From - QUEEN ANNE - To - QUEEN VICTORIA -

From the time of the Roman conquest, and still more decidedly after the Saxon invasions in the fifth century, the history of Britain branches off into a history of the southern part of the island, afterwards known as England, and a history of the northern part of the island, afterwards named Scotland. It was not till the union of the crowns in 1603 that the destinies of England and Scotland began again to unite; and it was not till the final union of the parliaments in 1707 that the histories of the two countries may be said to merge into one. From this latter period accordingly we shall give an outline of the history of the United Kingdom.

The measure which declared the parliaments of England and Scotland united, and the two countries one kingdom, known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was passed, after violent opposition, in the reign of Queen Anne, 1st of May, 1707. This union, however much it was opposed by the prejudices and interests of particular men or classes at the time, has contributed very much to the prosperity of both countries. The Grand Alliance, which it had been the aim of William's later years to form between Holland, Austria and England against the threatening growth of French power, now held the field against the armies of France, and the victories of Marlborough at Blenheim and Ramillies, and the taking of Gibraltar and Barcelona ended in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, by which the British right of sovereignty over Hudson's Bay, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Minorca, and Gibraltar was acknowledged, and the foundation of Britain's imperial and colonial power securely laid. The remainder of Anne's reign was distracted by the never-ending altercations of domestic parties. She died on the 1st of August, 1714; and with her ended the line of the Stuarts, who had held the sceptre of England 112 and that of Scotland 343 years.

At her death George I., elector of Hanover, maternally descended from Elizabeth, daughter of James I., according to the Act of Settlement ascended the throne of Britain. The Whigs under this prince regained that superiority in the national councils of which they had long been deprived, and this, along with the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act and some other extreme precautionary measures, increased the irritation of the Tory and Stuart party. In 1715 the Earl of Mar in Scotland and the Earl of Derwentwater in England raised the standard of rebellion and proclaimed the Chevalier St. George (the Old Pretender) king. But the insurrection, feebly supported by the people, was soon suppressed. In 1716 the Septennial Act was passed, making parliament of seven instead of three years' duration.

In 1720 occurred the extraordinary growth and collapse of the South Sea Company. From this date till 1742 the government was virtually in the hands of Sir Robert Walpole, the first, we might say, of modem premiers, governing the cabinet and chiefly responsible for its doings. Walpole had great sagacity, prudence, and business ability, and could manage dexterously the king, the parliament, and the people alike. It is true that in the case of the parliament he achieved this by undue influence in election and a scandalous use of bribery. But the power he thus acquired was generally wisely used. The failure of the war with Spain into which he had reluctantly entered drove him from office, and In 1742 his long ministry came to an end.

In 1743 George II., frightened at the dangers to Hanover, dragged Britain into the wars between France, Prussia and Austria, regarding the succession of the Emperor Charles. George himself fought at the head of his troops at Dettingen (1743), where he obtained a complete victory over the French, which was balanced, however, later on by the defeat at Fontenoy (1745).

A fresh attempt was now made to restore the Stuart family to the throne of Britain. Charles Edward, son of the Old Pretender, having been furnished by France with a small supply of money and arms, landed on the coast of Lochaber, in the Western Highlands, in 1745, and was joined by a considerable number of the people. Marching southwards with 1500 Highlanders, his forces increasing as he advanced, he entered Edinburgh without opposition; and having defeated Sir John Cope near Prestonpans he marched into England. He now took Carlisle, and advanced through Lancaster, Preston, said Manchester, to Derby, within 100 miles of London; but ending himself disappointed of expected succours from France, and the English Tories, contrary to his expectations, keeping aloof, he commenced his retreat into Scotland, closely pursued by the king's troops, whom he again defeated at Falkirk. With this victory his good fortune terminated. The Duke of Cumberland having arrived from the Continent put himself at the head of the forces which were destined to check the rebels; and the armies having met at Culloden, near Inverness, Charles was completely defeated. After lurking for six months amidst the wilds of Inverness-shire, he at length, with much difficulty, escaped to France.

The war of the Austrian succession, which still continued and which was the cause of hostilities between the French and British in India as well as elsewhere, was terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. During most of this period Pelham and his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, had been the ruling ministers, and in their hands the art of government had reached a low level both as regards morality and ability. In 1752 the New Style of reckoning time was introduced, and the Old Style being eleven days behind, the 3rd of September, 1752, was called the 14th. At the same time the 1st of January was fixed as the opening day of the year, instead of the 25th of March.

