How a tiny island and its queen came to possess an empire so large that the sun never set on it
“Britain had the might, ingenuity and limitless ambition to conquer the world”
The date was 22 January 1901 and the British Empire was the largest of any in human history, but the monarch who reigned over it would not live to see another day. As Queen Victoria lay dying in Osborne House on the Isle of Wight she looked back on a reign that spanned over 63 years. She had seen her empire grow from a collection of scattered isles, separated by vast plains of lands and insurmountable oceans, to the greatest the world had known. It had reached over India, plucked its riches and set the nation as the glimmering jewel in Victoria’s crown. It had butchered its way mercilessly across Africa at the cost of countless natives who had tried in vain to stand in its way. It was powered forward both by Christian values and colonial greed. So, as Victoria drew her last breath, she left a world forever transformed by the empire her nation had built.The date was 22 January 1901 and the British Empire was the largest of any in human history, but the monarch who reigned over it would not live to see another day. As Queen Victoria lay dying in Osborne House on the Isle of Wight she looked back on a reign that spanned over 63 years. She had seen her empire grow from a collection of scattered isles, separated by vast plains of lands and insurmountable oceans, to the greatest the world had known. It had reached over India, plucked its riches and set the nation as the glimmering jewel in Victoria’s crown. It had butchered its way mercilessly across Africa at the cost of countless natives who had tried in vain to stand in its way. It was powered forward both by Christian values and colonial greed. So, as Victoria drew her last breath, she left a world forever transformed by the empire her nation had built.
When a young Princess Victoria ascended the steps of Westminster Abbey on her coronation day, few could have foreseen the mighty empire she would eventually rule over. The British public were increasingly disenchanted with the monarchy; her grandfather, the mad king George III, had failed to protect British interests in the Americas, and her uncle George IV’s terrible relations with his wife and reckless spending had tarnished the monarchy’s prestige. At a mere 18 years and barely 150 centimetres (five feet) tall, Victoria hardly seemed a fitting patron for the vast ambitions of British expansion that started in the 17th century. But this blue-eyed, silvery-voiced lady possessed a stubborn will of iron and her reign would become the longest in British history. Her ascension marked not the death of the British Empire, but the new dawn of a kingdom so massive that none could ever hope to challenge it.
The world was changing as Victoria took her place on the throne. The tiny, scattered rural villages of England were being abandoned en masse and the cities were transforming into sprawling metropolises. Great towering concrete chimneys rose from the ground and the whir of machines sounded across the country – the age of steam had arrived. The Industrial Revolution changed Britain from a quaint maritime nation on the edge of Europe to a manufacturing colossus. Railways and steamships brought the British overseas territory closer to their mother country, opening up opportunities for trade and commerce that had previously been unfathomable.
It was Albert, Victoria’s beloved husband, who opened her and Britain’s eyes to the ideas that went on to shape her empire. Fascinated by mechanisms and inventions, Albert organised The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace – a temple to the ingenuity of the rapidly developing modern world.
When Albert drew his last breath in the blue room at Windsor Castle the queen was inconsolable; the loss of the love of her life changed not only herself as a person, but the fate of her realm. As she donned the mourning clothes she would wear until her own death, she drew a veil over Albert’s vision and pursued a different path for her kingdom – one of world domination.
An emerging figure in Parliament would come to foster her views: Benjamin Disraeli. The ambitious and rebellious leader of the Conservatives was led by a passion for imperial power and glory. Inspired by tales of imperial adventures, Disraeli believed Britain should pursue an empire of power and prestige. His most direct political opponent represented everything Albert dreamed the empire could be. William Gladstone, the leader of the Liberals, thought the empire should serve a high moral purpose, to follow not a path of conquest but one of commerce, sharing their moral vision with the world.
These two fiery and driven men fought over these opposing visions in Parliament while Victoria continued to mourn. Without Albert she felt incompetent and unable to face the immense duty that her role dictated. With her strong conservative views she found Gladstone and his liberal reforms dangerous and unpredictable. Disraeli, suave, coy and dripping with forthright confidence, enchanted the lonely queen. With his constant flattery and sharp wit, Disraeli reignited her interest in politics and captivated her, as Albert had done so previously, with his vision of just how mighty the empire could be. However, Gladstone’s liberal vision and Albert’s quest for Camelot had not completely faded. The British people, led by strong Protestant beliefs Victoria herself had instilled in them, felt it was Britain’s role – their duty even – to civilise people around the world. They believed the British cause was to export not only trade, but also gospel values of morality and justice.
It was in pursuit of this lofty goal that many missionaries turned their attention to Africa. Little was known of the ‘Dark Continent’, but the common perception was that it was a place of pagan worship ravaged by tribal wars. One missionary in particular would capture the attention of the British nation. Tall, handsome and heroic, David Livingstone embodied everything the British believed their nation represented. A medical missionary, Livingstone’s daring adventures around the continent were followed by a captivated British public. Fighting vicious beasts, battling through dense jungles and suffering a multitude of illnesses, Livingstone was the heroic face of the empire’s Christian ideals.
