3. Queen Victoria

4. She ascended the throne in 1837 succeeding her uncle, William IV and became Queen of England She died in 1901 at the age of 82.

5. England became the world’s wealthiest nation Creation and expansion of the British Empire The world’s dominant colonial power.

6. What is a Reform Act? In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters. It is most commonly used for laws passed to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the British House of CommonsUnited KingdomBritish House of Commons

7. The Early period: 1832-1848 The First Reform Bill

8. Reform Act 1832Reform Act 1832, which gave representation to previously underrepresented urban areas and extended the qualifications for voting

9. The Act granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities that had sprung up during the Industrial Revolution, and took away seats from the "rotten boroughs"—those with very small populations. The Act also increased the number of individuals entitled to vote, increasing the size of the electorate by 50–80%, and allowing a total of one out of six adult males to vote, in a population of some 14 million. Industrial Revolutionrotten boroughsvote

10. Nevertheless…… Living and working conditions in the industrial cities of northern England were terrible. Considerable hardship, injustice, and unrest. In the early 1840s severe economic depression and widespread unemployment led to working –class protest and rioting.

11. Corn Laws Corn Laws used import tariffs to protect the price of grain for English farmers and landowners while making the price of bread and other foods intolerably high.

12. The Middle Period 1848-1870 England reached the height of its wealth and productivity. The System of Free Trade opened up the world markets for the diverse English goods. London became the world center for banking, insurance and shipping. An expanding new system of railways led to prosperity. Technological and scientific inventions.

13. The Crystal Palace

16. The middle of the 19th century saw The Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World's Fair, and showcased the greatest innovations of the century. At its centre was the Crystal Palace, a modular glass and iron structure - the first of its kind. The Great ExhibitionWorld's Fairthe Crystal Palace

17. The 2 nd Reform Bill The Reform Act 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act, and formally titled the Representation of the People Act 1867was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban working class in England and Wales. Before the bill, only one million of the five million adult males in England and Wales could vote; the act doubled that number. In its final form, the Reform Act of 1867 enfranchised all male householders and abolished compounding (the practice of paying rates to a landlord as part of rent). However, there was little redistribution of seats; and what there was had been intended to help the Conservative Party.British legislationEngland Wales 1867rates Conservative Party

18. The Late Period: 1870-1901 The Sun never sets on the British Empire. Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand Empress of India Ruyard Kipling New Imperialism spirit 1880-1914