British History 1856-1914

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The Crimean War

1854 - 1856

A European war fought to maintain who held power.

The Peace of Paris

1856

The peace after the Crimean War.
Palmerston, the new British Prime Minister, wanted Russia to meet the terms he set, so to damage them.

American Civil War

1861 - 1865

A war fought between the northern states and the southern states. The main reason for the war was the disagreement to whether slavery should be abolished.

The German Empire emerges.

1871

France lost the Franco-Prussian war which led to Germany's new empire being formed.

The Suez Canal Shares

1875

The Rothschild family secretly loaned Disraeli £4 million so that he could purchase 44% of the Suez Canal in Egypt.

The Treaty of Berlin

1878

Disraeli held pre-congress meetings to make sure what he wanted happened, influencing the other countries to drop their support for ideas that disagreed with his plan e.g. Russia had supported increasing Bulgaria but withdrew this as Disraeli wanted Bulgaria to be dismembered.

The Treaty of San Stephano

1878

A treaty between Russia and Turkey after the Russo-Turkish war.

The First Boer War

1881

The Boers tried to fight for their independence.

The occupation of Egypt

1882 - 1922

In 1882 there was a Nationalist revolt. The Suez Canal had to be protected so an Anglo-French invasion force was called for but only British troops arrived. Britain remained in control of Egypt until 1922.

Jameson Raid

1895

Dr Starr Jameson, the British colonial administrator took 500 troops to Transvaal in an attack. Cecil Rhodes was supporting him. He hoped the raid would create an uprising against the Boers but this backfired and the raid was a disaster.

The Battle of Omdurman

1898

General Kitchener, the Chief of Staff in the second Boer War defeated a Sudanese army at Omdurman.

The Fashoda Incident

9/18/1898

Britain aimed to link Uganda and Egypt by building a railway and France aimed to conquer the Sudan. The British troops and French troops both met at Fashoda as they both wanted to occupy the area. In the end they just decided to put both their flags and the Egyptian flag upon the fort they were using.

The Second Boer War

1899 - 1902

A war between the British and the Boers over who should own South Africa. The British won.

Anglo-Japanese Treaty

1/30/1902

This was an alliance between Britain and Japan with six terms.

The Anglo-French Entente

1904

(Entente Cordiale) It gave security against Germany and it granted Britain to act in Egypt and for France to act in Morocco.

The first Moroccan Crisis

1905 - 1906

Morocco was not ran by Britain and was instead run by a Sultan. Kaiser Wilhelm showed his support for the sultan and this angered France and Britain. France wanted to split Morocco with Spain.

The Anglo-Russian Entente

1907

Britain and Russia settled that neither country could interfere with Russia,and it recognised that Britain has influence over Afghanistan.

The Bosnian Annexation

1908 - 1909

Austria-Hungary got permission to occupy Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, they annexed their provinces which was not agreed on.

The second Moroccan Crisis

1911

France claimed that rebels in Morocco had planned an uprising. France then sent troops to the capital, Fez. Germany said that they had lied about the rebels and had only wanted to gain access to Morocco.

The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand

6/28/1914

Seven Bosnian Serbs attempted to assassinate Ferdinand but failed however later on, Ferdinand's car stopped by one of the boys and the boy shot him.

Historical People

Joseph Chamberlain

1836 - 1914

Chamberlain never became Prime Minister but was the Mayor of Birmingham from 1873 to 1875 and then it's MP in 1876. He then became the Colonial secretary in 1895. His aim was to increase Britain's empire.

Viscount Palmerston is foreign secretary

1846 - 1851

Lord Kitchener

1850 - 1916

Kitchener was Chief of Staff in the Boer War for two years and commanded forces in India. He was appointed war minister but sadly drowned after his ship sunk as he journeyed to Russia.

Viscount Palmerston is Prime Minister

1855 - 1865

He won the election three times but died shortly after his third win in 1865.

Otto Von Bismark is the Prime Minister of Prussia

1862 - 1890

Bismark was the first chancellor of the new German empire and aimed to strengthen Germany using alliances.

Rudyard Kipling

1865 - 1936

Rudyard Kipling was born in India but moved to England for schooling. He was awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1907 and he campaigned for preserving the British empire.

Benjamin Disraeli is Prime Minister

1868 - 1880

He was leader of the conservative party and was a particular favourite of Queen Victoria who gave him the title of Earl of Beaconsfield. He came from a rich, Jewish background but was baptised into the Angelican Church.

William Ewart Gladstone is Prime Minister

1868 - 1894

Gladstone favoured peace and wanted to keep the balance of power. He believed that Britain had a right and responsibility to rule it's empire.

Lord Salisbury is Prime Minister

1885 - 1892

Robert Arthur Cecil Salisbury was a Conservative and had tried to disassociate Britain with foreign alliances.

Willhelm II is Kaiser

1888 - 1918

Kaiser Wilhelm was Germany's final Kaiser as Hitler forced him to abdicate in 1918. He had a strict upbringing and took over the throne after Fredrick II died. He wrote two volumes of memoirs during the 1920s.

Cecil Rhodes established Southern Rhodesia

1890

Rhodes wanted to create a Great British empire in Africa. He began with the British South Africa Company and pushed upwards.

Sir Edward Grey is the Foreign Secretary

1905 - 1916

Grey was part of the Liberal party and held the longest continuous term as Foreign Secretary. His aims were to secure the balance of power and not to stabilize Britain's empire.