Soon after, the French, uneasy at the growing colonial power of Britain, made a determined effort against the British colonies and possessions in North America and the East Indies, and at first the British met with several disasters in America. In 1756 the Seven Years' War broke out Austria and France being allied on the one side, and Prussia and England on the other, and success attended the British arms in Europe also. Fortunately, a great war minister, William Pitt, now took the helm of state. In 1758 the British made them-selves masters of several French settlements in North America, while the attack made by Wolfe on Quebec in 1759 was completely successful, and gave Britain the whole of Canada. The same year the British and their allies defeated the French at Minden in Prussia. In the East Indies the French were even less successful than in America. Olive's victory at Plassey (1757) and Coote's at Wandewash (1760) secured the British empire in the East and together with the naval feats of Hawke and Boscawen made England the greatest of maritime and colonial powers.

On the accession of George III., in 1760 hostilities were still carried on, generally to the advantage of the French as far as the theatre of war in Germany was concerned, but still more to their loss in the other quarters of the world where they were engaged with the British in a struggle for supremacy, and this notwithstanding that Spain had now joined her forces to those of France. At length the success of the British arms induced France and Spain to accede to terms, and the war ended by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The French relinquished nearly all their possessions in North America; Minorca was restored to Britain; in the East Indies they got back their factories and settlements, on condition that they should maintain neither forts nor troops in Bengal; Cuba and Manila were resigned to the Spaniards in Europe everything was restored to the status quo.

The expenses of this war, which had been undertaken partly for the defence of the American colonies, had added upwards of £72,000,000 to the national debt It seemed to the British people to be just that the Americans should be taxed to assist in payment of the interest. The Americans did not deny the justice, but replied that if they were to be taxed they had a right to be represented in parliament, in order that, like other British subjects, they might be taxed only in consequence of their own consent. Grenville, then the prime-minister, stood to his purpose, however, and introduced a. bill for imposing certain stamp duties on the American colonies. The Americans protested and resisted, and partly by the influence of the great Pitt, who had steadily opposed the measure, the bill was withdrawn. On the illness of Pitt, now Lord Chatham, in 1767, Townshend became premier, and again revived the project of taxing the Americans by imposing duties on tea; and in 1770 Lord North, as his successor, set himself to carry it out. The result was that in 1775 America had to be declared in a state of rebellion, and a war began, in which both France and Spain joined the revolted colonies, and of which the result was the recognition of the independence of the United States. On the American side of this struggle the great name is that of George Washington. On the British side the war was unskillfully conducted, and though they gained some success these were more than counterbalanced by such blows as the capitulation of Burgoyne with nearly 6000 men at Saratoga(1777), and Cornwallis at Yorktown with 7000 (1781). Against their European foes the British could show such successes as that of Admiral Rodney off Cape St.Vincent (1780); the brilliant deface of Gibraltar by General Eliott (1779 - 82); and Admiral Rodney's victory over the French fleet in the West Indies (1782). The war closed with the Peace of Versailles in 1783. Britain finally acquired several West Indian islands; Spain got Florida and Minorca, France Pondicherry and Chandernagore in India The struggle had added over £100,000,000 to the British national debt.

From 1788 to 1801 the government of Britain was directed by William Pitt, the younger son of Lord Chatham, who when only twenty-four years of age was placed as first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. The affairs of Ireland and India, and the Impeachment of Warren Hastings, were among the first subjects which occupied the attention of Pitt's ministry. In 1782 the Irish had been able to extort from Britain, then engaged in her struggle with the American colonies, the right to establish an independent parliament, so that from this year there were two independent governments in the British Isles till 1800, when Pitt, who had in the interval had some experience of the difficulties arising out of two co-ordinate legislatures, contrived once more to unite them.

