumph against Napoleon in 1815 at Waterloo. There followed 15 difficult years, in which the Tory Party, representing a small, rich landed aristocracy that was fearful of

10024-450: The 1960s and 1970s who argued against deep meanings of Whiggish progress because each of the reforms was relatively minor in itself. Historian Richard Davis concludes that the scholarship of the 1970s represented "a vindication of the main outlines of the old " Whig interpretation ." That is, the Reform Act of 1832 was a response to mounting popular pressure. It was "the culmination of a long historical process, and an important turning point in

10203-419: The 20th century. Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Andrássy and the occupation and administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina also obtained the right to station garrisons in the Sanjak of Novi Pazar , which remained under Ottoman administration. The Sanjak preserved the separation of Serbia and Montenegro, and the Austro-Hungarian garrisons there would open the way for a dash to Salonika that "would bring

10382-434: The Afghan government, war would be declared. A day before the deadline, Sher Ali sent a messenger to Peshawar but failed to arrive on time, and turned away after news of the British invasion began. The first campaign began in November 1878 when a British force of about 50,000 fighting men, mostly Indians, was distributed into three military columns which penetrated Afghanistan at three different points. The British victories at

10561-503: The Afzalids in Samarkand, with many Amirs of the Chahar Wilayat beginning to correspond with Abdur Rahman Khan and the Afzalid faction. After tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 Congress of Berlin , Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul. Sher Ali Khan , the Amir of Afghanistan , tried unsuccessfully to keep them out. Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August,

10740-454: The Afzalids. Ayub Khan began facing anarchy in Herat, with much of the forces from the expelled from Maimana demanding payment. Ayub Khan sent numerous requests to Mazar-i-Sharif, imminently requesting aid in cash. Despite receiving funds, the troops began rioting, and were turned away by Ayub Khan towards Yaqub Khan, stating he would be capable of paying them. With British forces occupying Kabul , Sher Ali's son and successor, Yaqub Khan, signed

10919-400: The Amir of Afghanistan through his exploits in northern Afghanistan. Eventually after moving on Kabul , he was crowned and then later recognized by the British as the ruler of Afghanistan. The second campaign began when Ayub Khan , the governor of Herat , rebelled in July 1880 and marched on Kandahar, defeating the British at the battle of Maiwand . The campaign ended in September 1880 when

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11098-426: The Austrian proposals relative to Bosnia-Herzegovina about to come before the congress while Austria would support British demands". The Congress of Berlin is frequently viewed as the culmination of the battle between Alexander Gorchakov of Russia and Otto von Bismarck of Germany. Both were able to persuade other European leaders that a free and independent Bulgaria would greatly improve the security risks posed by

11277-404: The Austro-Hungarian Empire in later decades. The League of the Three Emperors , established in 1873, was destroyed since Russia saw lack of German support on the issue of Bulgaria's full independence as a breach of loyalty and the alliance. The border between Greece and Turkey was not resolved. In 1881, after protracted negotiations, a compromise border was accepted after a naval demonstration of

11456-456: The Balkan peninsula. The realisation of the goal would have given Russia control of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus , thus economic control of the Black Sea and substantially greater geopolitical power. That desire evolved similarly to the Pan-Germanism and Pan-Italianism , which had resulted in two unifications, took different forms in the various Slavic nations. Balkan Slavs felt they needed both an equivalent to Piedmont to serve as

11635-412: The Balkans had been gripped by Pan-Slavism , a movement to unite all the Balkan Slavs under one rule. The Treaty of San Stefano , which had created a " Greater Bulgaria ", was opposed as a display of Pan-Slavic hegemonic ambition in southeastern Europe. In Imperial Russia, Pan-Slavism meant the creation of a unified Slavic state, under Russian direction, and was essentially a byword for Russian conquest of

11814-421: The British decisively defeated Ayub Khan outside Kandahar . Abdur Rahman Khan, now the sole ruler, created the buffer the British wanted between the Raj and the Russian Empire. British and Indian soldiers then withdrew from Afghanistan. A significant political group in Afghanistan at the time were the Afzalids. The Afzalids were originally supporters of Mohammad Afzal Khan to the throne of Afghanistan during

11993-521: The British Empire, in practice, these governments were permitted greater management of their own internal affairs, with Britain remaining primarily responsible for their foreign and trade policies. Rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the state's formation continued up until the mid-19th century. The Great Irish Famine , exacerbated by government inaction in the mid-19th century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland and increased calls for Irish land reform . The 19th century

12172-465: The British Empire. In response, London began to cooperate with Japan , France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States . Although not formally allied with any of these powers, by 1914 British policy had all but committed to declaring war on Germany if the latter attacked France. This was realized in August 1914 when Germany invaded France via Belgium , whose neutrality had been guaranteed by London. The ensuing First World War eventually pitted

12351-571: The British and the Russians, claiming both wished to end Afghanistan as a state. Senior British officials found it extremely difficult to further cooperate with Abdur Rahman Khan and Afghanistan due to the Turkestan atrocities, as well as his actions against the Hazaras . The British believed they had no other alternative but to support Abdur Rahman Khan, scoring a diplomatic victory for him. Despite this, no further trouble resulted between Afghanistan and British India during Rahman's period of rule. The Russians kept well out of Afghan internal affairs, with

12530-413: The British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too. The British informed Sher Ali that a British mission would arrive in Kabul as well with or without his consent. However, as news of this arrived, Sher Ali's son and heir, Abdullah Jan had died. With mourning and the funeral taking place, nobody wished to show Sher Ali the British message. Eventually the message was revealed by his chamberlain. In

