ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned wit a shorter period than any of the foregoing chapters. But the decade which followed the resignation of Lord Rosebery also saw one of the most remarkable political developments of British history – the emergence of a completely new political party. The Conservative Party, too, went through an extraordinary recovery, followed by an apparent collapse, in 1905, from which they did not recover until 1922. During this same period the Liberal Party, which had appeared to be irrevocably split over the issue of Home Rule, recovered to form, in 1905, possibly the most important ministry in its history. This chapter examines these political developments, and the sources section offers an opportunity to consider the Conservative and Labour Parties. It also deals with the continuities of imperial and foreign policy, and the Skills section is about the war in South Africa. Historical background
The election of 1895
The Conservative Party in the late nineteenth century
Local government and other reforms
The birth of the Labour Party
The trade unions
The death of Queen Victoria
The ‘khaki’ election
Tariff reform and the election of 1905
The ‘Scramble for Africa’
The Boer War, 1899–1902
The end of isolation?
EssaysLord Salisbury as prime minister
The last years of Queen Victoria
The Conservatives in the last years of the nineteenth century
The birth of the Labour Party
The end of ‘Splendid Isolation’
The ‘Scramble for Africa’
The Boer War
The Conservative defeat of 1905–6
SourcesThe Conservative Party in the late nineteenth century
The beginnings of the Labour Party
Historical skillsThe rights and wrongs of the Boer War
Research exercises
Role play
Chronology|
1895 |
https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315013008/383896ad-41d8-4510-9d94-e2681f8a6c94/content/inline_39_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> |
June, resignation of Rosebery and Liberals. Lord Salisbury as prime minister |
|
1895 |
July, Conservative election victory |
|
|
1895 |
Red Flag Act |
|
|
1895 |
Ashanti War |
|
|
1896 |
Rating relief for rural areas |
|
|
1896 |
Venezuela crisis |
|
|
1896 |
Beginning of war in the Sudan |
|
|
1897 |
Diamond Jubilee |
|
|
1897 |
Direct Grants Act for education |
|
|
1898 |
Battle of Omdurman, dervishes defeated |
|
|
1898 |
German Naval Law began naval arms race |
|
|
1898 |
Fashoda incident |
|
|
1899 |
London divided into 28 metropolitan boroughs |
|
|
1899–1902 |
Boer War |
|
|
1900 |
General election: ‘khaki election’; Conservative Victory |
|
|
1900 |
Boxer rebellion in China |
|
|
1901 |
Taff Vale case |
|
|
1901 |
Death of Queen Victoria |
|
|
1902 |
Balfour’s Education Act |
|
|
1902 |
Colonial conference: issue of tariff reform raised |
|
|
1902 |
Anglo-Japanese alliance |
|
|
1902 |
Salisbury’s retirement, replaced by Balfour as prime minister |
|
|
1903 |
Motor Act |
|
|
1903 |
State visit of Edward VII to Paris |
|
|
1904 |
Licensing Act |
|
|
1905 |
Entente Cordiale |
|
|
1905 |
Building of first Dreadnought battleship |
|
|
1905 |
December, general election: Liberal victory |
|
|
1906 |
Liberal ministry took office |