In 1789 the French Revolution was begun. For a time there was considerable sympathy in England with this movement; but as the revolutionaries proceeded to extreme measures there was a reaction in English feeling, of which Edmund Burke became the great exponent, and the execution of Louis XVI gave rise to diplomatic measures, which finally terminated in the National Convention declaring war against Britain, on let February, 1793.8. At first Britain co-operated with Prussia, Austria, &c., against France, and successes were gained both by sea and land; but latterly on the Continent the armies of the French Republic were everywhere triumphant, and in 1797 Britain stood alone in the conflict and Indeed soon found a European coalition formed against her. The war was now largely maritime, and the naval successes of Jervis off St. Vincent and Duncan off Camperdown were followed, when Bonaparte, led an expedition to Egypt, having India as its ultimate object, by the victories of Nelson in Aboukir Bay, and Abercromby at Alexandria. In 1798 a rebellion in Ireland had to be crushed. Peace was made in 1802 by the Treaty of Amiens, only to be broken by another declaration of war in 1803, as the ambitious projects of Napoleon became evident. In spite of the efforts of Pitt (who died in 1806) in the way of formation and supporting with funds a new coalition against France, the military genius of Napoleon swept away all opposition on land, though naval victory of Trafalgar (1805) established England's supremacy on the seas. Napoleon, who had assumed the title of Emperor of the French in 1805, and was now virtually the ruler of Europe, put forth his Berlin decrees (1807), prohibiting all commerce with Britain wherever his power reached, set his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, and occupied Portugal. But the spirit of resistance had now taken deep root in the British people, and in 1808 troops were sent into Spain under Sir John Moore, and a year later Wellington, then General Wellesley, landed in Portugal. Then began that famous series of successful operations (the Peninsular War) which drove back the French into their on country, and powerfully contributed to undermine the immense fabric of Napoleon's conquests. The other chief European powers having united, Paris was occupied in 1814, Napoleon was deposed and exiled to Elba, and Louis XVIII. placed on the throne of France Escaping in 1815, Napoleon appeared once more in the field with a large army. Wellington and Blucher hastened to oppose him, and at Waterloo Napoleon's long career of conquest ended in a crushing defeat. The restoration of Louis followed, and Napoleon was sent to the prison of St. Helena. Of her conquests Britain retained Tobago, St. Lucia, Mauritius, the Cape of Good Hope, Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice, Heligoland, and Malta; Ceylon and Trinidad had been gained in 1802. So that Britain emerged from this long struggle with a very great increase of territorial possessions and political importance.

After the termination of the wars with Napoleon many things concurred to make a troublous era in the home administration. The new burden of debt which the wars had left on the nation, the bad harvests of 1816 and 1817, a succession of governments which had no idea but that of absolute resistance to all reforms, all these contributed to increase discontent. The result was a strong Radical agitation, accompanied often by serious riots throughout the country, more especially in the large towns, and loud demands for reform in parliament and the system of representation. The death of George III. and accession of George IV. in 1820 made little change in this respect. From 1822 a succession of able statesmen, Canning, Peel, arid lord Grey, gave the government a more liberal turn, and did much to satisfy the popular demands. The Catholics were admitted to parliament; the severity of the old restrictions on commerce was relaxed; and in the face of a determined opposition Earl Grey carried the Reform Bill of 1832 (two years after the accession of William IV.), which gave large manufacturing towns a voting power in one proportion to their importance, and practically transferred the centre of political power from the aristocratic to the middle classes. The next great public measure was the abolition of Negro slavery in every British possession in 1834.

William IV. died June 20, 1837, and was succeeded by Victoria. The year following is notable as that in which the Chartists began their movement for reform, which continued more or less active, with popular assemblies, presentations of monster petitions, and occasional tumults, till 1848, when it was without much trouble suppressed. The same years saw the struggle the Anti-Corn-law league, of which Cobden and Bright were the chiefs, and which was finally successful; Sir Robert Peel, the leader of the Tory party, himself proposing the repeal of the corn duties (1846). The principle of free-trade had further victories in the repeal of the navigation laws, and in the large abolition of duties made during Lord Aberdeen's minis-try (1853)

In 1852 - 53 dissension arose between Russia and Turkey regarding the rights of the Latin and Greek churches to preferable access to the ' holy places ' in Palestine. The Emperor of Russia, resenting concessions made to French devotees, sent Prince Menschikoff to Constantinople to demand redress, and not being satisfied, war was declared, June 26, 1853. On the plea that it was impossible to leave Russia a free hand in dealing with Turkey, France and Britain formed an alliance against Russia, March 23, 1854. The invasion of the Crimea followed; several important battles (Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman ) took place, resulting in favour of the allies, till at length Sebastopol fell (1855), and peace was signed the following year at Paris. Russia ceded a part of Bessarabi to Turkey, and consented to the free navigation of the Danube and the neutrality of the Black Sea.