12709-487: The British in the war to come. Many of the governors, having been imprisoned for longer than a decade, all due to similar oaths being broken. As a result, seeing an opportunity to declare independence, Muhammad Khan, the former governor of Sar-I-Pul , alongside Husain Khan, the former governor of the Maimana Khanate , all declared independence against Afghan rule, rallying their own armies and expelling Afghan garrisons. A wave of Turkmen raids also began into Afghan Turkestan as

12888-553: The British informed Abdur Rahman that they were prepared to recognize him as the ruler of Afghanistan, inviting him to Kabul for a ceremony. Abdur Rahman called a Jirga , with many tribal leaders declaring for him, while Abdur Rahman was declared the Amir of Kabul . Ayub Khan, who had been serving as governor of Herat, rose in revolt, defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Maiwand in July 1880 and besieged Kandahar. Roberts then led

13067-610: The British no longer wished to uphold a British envoy in Afghanistan. However, both sides continued to differ, with the British wishing to keep Kandahar under their control with Sardar Sher Ali as governor, while Abdur Rahman saw it imperative as a part of Afghanistan. Believing that the British might withdraw, Abdur Rahman Khan arrived in Charikar sometime in July 1880, where religious leaders from regions such as Panjshir , Kohistan , and Tagab welcomed his arrival. On 19 July,

13246-583: The British to dissuade Afghanistan from Russian influence, Abdur Rahman Khan adopted an autocratic government similar to the Tsars of Russia, inspired by Peter the Great from his time in exile in Turkestan. Alongside this, despite the British attempting to prop up Afghanistan as a key ally, Abdur Rahman Khan often acted against the British, with atrocities horrifying even Queen Victoria , and he became known as

13425-482: The British, with his own men wishing for Jihad against them. While negotiations continued, the British considered numerous political solutions, including dividing Afghanistan into numerous kingdoms. The British were seeking to a quick conclusion to the war due to the resignation of Lytton , with his successor, the Marquis of Ripon , wishing to withdraw all British troops from Afghanistan as quickly as possible. With this,

13604-569: The Bulgarians, religiously from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople , and politically from Serbia. Pan-Slavism required the end of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. How and whether that goal would be realised was the major question to be answered at the Congress of Berlin. The Balkans were a major stage for competition between the European great powers in the second half of the 19th century. Britain and Russia had interests in

13783-518: The Chartists were unable to force serious constitutional debate. In July 1839, however, the House of Commons rejected, by 235 votes to 46, a motion to debate the Chartists' national petition, bearing 1.3 million signatures. Historians see Chartism as both a continuation of the 18th century fight against corruption and as a new stage in demands for democracy in an industrial society. Prime ministers of

13962-531: The Congress of Berlin was considered to be a dismal failure. After finally defeating the Turks despite many past inconclusive Russo-Turkish wars, many Russians had expected "something colossal", a redrawing of the Balkan borders in support of Russian territorial ambitions. Instead, the victory resulted in an Austro-Hungarian gain on the Balkan front that was brought about by the rest of the European powers' preference for

14141-684: The Congress opened on 13 June, British Prime Minister Lord Beaconsfield had already concluded the Cyprus Convention , a secret alliance with the Ottomans against Russia in which Britain was allowed to occupy the strategically-placed island of Cyprus . The agreement predetermined Beaconsfield's position during the Congress and led him to issue threats to unleash a war against Russia if it did not comply with Ottoman demands. Negotiations between Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Andrássy and British Foreign Secretary Marquess of Salisbury had already "ended on 6 June by Britain agreeing to all

14320-564: The Congress was to deal a fatal blow to the burgeoning movement of pan-Slavism . The movement caused serious concern in Berlin and even more so in Vienna, which was afraid that the repressed Slavic nationalities would revolt against the Habsburgs . The British and the French governments were nervous about both the diminishing influence of the Ottoman Empire and the cultural expansion of Russia to

14499-765: The Empire with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 . The government purchased all the slaves for £20,000,000 (the money went to rich plantation owners who mostly lived in England), and freed the slaves, most of whom were in the Caribbean sugar islands. The Whigs became champions of Parliamentary reform by making the Reform Act of 1832 their signature measure. It sharply reduced the numbers of "rotten borough" and "pocket boroughs" (where elections were controlled by powerful families), and instead redistributed seats on

14678-472: The French armies when they were needed. Although the Royal Navy effectively disrupted France's extra-continental trade—both by seizing and threatening French shipping and by seizing French colonial possessions—it could do nothing about France's trade with the major continental economies and posed little threat to French territory in Europe. France's population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of

14857-532: The Government is rising by its side, nay, daily counteracting its views." The Duke of Wellington, Britain's most famous war hero, told Peel, "If we cannot get rid of the Catholic Association, we must look to Civil War in Ireland sooner or later." Peel and Wellington agreed that to stop the momentum of the Catholic Association it was necessary to pass Catholic emancipation , which gave Catholics

15036-591: The Irish Free State's secession, as opposed to being an entirely new successor state . A brief period of limited independence for the Kingdom of Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , which occurred during the British war with revolutionary France . The Kingdom of Great Britain 's fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with Revolutionary France resulted in

15215-654: The Mediterranean or the Middle East, where both powers were prepared to make large colonial gains . Austria-Hungary desired Habsburg control over the Balkans, and Germany wanted to prevent its ally from going to war. German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck thus called the Congress of Berlin to discuss the partition of the Ottoman Balkans among the European powers and to preserve the League of Three Emperors in

15394-876: The Opposition proposed that the Foreign Minister should be impeached for violating the constitution by his policy during the Near East Crisis and by the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The motion was lost by 179 to 95. By the Opposition rank and file the gravest accusations were raised against Andrassy. United Kingdom [REDACTED] Russia [REDACTED] Germany [REDACTED] Austria-Hungary [REDACTED] France [REDACTED] Kingdom of Italy [REDACTED] Ottoman Empire [REDACTED] Romania [REDACTED] Greece [REDACTED] Serbia [REDACTED] Montenegro [REDACTED] Albanians in

