Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of Victoria (born on1865438+May 24th, 2009-died on 190 1 year 65438+1October 22nd).
Feminine charm, brilliant generation.
The longest-serving monarch in British history has been in power for 63 years. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to be called "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" and "Queen of India". Her 63-year reign (65438+June 20, 0837-190165438+1October 22) was the most powerful so-called "imperial empire" in Britain, and her rule lasted until her death and the beginning of the First World War (19
Queen Victoria, daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent. He ascended the throne on 1837 at the age of eighteen. At the beginning of her reign, she took an active part in politics, cooperated with the Prime Minister, Vicomte W Ram of Melbourne (1779 ~ 1848), and was inclined to the Whigs, which was incompatible with the Tories. After 1846, the Queen and her husband Prince Albert resolutely opposed the foreign policy of Foreign Secretary H.J. palmerston, forcing palmerston to resign. In the later period of his administration, he turned to the Conservative Party and became close friends with Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, actively supporting his colonial aggression policy.
Victoria became queen of India in 1876. 188 1 year, after the death of Prime Minister disraeli, he began to trust Salisbury and Chamberlain. 1887 and 1897, Britain held grand ceremonies to celebrate the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the Queen's accession to the throne, and took advantage of the Queen's popularity to consolidate the rule and internal unity of the British Empire when representatives from various imperial territories gathered in London for an imperial colonial conference. During the Victorian era, Britain changed from an ordinary European country to a powerful empire.
Childhood and family
Victoria's father is Edward, Duke of Kent (the fourth son of King George III), and her mother is Princess Victoria of Saxony-Coburg-Salfeld, Germany. 1865438+On May 24th, 2009, Victoria was born in Kensington Palace, London. At that time, her parents made a special trip from Bavaria, Germany to have their children born in London. Her parents went to great lengths to name her, and finally named her Queen Victoria, one in honor of the child's Russian godfather Alexander I, and the other in memory of her mother.
When Victoria was a baby, her father caught a cold after a hunting and died soon after, when Victoria was only eight months old. Victoria grew up in her mother's German environment, and was educated under the supervision of her uncle Leopold I (later king of Belgium) in her early years, and was influenced by liberalism for a long time. 1837, her uncle William IV, King of the British Empire and King of Hanover, died at the age of 18. Victoria immediately ascended the throne and became queen. At the same time, she gave the throne of Hanover to her uncle, and Hanover no longer belongs to Britain.
Queen Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha. Victoria gave birth to nine children, but three of the four Wang Zizhong's are hemophiliacs, because close relatives are married. Fortunately, all five princesses are healthy and beautiful, but they are also hemophiliacs. Because of their marriage with the European royal family, this terrible disease spread among the European royal families.
Queen Victoria doesn't like children. "Before they grow up," she said, "they are all ugly." Victoria especially hates her eldest son, Prince Edward of Wales. Mother persecutes her son everywhere, but Edward is patient everywhere. Later, Victoria almost banned the Prince of Wales from participating in government affairs, but Edward's trip to Europe and America was a great success and became a recognized political star in all countries.
Many descendants of Queen Victoria married members of the royal family in European countries. The eldest daughter Victoria became the queen of Frederick III of Germany. One of her grandchildren is German Emperor William II who started the First World War, and the other granddaughter is the Greek Queen. The second child was King Edward VII of England who later succeeded to the throne, and one of her granddaughters was the queen of King Haakon VII of Norway. Alice, the third child, became the princess of Prince Louis IV in Hesse, southwest Germany. One of her granddaughters is the queen of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, and the other granddaughter is the grandmother of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. The other three daughters, two of whom are Princess Baden-Powell in southern Germany and Prince Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. The other married the Duke of Scotland and later became the Governor-General of Canada. The sons all married princesses and princesses from Denmark, Russia and Germany. For this reason, Queen Victoria had become the "grandmother of Europe" before her death in 190 1. When Victoria was alive, there was a family photo with relatives of these famous grandchildren. I didn't expect the First World War to be fought between these relatives.
Queen Victoria and the Opium War
By the time Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, Britain had completed the capitalist industrial revolution. In order to meet the country's requirements of finding raw materials and selling markets, Britain began to establish colonies and dominions all over the world. 1840 British occupation of New Zealand marked the formation of British colonial system in the world.