Scarcely was the Crimean war over when Britain was threatened with the loss of her possessions in India, through the mutiny of the Sepoys. For a time the authority of government was entirely suspended throughout the greater part of Bengal, the whole of Oude, and a large portion of Central India; but in a comparatively short time 70,000 British troops, poured in from Burmah, Mauritius, the Cape, and elsewhere, entirely suppressed the rebellion. One result of the mutiny was that, by a bill passed Aug. 2, 1858, the sovereignty hitherto exercised over the British possessions in India by the East India Company was transferred to the British crown.

Two wars with China (1858 and 1860), during which Canton was bombarded and Pekin taken by united forces of Britain and France, opened up five new Chinese ports to trade, with other advantages. The great civil war in America occurred between 1861 and 1866, and had for a time a disastrous effect on the cotton-trade in Lancashire, causing wide-spread distress. Between 1861 and 1867 the Fenian movement, which had for its object the separation of Ireland from the United Kingdom, occasioned some excitement.

Parliamentary reform was attempted by several governments without success, until the government of the Earl of Derby in 1867 passed a measure establishing the principle of household suffrage. This year also saw the passing of the act by which the Dominion of Canada was constituted. In 1867 the Abyssinian expedition set out, and effected its object - the relief of English captives in the spring of 1868. In the same year Lord Derby was succeeded by Mr. Disraeli as leader of the Conservative party, then in office. Before the end of the year a general election put the Liberals in power. In 1869 Mr. Gladstone's administration passed a bill for the disestablishment of the Irish Church. In 1870 an Irish Land Law Bill, having for its object the regulation of the relations between landlord and tenant, became law; and during the same session the act of parliament establishing a national system of education for England was passed. In 1871 the purchase of commissions in the army was abolished. Next followed the Ballot Act and the Scotch Education Act. Early in 1874 Mr. Gladstone dissolved Parliament, and a large Conservative majority being returned, Mr. Disraeli ( afterwards Earl of Beaconsfleld ) again became premier. The Ashantee war, begun the previous year, was brought to a successful termination early in 1874. In 1876 the title of Empress of India was added to the titles of the queen. During the Russo -Turkish war of 1877 - 78 Britain remained neutral, but took an important part in the settlement effected by the Berlin Congress, and acquired from Turkey the right to occupy and administer Cyprus. Then followed. war in Afghanistan, a war with the Kaffres of Zululand, and a brief war with the Boers of the Transvaal.

A new parliament was returned in 1880 with a large liberal majority and Mr. Gladstone once more became premier. This parliament passed a land-act for Ireland (1881), an act for putting down crime in Ireland (1882), a reform act equalizing the borough and county franchise (1884), and a redistribution of seats act (1885), both already described. The intervention of Britain in Egyptian affairs led to the bombardment of Alexandria by the British fleet (July, 1882), and the sending of an army into Egypt to quell the rebellion headed by Arabi Pasha which was soon accompanied; while the rising under the Mahdi in the Soudan caused British troops to be dispatched to Suakim, and another force to be sent by way of the Nile (in the autumn of 1884) to relieve General Gordon at Khartoum, an object which it was too late to accomplish. A new parliament was elected in the end of 1885, and for a brief period Lord Salisbury was premier, as he had latterly been in the preceding parliament, but in Feb. 1886, he made way for Mr. Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone, being now in favour of Irish Home Rule, introduced a bill which was to establish a separate Irish legislative body and withdraw the Irish members from the imperial Parliament. A section of the Liberal party then acted with the Conservatives, and the bill was thrown out on its second reading. The Gladstone ministry resigned, and a general election gave the Unionists, or those opposed to the bill, a great majority. The Marquis of Salisbury again became prime minister. The general election of 1892 brought Mr. Gladstone once more into power, but he retired in 1894, and was succeeded by Lord Rosebery. In 1895 he gave place to Lord Salisbury, the Unionists having again obtained a very large majority. In 1900 the Unionist government appealed to the country on their South African War policy, and received a majority of over 130. Queen Victoria died on Jan. 22, 1901, and was succeeded by her eldest son Edward VII.