15573-493: The Parliamentary level, there was a reorganisation of the governmental system in the rapidly growing cities, putting a premium on modernisation and expertise, and large electorates as opposed to small ruling cliques. A rapidly growing middle class, as well as active intellectuals, broaden the scope of reform to include humanitarian activities such as a new poor law and factory laws to protect women and children workers. In

15752-770: The Protestant faith, and his lack of support for the initiative led the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger , to resign. During the War of the Second Coalition (1799–1801), Britain occupied most of the French and Dutch overseas possessions , the Netherlands having become a satellite state of France in 1796, but tropical diseases claimed the lives of over 40,000 troops. When the Treaty of Amiens ended

15931-517: The Russian delegates, what consolation remained to the Serbs. Jomini replied that it would have to be the thought that 'the situation was only temporary because within fifteen years at the latest we shall be forced to fight Austria.' 'Vain consolation!' comments Ristić. Italy was dissatisfied with the results of the Congress, and the tensions between Greece and the Ottoman Empire were left unresolved. Bosnia-Herzegovina would also prove to be problematic for

16110-535: The Russians allowed Abdur Rahman Khan to re-enter Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman made way for Badakhshan , whose ruler he had marriage ties with. While on route, he did a pilgrimage to the shrine of Khwaja Ahrar , taking his banner after claiming he had a vision that ensured victory. The ruler of Badakhshan did not permit Abdur Rahman to ford the Amu Darya, to which Abdur Rahman did so further downstream. He then crossed

16289-548: The Russo-Turkish War of 1812 but lost to Moldavia/Romania in 1856 after the Crimean War . The Bulgarian state that Russia had created by the Treaty of San Stefano was divided into the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia , both of which were given nominal autonomy, under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria was promised autonomy, and guarantees were made against Turkish interference, but they were largely ignored. Romania received Northern Dobruja as

16468-534: The Sherpur Cantonment in December 1879. The rebellion collapsed after the failure of a direct attack on Roberts' force on 23 December. Yaqub Khan, suspected of complicity in the massacre of Cavagnari and his staff, was obliged to abdicate. The British considered a number of possible political settlements, including partitioning Afghanistan between multiple rulers or placing Yaqub's brother Ayub Khan on

16647-453: The Treaty of Gandamak, whereby the British took control of the territories ceded by Yaqub Khan. The provocative policy of maintaining a British resident in Kabul was abandoned, but instead British Indian Muslim agents were to be left to smooth liaison between the governments. Britain would also handle Afghanistan's foreign policy in exchange for protection and a subsidy. The Afghan tribes maintained internal rule and local customs, and provided

16826-523: The Treaty of San Stefano. Bismarck became hated by Russian nationalists and Pan-Slavists , and later found that he had tied Germany too closely to Austria-Hungary in the Balkans. Although Austria-Hungary gained substantial territory, this angered the South Slavs and led to decades of tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, culminating in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand . In the long term,

17005-622: The United Kingdom did engage in extensive wars in Africa and Asia , such as the Opium Wars with the Qing dynasty , to extend its overseas territorial holdings and influence. Britain's empire was expanded into most parts of Africa and much of South Asia. The Colonial Office and India Office ruled through a small number of administrators who managed the units of the empire locally, while local institutions began to develop. British India , by far

17184-749: The United States. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent. The Duke of Wellington gradually pushed the French out of Spain, and in early 1814, as Napoleon was being driven back in the east by the Royal Prussian Army , the Imperial Austrian Army , and the Imperial Russian Army , Wellington invaded southern France. After Napoleon's surrender and exile to

17363-492: The United States. The trend of emigration would continue in Ireland for decades and Ireland's population has never recovered to its pre-famine levels. The Irish language was almost wiped out. The failure of the British government to respond to the crisis in the eyes of the Irish people would lead to a growth in resentment of Britain and a rise in Irish nationalism . The famine is remembered in Ireland to this day as oppression by

17542-571: The Whig coalition in 1830. The Tories despised him thereafter as a turncoat, and many of the more radical Whigs were distrustful of his basically conservative views that saw him fainthearted about or opposed to reform measures. He typically warned on the one hand against delays and on the other hand against excessive enthusiasm for reforms, preferring compromise. He was keenly sensitive to public opinion, and indeed often shapes it through his dealings with newspaper editors. When he sensed that public demand had reached an unstoppable momentum, he would work for

17721-464: The Whigs to demand for civil and religious equality. Grievances included a 1753 law that to be legally recognised marriage had to take place in the Anglican parish church . The Anglican parish register was the only legally accepted birth documentation. The Anglican parish controlled the only religious burial grounds. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge had to reject non-Anglican applicants. At

17900-535: The administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina and secured the control of a corridor leading to the Aegean Sea . Both of these territories had to remain de jure part of the Ottoman Empire, but in 1914 the British Empire formally annexed Cyprus, whereas Bosnia-Herzegovina was annexed by Austria in 1908. Thus, the Berlin Congress sowed the seeds of further conflicts, including the Balkan Wars and (ultimately)

18079-493: The alliances in Europe before the First World War were thus noticeable. One reason that Bismarck was able to mediate the various tensions at the Congress of Berlin was his diplomatic persona. He sought peace and stability when international affairs did not pertain to Germany directly. Since he viewed the current situation in Europe as favourable for Germany, any conflicts between the major European powers that threatened

