AD 1750-1900 The Industrial Age

England began the period as an agriculturally-based economy with cottage industries and ended it as the first great industrial world power. The Industrial Revolution caused a shift in the country’s industrial base from the South to the Midlands and the North where there was iron and coal, and led to the rise of manufacturing cities like Manchester.

From the late 17th to the mid-19th century AD, parliamentary government was divided between the Whigs (roughly liberal) and Tories (roughly monarchical and Anglican), both led by aristocrats. In spite of sometimes violent radical challenges, especially during the French Revolution and from the Chartists in the 1840s, there was relative political stability. This was helped by reforms of the electoral and criminal justice systems and improvements to conditions in mines and factories during the 19th century.

Social mobility increased but there were still extremes of wealth and poverty. Workers began to organise themselves into associations, which were to lead to the creation of the Labour Party. In spite of a relatively small population, England was a dominant military power for most of the period, whose army and navy were able to defeat Napoleon and maintain a far-flung empire. By the end of Victoria’s long reign (1837-1903) England’s economy and her power were no longer pre-eminent.