1. Age of Reforms Liberal Reforms in Great Britain and its Empire

2. Reforms of the 1800’s  Liberals helped enact numerous reforms to protect individuals’ political and civil liberties. Reforms focused on:  Suffrage: the rite to vote  Correcting social and economic problems  Abolition of slavery and slave trade.  Voting Restrictions  The only people who could vote owned property.  Voted in open (Bribes or Intimidation)  Only men who owned a lot of property could be member of the House of Commons.  No Catholics, Jews, or Dissenters could hold office.

3. Reform Bill of 1832  Catholic Emancipation Act: allowed Roman Catholics to serve in Parliament if they recognized Protestant monarch as ruler of Great Britain.  Reform Bill of 1832: took seats in House of Commons away from less populated areas and gave them to industrial cities.  People with less property could vote  Liberal Party is formed: mix of Tory and Whigs  Conservative Party: Tory Party of wealthy landowners

4. Economic Changes  Factory Act of 1833: reforming horrible working conditions of women and children.  Slavery was abolished in all British colonies.  Free public education  Eliminated Unpopular Corn Laws:  Taxes on grain imported by Britain enabling landowners to sell their grain at high prices.  High prices or starve

5. Chartist Movement  William Lovett demanded universal male suffrage and secret ballot.  People’s Charter:  Universal mall suffrage and secret ballot  Electoral districts redrawn in order to equalize parliamentary representation.  Salaries for members of Parliament  Supporters of Lovett were called Chartists  Chartist Movement in long run  Doubled the number of British voters  Most urban and industrial workers could Now vote (women cannot).

6.  Queen Victoria: queen for 63 years (Victorian Age)  Gave prime ministers free hand (Did not interfere) They were:  Benjamin Disraeli: twice served as prime minister  Guiding foreign affairs and expanding Britain’s empire.  Second term, gained control of Suez Canal (Empress of India).  William Gladstone: served four terms as prime minister  Concerned with domestic and financial affairs  Education Act of 1870: national elementary education system for a small fee and free by 1891.  Began to use secret ballot  Voting districts redrawn

7. Reforms of the 1900’s  Fabin Society: improve society through social ideas and education.  Helped workers with frustration with liberal and conservatives  Herbert Asquith: prime minister and member of liberal party (1905).  Set up old-age pensions, health insurance, and unemployment insurance.  Suffragettes: women who campaigned for their right to vote.  Emmeline Pankhurst: leader of Suffragettes  Petitioned Parliament and demonstrated  Not won until WW1.

8. Other Areas of the British Empire Canada:  1830’s, a depression, unemployment, and crop failures led to failed uprisings.  Lord Durham: broad powers to reform Canada government  Keep colonies in Empire but grant them self-government  British Upper Canada and French Lower Canada  North America Act in 1867: creating Dominion of Canada with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.  Purchased Northwest Territories making Manitoba a province  Yukon Territory: Gold  Pacific Railway=immigration=Alberta and Saskatchewan

9. Australia  Used as penal colony  Convicts who served sentences could stay in Australia and own land.  1800’s: lawless Australia (Immigrants, ex-con’s, and gangs clashed).  Death due to diseases from Europeans  British claimed entire continent in 1829.

10. New Zealand  Maori: original inhabitants of New Zealand  Signed a treaty with British which gave them control  British Parliament granted New Zealand a constitution (Self- governing colony).  Hurt by European settlement due to:  Fights over land  Warfare and disease  Discovery of gold (Brought immigrants)  1 st country in world to grand women Right to vote.