18258-468: The aristocracy in terms of its control of the House of Commons. However, it ran the government: of the ten prime ministers under Victoria, six were peers. The seventh was the son of a duke. Two (Peel and Gladstone) emerged from the business community and only one (Disraeli) was a self-made man . Of the 227 cabinet members between 1832 and 1905, 139 were sons of peers. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , who defeated Napoleon, served as

18437-611: The basis of population. It also broadened the franchise, adding 217,000 voters to an electorate of 435,000 in England and Wales . The main effect of the act was to weaken the power of the landed gentry , and enlarge the power of the professional and business middle-class , which now for the first time had a significant voice in Parliament. However, at this point the great majority of manual workers, clerks and farmers did not have enough property to qualify to vote. Many of them received

18616-512: The battles of Ali Masjid and Peiwar Kotal meant that the approach to Kabul was left virtually undefended by Afghan troops. An alarmed Sher Ali left for Mazar-i-Sharif . This was done in hopes of the British overstretching their armies in Afghanistan, and make it difficult for the British to occupy parts of southern Afghanistan for an indefinite period of time, as well as that the Afghan tribes would eventually rise up. Further drawing off of Dost Mohammad Khan and Wazir Akbar Khan 's tactics in

18795-604: The coming war, in return for ceding Bosnia Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary in the Budapest Convention of 1877 . act: The Berlin Congress in effect postponed resolution of the Bosnian question and left Bosnia and Herzegovina under Habsburg control. This was the goal of Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Count Gyula Andrássy . After the Bulgarian April Uprising in 1876 and the Russian victory in

18974-404: The commander of Takhtapul declaring for Abdur Rahman. Ghulam Haidar fled across the Amu Darya, leaving the entirety of Afghan Turkestan under Abdur Rahman's control. The British, eyeing for a suitable candidate to be the ruler of Afghanistan , scouted Abdur Rahman Khan, and began negotiating with him. Abdur Rahman was reluctant to accept such a proposal, as he considered himself an opponent of

19153-463: The congress, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , sought to stabilise the Balkans, reduce the role of the defeated Ottoman Empire in the region, and balance the distinct interests of Britain, Russia and Austria-Hungary. He also wanted to avoid domination of the Balkans by Russia or the formation of a Greater Bulgaria , and to keep Constantinople in Ottoman hands. Finally Bismarck wanted to encourage

19332-534: The conquest of Europe the way Napoleon had. Vienna ushered in a century of peace, with no great wars and few important localised ones until the Crimean War (1853–1856). Prussia, Austria, and Russia, as absolute monarchies , tried to suppress liberalism wherever it might occur. Britain first took a Reactionary position at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, but relented and broke ranks with the absolute monarchies by 1820. Britain intervened in Portugal in 1826 to defend

19511-572: The decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801. The Irish had been led to believe by the British that their loss of legislative independence would be compensated with Catholic emancipation , that is, by the removal of civil disabilities placed upon Roman Catholics in both Great Britain and Ireland . Despite personal sympathy for Roman Catholics, King George III believed that agreeing to Catholic Emancipation would violate his Coronation Oath to uphold

19690-526: The development of civil rights for Jews in the region. The affected territories were instead granted varying degrees of independence. Romania became fully independent, though was forced to give part of Bessarabia to Russia, and gained Northern Dobruja . Serbia and Montenegro were also granted full independence but lost territory, with Austria-Hungary occupying the Sanjak of Novi Pazar along with Bosnia and Herzegovina . Britain took possession of Cyprus . Of

19869-468: The dismay of grain farmers. The 1846 repeal of the Corn Laws established free trade as the basic principle by which British merchants came to dominate the globe, and brought cheap food to British workers. A depoliticised civil service based on merit replaced patronage policies rewarding jobs for partisan efforts. Efficiency was a high priority in government, with the goal of low taxation. Overall, taxation

20048-439: The emergence of a more liberal and broadly based political system… it deserves its old designation of 'Great.'" David Thompson has stressed the revolutionary nature of the entire package of reforms: Chartism was a large-scale popular protest movement that emerged in response to the failure of the 1832 Reform Bill to give the vote to the working class. It lacked middle-class support, and it failed repeatedly. Activists denounced

20227-529: The era, William Wilberforce , saw everywhere "new proofs presenting themselves of the diffusion of religion". Nonconformists, including Presbyterians , Congregationalists , the Baptists and the rapidly-growing Methodist denomination , as well as Quakers , Unitarians and smaller groups. They were all outside the established Church of England (except in Scotland, where the established Church of Scotland

20406-441: The event as an opening battle against revolutionaries. In reaction Lord Liverpool 's government passed the " Six Acts " in 1819. They prohibited drills and military exercises; facilitated warrants for the search for weapons; outlawed public meetings of more than 50 people, including meetings to organise petitions; put heavy penalties on blasphemous and seditious publications; imposing a fourpenny stamp act on many pamphlets to cut down

20585-531: The exception of the Panjdeh incident three years later, resolved by arbitration and negotiation after an initial British ultimatum. In 1893, Mortimer Durand was dispatched to Kabul by British India to sign an agreement with Rahman for fixing the limits of their respective spheres of influence as well as improving diplomatic relations and trade. On November 12, 1893, the Durand Line Agreement

20764-490: The existing constitution by removing obvious abuses, thinking that this would strengthen aristocratic leadership. He persuaded the king to promise to create enough new peers to force the bill through the House of Lords. The king made the promise while also advising the peers to stop blocking the bill. The Reform Act was Grey's principal achievement; it reflects his pragmatic, moderate and conservative character, as well as his parliamentary skills of timing and persuasion. His cabinet

