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CHAPTER 14: DISRAELI AND THE CONSERVATIVES IN POWER - 1874-1880 - Coggle…
CHAPTER 14: DISRAELI AND THE CONSERVATIVES IN POWER - 1874-1880
Who was Disreali?
MP in 1837 => led the opposition to Peel about the Corn Laws repeal in 1846
++responsible for Reform Act of 1867 (franchise for the poor)
Jewish father but D was anglican
1st conservative gov to have real power since Peel + the Queen liked him much more than Gladstone
His social philosophy
2)
Helping the working-class
=> wrote
Sybil or the two nations
(1845), his ideology was named "One nation Toryism" => paternalistic vision, wanted to avoid uprising BUT without upseting the social hierarchy
3) Thought doing that would
unify the population
to form a nation and thus
strengthen monarchy and aristocracy
4)
Blamed Liberals
for critisizing establishment + weak foreign policy ("anti-national party")
1)
In favour of privilege and traditions
(institutions such as the Church, the Queen) but had to use their power wisely
Introduced
New conservatism
in his 1872 Crystal Palace speech:
5) Wanted to assert British power through the
Empire
His motives
Historian Paul Smith and Blake argues that D had
no social plan
at all but just
seized opportunities
(working class votes)
HWV
imposed sweeping changes
through his reforms (surprising bc conservative, laissez faire etc.) => working-class began to like the Conservatives
His social reforms
Trade Unions
Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act
(1875) =>
(:red_cross:Gladstone’s legislation) peaceful picketing became legal
Employers and Workmen Act
(1876) => employers and employees on an equal footing in cases of breaching contract.
The Merchant Shipping Act
(76) => in order to forbid merchants to make their boats sink on purpose to gain money.
The Poor
Public Health Act
(1875): gave local authorities precise indications on what they should do in order to improve public health (very effective)
Enclosures Act
(1876) => protected the public’s right to use the common pastureland
Imperialism and Disraeli
1876 => Q Victoria became Impress of India
1875 => made GB buy shares of the Suez Canal (no French monopoly) bc connection GB-India
1879 => against his will, GB fought in the Zulu war (Zulu vs Boers) and Lord Carnarvon (colo secret) wanted to benefit from the situation (protected the Boers of Transvaal => absorbed Transvaal in English-ruled territory) => not a popular attack (++deaths, unethical, expensive)
Historian Maw Beloff 1996 => not for profits but feeling of bringing progress + no special plan but excellent us of circumstances
~same thing during the Afghan Wars of the late 70s BUT D removed GB of Afghanistan (thus done for a lack of results)
D was an imperialist (Brit power through empire) + duty to bring civilization out there (R Kipling) + ally in case of a war [Gladstone => empire = unethical and very expensive]
against Home rule in Ireland + paid little attention to Irish claims (situation got worse)
The Eastern question
BUT became morally difficult bc ++violence vs Christians + Gladstone published pamphlet (1876) vs these slaughters => The British opinion turned in against the Turks
England feared Russian expansionism
=> violation of the treaty of Paris + Turkish were persecuting Christians => it was excuse for a potential intervention of Russia (hiding its imperialistic designs) => thus, D refused to support the Berlin memorandum of eastern powers (France, Prussia, Austria-Hungry, Italy), which denounced the extermination of Christians => Disraeli supportd the Ottoman Empire in order to prevent any Russian Invasion.
Russians waged war vs Ottomans (bc massacres) BUT when then got close from Constantinople, D threatened Russia => Russia accepted peace with the Ottoman Empire [Congress of Berlin (1878)] => Disraeli succeeded in imposing British views on everything => great achievement, outstanding negotiator
the 3 Empires (Austria, Germany and Russia) were not a dangerous coalition anymore since there were conflicts and oppositions (on Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire).
Why did the conservatives lose the elections?
Industry/agriculture = great crisis at the end of the 1880s =>
:arrow_down: unemployment, :arrow_down: of profits (next great depression);
-Mishandling of the Zulu war and the Afghan wars.
Gladstone was rising again.
Best assessment of Disraeli = to have unified the Conservative party => gave it a strong identity and modernized it (New Conservatism and Imperialism) + allowed the Conservative to gain the Working-class’ vote.