-
King William died and Victoria becomes queen at age 18
She became heir when her father, prince Edward died and her uncles George IV and William IV had no surviving children. -
Period: to
The Opium wars
The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid 19th century involving China and the British Empire over the British trade of opium and China's sovereignty. The clashes included the First Opium War and the Second Opium War. The wars between them weakened the Qing dynasty and forced China to trade with the other parts of the world. -
Free trade
Britain abandoned mercantilism and committed its economy to free trade. After ending the Corn Laws, which were agricultural on domestic grain. The British market opened to unfettered competition, grain prices fell and food became more plentiful. -
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert
Albert and Victoria felt mutual affection and the Queen proposed to him five days after he had arrived at Windsor. They were married in the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace in London. -
Mines and Collieries Act
Mines and Collieries act was an act of the parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibited all girls and boys under ten years old from working in underground coal mines. It was a response to the working conditions of children revealed in the children's employment commission 1842 report. -
Assassination attempt on Queen Victoria
Prince Albert and Queen Victoria rode together in their open carriage after attending a Sunday morning service at the royal chapel at St. James’s Palace.John Francis pulled the trigger, but the weapon failed to fire.The gunman then tucked his pistol underneath his coat and disappeared. -
Treaty of Nanking
The Treaty of Nanking was a peace treaty that ended the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and the Qing dynasty of China. It was the first of what the Chinese later called the unequal treaties. -
Britain claims the Boer republic of Natal as a British colony
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia and the Boers accepted British annexation under military pressure. -
The Factory Act
Parliament passed a the act which in effect was the first health and safety act in Britain. All dangerous machinery was to be securely fenced off, and failure to do so regarded as a criminal offence. No child or young person was to clean mill machinery while it was in motion. -
Railways in Britain
The first passenger railway opened between Stockton and Darlington. There were 5000 miles of railways in Britain. Railways provided a great boost to other industries ad iron and revolutionized transport. -
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition was a temporary structure that was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park in London. It was the first in a series of exhibitions of culture and industry that became popular in the 19th century and it was a much anticipated event. -
The Crimean War
The Crimean War was a military conflict fought in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land that was a part of the Ottoman Empire. -
Broad Street cholera outbreak
The Broad Street cholera outbreak was a severe outbreak of cholera that occurred in the City of Westminster, London and occurred during the cholera pandemic happening worldwide. This outbreak killed 616 people. -
Queen Victoria is crowned Empress of India
Queen Victoria Becomes Empress of India when India was already under crown control after 1858, but this title was a gesture to link the monarchy with the empire further and bind India more closely to Britain -
Government of India Act
The Government of India Act was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company and the transference of its functions to the British Crown. -
Death of Prince Albert from Typhoid
Albert's doctors diagnosed him with typhoid fever. Albert died at the Blue Room at Windsor Castle in the presence of the Queen and five of their nine children. -
Second Reform Act
The Representation of the People Act was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first time. -
Capital Punishment Amendment Act
The Capital Punishment Amendment Act put an end to public executions for murder in the United Kingdom.The act required that all prisoners sentenced to death for murder be executed within the walls of the prison in which they were being held, and that their bodies be buried in the prison grounds. -
Public Schools Act
Public school act was enacted by the British Parliament to reform and regulate seven of the leading English boarding schools of the time, also educating many sons of the English upper and upper-middle classes on a fee-paying basis. -
Royal Albert Hall
This magnificent concert hall was built among other series of facilities that were built in the London area for the englightenment of the public. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in it has become one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings. -
Britain Purchases the Suez Canal
Britain purchased Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal as the African nation was forced to raise money to pay off its debts. This was characteristic of Britain's world power status. -
Anglo-Zulu War
Anglo-Zulu War was a decisive six-month war in South Africa, resulting in British victory over the Zulus. The British were interested in Zulula because of their desire for the Zulu population to provide labour in the diamond fields of Southern Africa, their plan to create a South Africa federation in the region, and Boer land claims on territory held by the Zulu kingdom. -
Education Act
If the laws specified minimum requirements to be attained before a child could leave school, it was illegal to employ a child under thirteen who did not not satisfy one or the other requirement. The Act therefore removed uncertainty on whether children being educated 'half-time' under the educational provisions of the Factory Acts were thereby excluded from the scope of the Elementary Education Act. -
Married Women’s Property Act
The Married Women's Property Act was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly altered English law regarding the property rights of married women, which allowed married women to own and control property in their own right. -
Queen Victoria Dies
Victoria was 81 years old and had served as Britain's Queen for almost 64 years. She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren including her son, who would succeed her as King Edward VII.