20943-555: The face of determined House of Commons action. After defeating the first two versions of the Reform Act of 1832, the Whigs got the King to agree to appoint as many new peers as was necessary to change the outcome. He promised to do so, but convinced the Lords it would be much wiser for them to approve the law. A weak ruler as regent (1811–1820) and king (1820–1830), George IV let his ministers take full charge of government affairs. He

21122-452: The face of the spread of European liberalism . The Congress was attended by Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy , Russia and the Ottoman Empire . Delegates from Greece , Romania, Serbia and Montenegro attended the sessions that concerned their states, but they were not members. The Congress was solicited by Russia's rivals, particularly Austria-Hungary and Britain, and was hosted in 1878 by Bismarck. It proposed and ratified

21301-495: The fate of the Balkans. Russia was interested in the region, both ideologically, as a pan-Slavist unifier, and practically, to secure greater control of the Mediterranean. Britain was interested in preventing Russia from accomplishing its goals. Furthermore, the Unifications of Italy and of Germany had stymied the ability of a third European power, Austria-Hungary, to expand its domain to the southwest any further. Germany, as

21480-461: The flow on news and criticism. Offenders could be harshly punished including exile in Australia . In practice the laws were designed to deter troublemakers and reassure conservatives; they were not often used. One historian would write: "Peterloo was a blunder; it was hardly a massacre." It was a serious mistake by local authorities who did not understand what was happening. Nevertheless, it had

21659-504: The great powers had resulted in the cession of Thessaly and the Arta Prefecture to Greece. Two states that didn't participate in the war, Great Britain and Austria-Hungary, achieved great benefits from this Congress. The former was granted administrative control of Cyprus in exchange for guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base to protect the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression. The latter obtained

21838-466: The international slave trade. It was a time of prosperity, population growth and better health, except in Ireland where over one million deaths were caused by the Great Famine when the potato crop failed in the 1840s. The Government did little to help the starving poor in Ireland. Along with the one million deaths, another one million would emigrate in a few short years, mostly to Britain and to

22017-401: The key legal, political, economic and social reforms of the 1830s and 1840s. He especially influenced the reform of education, prisons, poor laws, legal procedures and Parliamentary representation. John Bright (1811–1889) built on his middle-class Quaker heritage and his collaboration with Richard Cobden to promote all varieties of humanitarian and parliamentary reform. They started with

22196-509: The king. The fiasco helped ruin the prestige of the monarchy and it recovered a fraction of the power wielded by King George III in his saner days. Historian Eugene Black says: The Ultra-Tories were the leaders of reaction and seemed to dominate the Tory Party , which controlled the government. Every untoward event seemed to point to a conspiracy on the left which necessitated more repression to head off another terror such as happened in

22375-530: The leader of the Conservative party in the House of Lords, 1828–1846. Some writers have belittled him as a befuddled reactionary, but a consensus reached in the late 20th century depicts him as a shrewd operator who hid his cleverness behind the facade of a poorly-informed old soldier. Wellington worked to transform the Lords from unstinting support of the Crown to an active player in political manoeuvring, with

22554-598: The local level, everyone who lived in the boundaries of an Anglican church was required to pay taxes to support the parish. The Test and Corporation laws required all national and local government officials had to attend Anglican church services. In February 1828, Whig leader Lord John Russell , presented petitions assembled by the main Nonconformist pressure group, the United Committee, which represented Congregationalist, Baptists and Unitarians. Their demand

22733-495: The main British force from Kabul and decisively defeated Ayub Khan on 1 September at the Battle of Kandahar , bringing his rebellion to an end. With Ayub Khan defeated, the war was officially over with Abdur Rahman Khan ruling as Amir, he was seen as the real victor of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Despite attempts by the British to hold on to Kandahar , they decided to return it to Afghanistan. Rahman confirmed

22912-425: The majority. The great Reform Act 1832 came at a time of intense public and elite anxiety and broke the logjam. The parliamentary system, based on a very small electorate and large numbers of seats that were tightly controlled by a small elite, was radically reformed. For the first time the growing industrial cities had representation in Parliament. This opened the way for another decade of reform that culminated in

23091-548: The mobilisation of all possible support in each constituency; about 80% of the men voted. The Tories discovered that their conservatism had an appeal to skilled workers, and also to women, hundreds of thousands of whom were organised by the Primrose League . Women's suffrage was not on the agenda. The abolition of the House of Lords , while often discussed, was never necessary because the upper house repeatedly retreated in

23270-468: The monarchies of Continental Europe . The Congress of Berlin was thus mainly a dispute among supposed allies of Bismarck and his German Empire, the arbiter of the discussion, would thus have to choose before the end of the congress which of their allies to support. That decision was to have direct consequences on the future of European geopolitics. Ottoman brutality in the Serbian–Ottoman War and

23449-872: The most important overseas possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In overseas policy, the central policy was free trade , which enabled British financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Beginning in earnest in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Imperial government granted increasing levels of autonomy to locally elected governments in colonies where white settlers had become demographically or politically dominant, with this process eventually resulting in Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Newfoundland and South Africa becoming self-governing dominions . While these dominions remained part of

23628-419: The most important strategic section of the Balkans, was too multinational to be part of Bulgaria and permitted it to remain under the Ottoman Empire. Eastern Rumelia, which had its own large Turkish and Greek minorities, became an autonomous province under a Christian ruler, with its capital at Philippopolis . The remaining portions of the original "Greater Bulgaria" became the new state of Bulgaria. In Russia,

23807-399: The most powerful continental nation since the 1871 Franco-Prussian War had little direct interest in the settlement and so was the only power that could mediate the Balkan question credibly. Russia and Austria-Hungary, the two powers that were most invested in the fate of the Balkans, were allied with Germany in the conservative League of Three Emperors , which had been founded to preserve

