Victoria and the Empire
A global power1714 to 1901
Queen Victoria was reigning when the British Empire grew into the largest the world had ever seen, stretching across continents and colonies, with a population later estimated at more than 400 million.
Queen Victoria's reign lasted almost 64 years, longer than that of any monarch before her, a length of time that let the Victorian age put its stamp on the whole century.
Government and engineering both moved with the times, each reshaping daily life in its own way. The Corn Laws had once worked at preventing the import of cheap grain, until reform finally swept them away. On the railways, meanwhile, George and Robert Stephenson, father and son, pioneered the railway engine, work that carried transport, trade and travel forward through the rest of the period.
What to remember
| The British Empire in the Victorian age | an estimated population of more than 400 million people, the largest empire the world had seen The largest empire the world had seen; the figure is the handbook's own estimate. |
|---|---|
| Queen Victoria's reign | lasting almost 64 years, until 1901 She became queen at 18; the handbook (2013) calls it the longest reign of any British monarch. |
| The Corn Laws | preventing the import of cheap grain Repealed in 1846, one of the century's reforms. |
| Was reigning when the British Empire became the largest empire the world had seen | Queen Victoria Her reign is known as the Victorian Age. |
|---|---|
| Pioneered the railway engine | George and Robert Stephenson Father and son; the railways then expanded greatly in the Victorian period. |
Everything in A global poweror the whole course, from the beginning