Britain's ambition for China has a long history. The trade between Britain and China began with tea and silk trade. But these goods are luxury goods in the British market, and China's self-sufficient economic system makes the products of the British industrial revolution useless. In order to reverse the trade deficit with China, British businessmen began to dump opium with the support of the British government. 1839, Lin zexu destroyed opium in Humen, which dealt a heavy blow to the dumping policy of the British government. 1at the beginning of 840, Queen Victoria made a famous speech in Parliament, calling for a war against China "for the benefit of the British Empire". The first opium war began.
Iron fist rule and unprecedented prosperity
The Victorian period was the most glorious period of the British Empire's external expansion. In order to expand the territory, the queen spared no effort. And this is exactly what she learned from her husband: conspiracy, bribery, power, preemptive strike, military arrest. 1857, the competition between Britain and France for the dominance of the Suez Canal reached a feverish level, but a clever plot made Britain gain the controlling stake in the Suez Canal, and France had to give in. The following year, India was added to the territory of the British Empire colony, which is a jewel in the crown of the British Empire. Britain also made Russia's victory in the war against Turkey from 1877 to 1878 almost go up in smoke. At that time, the Russian army was only one step away from Istanbul, and Russia and Turkey signed an agreement to transfer some land in the Balkans to Russia. Victoria doesn't want to see Russian troops infiltrate the Balkans. She used military and diplomatic pressure to force Russia to make concessions.
During the reign of Queen Victoria, the British economy grew rapidly and became prosperous. When the Queen ascended the throne, there were only a few railways in Britain, but when she died, Britain already had a developed railway network connecting major cities. In order to show Britain's prosperity and strength, the first World Expo opened in London in 185 1 and became a world event at that time. In terms of culture and science, Charles Dickens, a world-famous English writer, and charles robert darwin, a British naturalist, are the most important figures in the Victorian era. Due to the continuous development of economy and industry, Victorian Britons gradually enjoyed the convenience of life brought by scientific and technological progress. The sewage system in London and the incandescent lamps on the streets of London were both realized during the reign of Queen Victoria. 189 1, that is, ten years before the Queen's death, Britain had implemented free education for all children.
Although Victorian Britain was a constitutional monarchy, Queen Victoria still had great influence on ministers. During her reign, the British empire expanded extremely and reached unprecedented prosperity. The Opium War, which deeply influenced China's history, also happened shortly after her accession to the throne. Today, many rivers, lakes, deserts, waterfalls, cities, ports, streets, parks, schools and buildings in the world are named after Victoria, including Victoria in Australia, Victoria City in Canada, Victoria Memorial Hall in Singapore, Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Victoria, the capital of Seychelles, and Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa.
Old age life
Queen Victoria had a good relationship with her husband Prince Albert, but in 186 1, the prince died in the middle age of the queen. At this time, Queen Victoria was widely respected by the British, and ministers began to take the initiative to ask her opinion. However, her husband's death made the queen very unhappy. She left London to live in seclusion for a long time. Even when she appears in public, she doesn't wear a crown and always dresses up as a widow. Because Victoria lived in seclusion for a long time, the Prime Minister could not ask the Queen for instructions on everything, so the power of the Prime Minister gradually increased, which made the British constitutional monarchy more perfect.
After a long period of seclusion, Queen Victoria became active again in the late1870s. 1897 The grand celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne greatly enhanced the prestige of the Queen and the royal family.
1900 65438+In February, Queen Victoria was in poor health, but she still insisted on going to the Isle of Wight, which was her favorite place with her late husband Albert. Many years ago, on this island, they were surrounded by lovely children. In this quiet place, the queen wrote a will and wrote down the details of her funeral. She ordered her to wear a white dress after she died. 190165438+1On October 22nd, Queen Victoria died in the Isle of Wight at the age of 82.
Historical evaluation
Queen Victoria's name symbolizes an era. During the reign of Victoria, the British people were United as never before, and Britain became a powerful empire, which continued to grow and develop. This is the best legacy left by the Queen to the British, and it is also the most powerful evaluation of her life achievements. Few women sitting on the throne can perform the duties of the queen and have such ordinary happiness like Victoria. The period of her rule, especially after 185 1 year, is called the Victorian era in British history. Her 60-odd years in office happened to be the transitional period from the rise of British liberal capitalism to its peak and then to monopoly capitalism. Britain is extremely powerful, with unprecedented economic and cultural prosperity, great development of science and art, and a fully mature constitutional monarchy. Queen Victoria's name has become a symbol of peace and prosperity in Britain. Many British people miss the Victorian era.