23986-530: The new Amir, with many sardars that were thought to have ties with the Afzalid faction were imprisoned. In Mazar-i-Sharif, Yaqub Khan's son, Muhammad Musa, assembled a force and seized Takhtapul, sending the leader of the mutineers to Kabul, where he was executed. Ayub Khan, supporting his brother's succession, did not oppose him. However, much of the military forces and officers in Balkh and Herat instead supported

24165-714: The next phase of the Second Afghan War. Major General Sir Frederick Roberts led the Kabul Field Force over the Shutargardan Pass into central Afghanistan, defeated the Afghan Army at Charasiab on 6 October 1879, and occupied Kabul two days later. Ghazi Mohammad Jan Khan Wardak , and a force of 10,000 Afghans, staged an uprising and attacked British forces near Kabul in the Siege of

24344-511: The opposition newspapers; the reformers switched to pamphlets and sold 50,000 a week. In industrial districts in 1819, factory workers demanded better wages, and demonstrated. The most important event was the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester , on 16 August 1819, when a local militia unit composed of landowners charged into an orderly crowd of 60,000 which had gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation. The crowd panicked and eleven died and hundreds were injured. The government saw

24523-496: The period included: William Pitt the Younger , Lord Grenville , Duke of Portland , Spencer Perceval , Lord Liverpool , George Canning , Lord Goderich , Duke of Wellington , Lord Grey , Lord Melbourne , Lord Palmerston and Robert Peel . The aristocracy remained dominant: there were 200 hereditary peers in the House of Lords in 1860; by 1837 they numbered 428; in 1901, there were 592. The number rose to 622 by 1910. Reform legislation in 1832, 1867, 1884 and 1918 weakened

24702-402: The political and social status quo. The major constitutional changes included a reform of Parliament, and a sharp decline in the power and prestige of the monarchy. The Prince regent, on becoming King George IV in 1820 asked Parliament to divorce his wife Queen Caroline of Brunswick so that he could marry his favourite lover. Public and elite opinion strongly favoured the Queen and ridiculed

24881-406: The present day. The British, except for Beaconsfield in his wilder moments, had expected less and were therefore less disappointed. Salisbury wrote at the end of 1878: We shall set up a rickety sort of Turkish rule again south of the Balkans. But it is a mere respite. There is no vitality left in them." Though the Congress of Berlin constituted a harsh blow to Pan-Slavism , it, by no means, solved

25060-453: The question of the area. The Slavs in the Balkans were still mostly under non-Slavic rule, split between the rule of Austria-Hungary and the ailing Ottoman Empire. The Slavic states of the Balkans had learned that banding together as Slavs benefited them less than playing to the desires of a neighboring great power. That damaged the unity of the Balkan Slavs and encouraged competition between the fledgling Slav states. The underlying tensions of

25239-410: The region would continue to simmer for thirty years until they again exploded in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. In 1914, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand , the Austro-Hungarian heir, led to the First World War . In hindsight, the stated goal of maintaining peace and balance of powers in the Balkans obviously failed since the region would remain a source of conflict between the great powers well into

25418-447: The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846—ending the tariff on imported grain that kept prices high for the landed aristocracy. Repeal was heavily promoted by the Anti-Corn Law League , grass roots activists led by Richard Cobden and based in the industrial cities; they demanded cheap food. There were a series of reforms of the electoral laws, expanding the number of male voters and reducing the level of corruption. The reactionary Tory element

25597-552: The representatives of the great powers. According to Henry Kissinger , the congress saw a shift in Bismarck's Realpolitik . Until then, as Germany had become too powerful for isolation, his policy was to maintain the League of the Three Emperors. Now that he could no longer rely on Russia's alliance, he began to form relations with as many potential enemies as possible. Bowing to Russia's pressure, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro were all declared independent principalities. Russia recovered Southern Bessarabia , which it had annexed in

25776-399: The ruler of Maimana , refused to honour his oath and executed several government officials, declaring allegiance under the ruler of Bukhara. The rebellion was quelled, however when the leaders of the insurrection were brought before Sher Ali, he refused to execute them in honour of their former oaths, and instead had Muhammad Khan killed. These circumstances of events brought further support to

25955-449: The seats but were still significantly underrepresented in Parliament. The 1831–1832 battle over parliamentary reform was, "a year probably unmatched in English history for the sweep and intensity of its excitement." Every few years an incremental enlargement of the electorate was made by Parliament, reaching practically all male voters by the 1880s, and all the women by 1928. Both parties introduced paid professional organisers who supervised

26134-416: The settlement led to rising tensions between Russia and Austria-Hungary, and disputes over nationalism in the Balkans. Grievances with the results of the congress festered until they exploded in the First and Second Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913 respectively). Continuing nationalism in the Balkans was one of the causes of the First World War in 1914. In the decades leading up to the congress, Russia and

26313-413: The son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan . The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires. The war was split into two campaigns – the first began in November 1878 with the British invasion of Afghanistan from India . The British were quickly victorious and forced the Amir – Sher Ali Khan to flee. Ali's successor Mohammad Yaqub Khan immediately sued for peace and

26492-433: The south, where both Britain and France were poised to colonise Egypt and Palestine . By the Treaty of San Stefano, the Russians, led by Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov , had managed to create in Bulgaria an autonomous principality, under the nominal rule of the Ottoman Empire. That sparked the Great Game , the massive British fear of the growing Russian influence in the Middle East . The new principality, including

26671-433: The specifications contained in the Organic Law of 1868 and to guarantee the civil rights of non-Muslim subjects. The region of Bosnia-Herzegovina was handed over to the administration of Austria-Hungary, which also obtained the right to garrison the Sanjak of Novi Pazar , a small border region between Montenegro and Serbia. Bosnia and Herzegovina were put on the fast track to eventual annexation. Russia agreed that Macedonia ,

