1867 Reform Act. (Second Reform Act). Before the Act only one million of the seven million adult males in England and Wales could vote. The Act immediately doubled that number. PM Palmerston who had long opposed franchise reform died in 1865. Reformers were also emboldened by the success of the Union in the American Civil War; the English aristocracy had largely supported the South. Lord Russell attempted a bill in 1866 but the Liberals split through the incitement of Disraeli. Adullamites (Conservative Liberals) were opposed along with the Tories whereas Liberals were supported by radicals and reformers (Walter Bagehot, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle, Anthony Trollope). Conservative ministry formed under Lord Derby while the Reform League advocating universal suffrage held huge demonstrations (100,000 strong) in Manchester, Glasgow. Finally, in May 1867 a Hyde Park demonstration forced the hand of government; Spencer Walpole resigns as Home Secretary. Gladstone attacks the Tory bill and forces amendments. Disraeli predicts that the newly enfranchised electorate being grateful would re-elect the Tories but they lost the 1868 General Election.
!872 Ballot Act. Greatly reduces the cost of campaigning; introduces secret ballot for the first time, one of the six points of the Chartists.
1884 Reform Act. (Third Reform Act). All men holding land or paying a rental worth £10 were now entitled to vote. In England and Wales 2 in 3 had the vote, in Scotland 3 in 5, in Ireland only 1 in 2. All women and 40% of adult males were still without the vote.
1918 Reform Act (Fourth Reform Act). Abolished all disqualifications for men over 21 and gave the vote to all women over 30 with minimal property qualification. The size of the electorate now tripled with women representing 43% of the electorate.
Egypt
1879 - 1882 Urabi Revolt; a nationalist uprising which sought to depose the British and French backed Khedive, Tewfik Pasha. Egyptian peasantry, the fellahin were heavily taxed and middle class Egyptians were pushed out of top jobs by Europeans who had separate legal system established to try themselves.
1882 Urabi and his household by Lady Gregory supports the reformers. Originally published as letter to the Times.
British intervention in the invasion of 1882 to protect the Suez, prevent 'anarchy' and to look after the interests of British investors. See Juan Cole, Colonialism and Revolution in Egypt: the Social and Cultural Origins of the Urabi Revolt. (1993). Under Nasser the revolt would be seen as a 'glorious struggle' against foreign occupation. Urabi was captured and exiled to the British colony of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Yaqub Sanu (1839-1912), Egyptian nationalist exiled to France continued to publish satirical journalism deploring foreign occupation.
Ghana
1823-1831 First Anglo-Ashanti War
1863-1864 Second Anglo-Ashanti War
1873-1874 Third Anglo-Ashanti War. In 1871 Britain purchased the Dutch Gold Coast from Holland including Elmina which was claimed by the Ashanti. Under Garnet Wolseley British won Battle of Amoaful (31st Jan) and Battle of Ordashu (4th Feb). The capital Kumasi briefly abandoned by the Ashanti and burned by the British. Correspondents were impressed by the palace and the 'rows of books in many languages'. 50,000 ounces of gold demanded from the Ashanti king in the subsequent treaty.
1895-1896 Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War. Ashanti wished to keep German and British forces out of their territory (and its gold). War started on pretext of non-failure to honour the exploitative terms of the earlier treaty. Leadership exiled to the Seychelles.
1900 Fifth Anglo-Ashanti War (War of the Golden Stool) led by Queen Yaa Asantewaa. 1902 Ashanteland made a protectorate of the British Crown.
Sudan
1820 Muhammed Ali Pasha nominal vassal of Ottoman Turks conquered northern Sudan with the south annexed under his grandson Ismail Pasha. In 1869 the opening of the Suez canal attracted attention of the Great Powers and when Ismail Pasha ran up large debts in the 70's mainly on account of the fall in the price of cotton after the American Civil war he was displaced from the throne in 1879 by his son Tewfik Pasha at the instigation of Britain and France much to the consternation of Egyptian nationalists. Muhammed ibn Abdalla, the Mahdi or 'Guided One' took advantage of the Anglo-Egyptian war and with some support from Egyptian nationalists attempted to impose an Islamic government leading to the death of General Gordon at Khartoum in 1885. Succeeded by his son, Abdallahi ibn Muhammed. From 1885-1898 the population of Sudan collapsed from 8 million to 3 million due to famine, disease, war and persecution. After the battles of Abdara and Omdurman led by Kitchener the British forced Abbas II (Tewfik's son and successor) to accept complete British control in the Sudan. Officially Britain's role was only an advisory one in Egypt but behind the scenes they pulled all the strings.
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