26850-427: The status quo was against German interests. Also, at the Congress of Berlin, "Germany could not look for any advantage from the crisis" that had occurred in the Balkans in 1875. Therefore, Bismarck claimed impartiality on behalf of Germany at the Congress, which enabled him to preside over the negotiations with a keen eye for foul play. Though most of Europe went into the Congress expecting a diplomatic show, much like

27029-463: The strategic fort of Jamrud . Yaqub Khan also renounced all rights to interfering in the internal affairs of the Afridi tribe. In return, Yaqub Khan only received an annual subsidy of 600,000 rupees, with the British pledging to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan excluding Kandahar . However, on 3 September 1879 an uprising in Kabul led to the slaughter of Sir Louis Cavagnari , the British representative, along with his guards, and staff – provoking

27208-465: The territory that remained within the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria was made a semi-independent principality, Eastern Rumelia became a special administration, and the region of Macedonia was returned to the Ottomans on condition of reforms to its governance. The results were initially hailed as a success for peace in the region, but most of the participants were not satisfied with the outcome. The Ottomans were humiliated and had their weakness confirmed as

27387-413: The throne, but also looked to install his cousin Abdur Rahman Khan (half nephew of the former Sher Ali) as Amir instead. Abdur Rahman Khan meanwhile had been in exile in Turkestan. Upon the death of Sher Ali Khan he requested from the Russians to enter Afghanistan as a claimant of the throne. This request was denied. However, following Yaqub Khan 's abdication, as well as the British occupation of Kabul,

27566-402: The upper house. Wellington's success was based on the 44 peers elected from Scotland and Ireland, whose election he controlled. Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey had promoted reform of Parliament since the 1790s, always to be defeated by the Ultra-Tories. The breakthrough came in his success in passage of the Reform Act of 1832. He sought this as the final step of reform, rather than a first step in

27745-478: The violent suppression of the Herzegovina Uprising fomented political pressure within Russia, which saw itself as the protector of the Serbs, to act against the Ottoman Empire. David MacKenzie wrote that "sympathy for the Serbian Christians existed in Court circles, among nationalist diplomats, and in the lower classes, and was actively expressed through the Slav committees". Eventually, Russia sought and obtained Austria-Hungary's pledge of benevolent neutrality in

27924-471: The vote and the right to sit in Parliament. That happened in 1829 using Whig support. Passage demonstrated that the veto power long held by the ultra-Tories no longer was operational, and significant reforms were now possible across the board. The stage was set for the Age of Reform. The era of reform came in a time of peace, guaranteed in considerable part by the overwhelming power of the Royal Navy. Britain engaged in only one serious war between 1815 and 1914,

28103-433: The vote in 1867. The aristocracy continued to dominate the Church of England, the most prestigious military and naval posts, and high society, but not business, industry or finance. In terms of national governmental policy, the democratic wishes of the entire people had become decisive. Most historians emphasise the central importance of the legislation of the 1830s–60s, although there was a dissenting minority of scholars in

28282-410: The war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized. The peace settlement was in effect only a ceasefire, and Napoleon continued to provoke the British by attempting a trade embargo on the country and by occupying the city of Hanover , capital of the Electorate , a German-speaking duchy of the Holy Roman Empire which was in a personal union with the United Kingdom. In May 1803, war

28461-411: The war. When Napoleon surrendered for the first time in 1814, three separate forces were sent to attack the Americans in upstate New York , along the Maryland coast (burning Washington but getting repulsed at Baltimore ), and up the Mississippi River to a massive defeat at the Battle of New Orleans . Each operation proved a failure with the British commanding generals killed or in disgrace. The war

28640-432: The western half of the Balkans under permanent Austrian influence". "High [Austro-Hungarian] military authorities desired... [an] immediate major expedition with Salonika as its objective". On 28 September 1878 the Finance Minister, Koloman von Zell, threatened to resign if the army, behind which stood the Archduke Albert , were allowed to advance to Salonika. In the session of the Hungarian Parliament of 5 November 1878

28819-472: Was Presbyterian ), They proclaimed a devotion to hard work, temperance, frugality and upward mobility, with which historians today largely agree. A major Unitarian magazine, the Christian Monthly Repository asserted in 1827: The Nonconformists suffered under a series of disabilities, some of which were symbolic and others were painful, and they were all deliberately imposed to weaken the dissenting challenge to Anglican orthodoxy. The Nonconformists allied with

28998-465: Was Robert Peel , who suddenly reversed himself on the Catholic issue and was roundly denounced and permanently distrusted by the Ultra Tory faction of die-hards. Earl Grey , prime minister from 1830 to 1834, and his rejuvenated Whig Party enacted a series of major reforms: the poor law was updated, child labour restricted and, most important, the Reform Act 1832 refashioned the British electoral system. In 1832 Parliament abolished slavery in

29177-413: Was a coalition of diverse interests, so in 1834 when it divided over the Irish church question he resigned. Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston played the dominant role in shaping British foreign-policy as Foreign Secretary (1830–1834, 1835–1841 and 1846–1851) and as prime minister (1855–1858, 1859–1865). He served as Secretary at War in Tory governments for two decades, but switched over to

29356-492: Was a deeply unpopular playboy. When he tried to get Parliament to pass a law allowing him to divorce his wife Queen Caroline , public opinion strongly supported her. After four decades of rule by Pittites and Tories the first breakthrough in reform came in the removal by a Tory government of restrictions on the careers of Protestant Nonconformists in the repeal in 1828 of the laws that required Anglican church membership for many academic and government positions. Much more intense

29535-471: Was a leading promoter of utilitarianism as a working philosophy of action. The "greatest happiness principle", or the principle of utility , forms the cornerstone of Bentham's thought. By "happiness", he understood a predominance of "pleasure" over "pain". He is best known for his inspiration of the radical forces, helping them define those reforms that were most urgently needed and how they could be implemented. His intellectual leadership helped achieve many of

29714-707: Was a necessity for the rapidly growing industrial cities still labouring under a hodgepodge of centuries-old laws and traditions. When Peel took over the Home Office , he abolished the espionage and cruel punishments, ended the death penalty for most crimes, and inaugurated the first system of professional police —who in London to this day are still called "Bobbies" in his honour. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 modernised urban government, which previously had been controlled by closed bodies dominated by Tories. Over 200 old corporations were abolished and replaced with 179 elected borough councils . Elections were to be based on registered voters, city finances had to be audited in

29893-452: Was a stalemate without purpose. A negotiated peace was reached at the end of 1814 that restored the prewar boundaries. British Canada celebrated its deliverance from American rule, Americans celebrated victory in a "second war of independence," and Britain celebrated its defeat of Napoleon. The treaty opened up two centuries of peace and open borders. Britain emerged from the Napoleonic Wars a very different country than it had been in 1793. As

30072-405: Was about 10%, the lowest in any modern nation. Foreign policy became moralistic and hostile to the reactionary powers on the continent, teaming up with the United States to block European colonialism in the New World through the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire. The Royal Navy stepped up efforts to stop international trade in slaves. Municipal reform

30251-424: Was always mistaken. He opposed wars and imperialism. His unremitting hostility to the Crimean war led to his defeat for reelection in 1857. He was soon reelected from Birmingham, leading a national campaign for parliamentary reform to enlarge the suffrage to reach the working man. He was intensely moralistic and distrusted the integrity of his opponents. He loathed the aristocracy that continued to rule Britain. He held

30430-445: Was an era of rapid economic modernisation and growth of industry, trade and finance, in which Britain largely dominated the world economy. Outward migration was heavy to the principal British overseas possessions and to the United States. With respect to other powers, the British remained non-aligned until the early 20th century when the growing naval power of the German Empire increasingly came to be seen as an existential threat to

30609-406: Was closely linked to the Church of England , and expressed its strong hostility toward Catholics and nonconformist Protestants by restricting their political and civil rights. The Catholic started to organise in Ireland, threatening instability or even civil war, and the moderates in Parliament emancipated them. The Nonconformists were similarly freed from their restrictions. In addition to reforms at

30788-405: Was declared again. Napoleon's plans to invade Great Britain failed, chiefly due to the inferiority of his navy, and in 1805 a Royal Navy fleet led by Nelson decisively defeated the French Imperial Navy and Royal Spanish Navy at Trafalgar , which was the last significant naval action of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees , which brought into effect

30967-438: Was not to upset Germany's status on the international platform. He did not wish to disrupt the League of the Three Emperors by choosing between Russia and Austria as an ally. To maintain peace in Europe, Bismarck sought to convince other European diplomats that dividing up the Balkans would foster greater stability. During the process, Russia began to feel cheated despite eventually gaining independence for Bulgaria. Problems in

31146-534: Was reached. This led to the creation of a new North-West Frontier Province . There were several decisive actions in the Second Anglo–Afghan War, from 1878 to 1880. Here are the battles and actions in chronological order. An asterisk (*) indicates a clasp was awarded for that particular battle with the Afghanistan Medal . In November 1878, at the start of the war, the British established three Field Forces – designated Peshawar Valley , Kurram Valley and Kandahar respectively – each of which invaded Afghanistan by

31325-415: Was reassembled under the banner of the Conservative Party. Numerous Tories, such as Lord Palmerston , switched over to the Whig opposition, and it became the Liberal Party . Constitutionally, the 1830s marks a watershed: the end of Crown control over the cabinet. King William IV in 1834 was obliged to accept a Prime Minister who had a majority in Parliament, and the Crown ever since has gone along with

31504-431: Was that he should seek terms of surrender from the British. He returned to Mazar-i-Sharif , where his health began to suffer, leading to his death on 21 February 1879. Before leaving for Afghan Turkestan, Sher Ali released the surviving governors of the Chahar Wilayat that he had previously imprisoned. Upon Sher Ali's arrival to Mazar-i-Sharif, Sher Ali promised them the return of their states if they had assisted against

31683-532: Was the immediate repeal of the hated laws. Wellington and Peel originally were opposed, but then tried to compromise. They finally gave, splitting the Tory party, and signaling that the once unstoppable power of the Anglican establishment was now unexpectedly fragile and vulnerable to challenge. Three men shaped British foreign policy from 1810 to 1860, with only a few interruptions, Viscount Castlereagh (especially 1812–1822). George Canning (especially 1807–1829) and Viscount Palmerston (especially 1830–1865). For

31862-414: Was the long battle over the civil rights of Roman Catholics. Catholic emancipation came in 1829, which removed the most substantial restrictions on Roman Catholics in Great Britain and Ireland. The Duke of Wellington, as Tory prime minister, decided that the surging crisis in largely Catholic Ireland necessitated some relief for the Catholics, although he had long opposed the idea. The other main Tory leader

32041-400: Was the unexpected repeal of the many restrictions on Catholics, after widespread organised protest by the Catholic Association in Ireland under Daniel O'Connell , with support from Catholics in England . Robert Peel was alarmed at the strength of the Catholic Association, warning in 1824, "We cannot tamely sit by while the danger is hourly increasing, while a power co-ordinate with that of

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