Livingstone’s horrific confrontation with African chain gangs was to drive the British cause of expansion. The slavery rife in Africa was abhorrent to Livingstone and the British public, as the practice had been abolished across the empire in 1833. The queen and government united behind Livingstone’s quest to find a suitable trade route, hoping that by doing so, the African people would find ways of making a living that wasn’t built on the backs of slaves. Livingstone’s journey was a failure and he returned to scathing criticism – something the imperialist Disraeli leapt on with glee. His flattery of Victoria had completely won her over, and the monarchy and government became united in the pursuit of one goal – the expansion of the empire.
“The Industrial Revolution changed Britain from a quaint maritime nation into a manufacturing giant”
The perfect opportunity to begin this new project emerged as another nation struggled to survive. The Egyptian ruler, Isma’il Pasha, was confronted by crippling debts after reckless spending on lavish ceremonies and a costly war with Ethiopia. In an act of desperation he made an offer to sell Egypt’s shares in the Suez Canal to the British. The canal was more than a mere trading port; it opened up a short route to India across Egypt and down the Red Sea, cutting out the lengthy journey around Africa. The Egyptian ruler’s offer would give the British a controlling influence over the jugular of the empire. Disraeli urged Victoria to accept, she immediately grabbed the opportunity and the Suez Canal fell into British hands.
With control of India, Britain was already the most powerful nation on Earth and three-quarters of the world’s trade was transported in British ships, but this control was being threatened. The Russian Empire had been steadily expanding east and south and was getting uncomfortably close to Victoria’s prized jewel – India. The Middle East was largely controlled by the Turks, but they were busy dealing with violent rebellions. The Turkish treatment of their Christian subjects was shocking and atrocious, but as Russia backed the rebels the British had no option but to support the Turks. The British public, to whom Russia stood for everything Britain opposed – ignorance, slavery and subjugation – largely supported this choice. Facing the prospect of imminent war with the strongest nation on the planet, Russia agreed to peace talks and thanks, in part, to the charisma and negotiation skills of Disraeli, the country agreed to stop their advance on the Middle East.
Imperial spirit rushed through the public as the British muscle flexed and proved its might again. As the empire continued its steady expansion across the continent, it came face-to-face with the most powerful African nation – the Zulus. The British, with a bloated ego, underestimated the strength of their spear-wielding enemies and suffered a crushing initial defeat. In the end it took 16,000 British reinforcements to prise the Zulus’ independence from their grip. Expecting to return to a wave of praise for their daring exploits, the victorious army was surprised to discover that British opinions were changing once again.
“As more British bodies piled up, British confidence in their own unconquerable might began to wane in Africa”
Gladstone, the “half-mad firebrand”, as Victoria dubbed him, preached his opinions about the mass slaughter of Zulus and rampant destruction of their homes. Victoria was outraged but the public sided with Gladstone and, much to the queen’s dismay, the power of the government switched hands once more. Liberal leader or not, all of Europe’s attention was firmly fixed on Africa as nations began a scramble to establish colonies there. In amongst this mad rush to establish new territory by European powers, it was arguably one man’s actions that would determine the ultimate fate of Victoria’s empire.
Led by Muhammad Ahmed, revolution was tearing through the Sudan as tribes rose against their corrupt rulers. As this holy war drew uncomfortably close to the Suez Canal, Victoria urged Gladstone to utilise the British troops stationed there to defend it. The liberal leader refused. In order to buy time he sent one man, General Charles Gordon, to secure the evacuation of loyal civilians and soldiers.
Like Livingstone, Gordon was a national hero. He was brave, dashing, popular and his decorated military career had painted him in the British public’s eyes as a gleaming knight of old. Despite these qualities, Gordon was also wild and unpredictable. When he reached the Sudan he was horrified by the slavery rife in the region and decided to face the Mahdi in battle. With limited forces, Gordon soon found himself besieged in the city of Khartoum. His appeals for aid, to the adoring public’s outrage, fell on deaf ears in the government. It took more than eight months of public fury to finally force Gladstone’s hand, but it was too late – Gordon, the nation’s hero of Christianity, was dead.
In an instant the liberal vision was shattered. Gladstone was voted out and his moral influence departed with him. The renewed crusading spirit of British imperialism found its poster boy in a man who would lead the empire down a very dark and dangerous path.
Moving from England to Africa to work on a cotton farm, Cecil John Rhodes had become outrageously wealthy from the diamond rush, but he wanted more – the whole of Africa. Driven by greed and lust for power, Rhodes wished to create a British colony across Africa, not for the betterment of its people or to spread Christian values, but for profit and business.
Using the tenacity and cunning that had elevated him to success, Rhodes tricked and butchered his way across the continent with the British government backing him every bloody step of the way. Rhodes made it his purpose to make the world English and famously said, “If there be a God, I think that what he would like me to do is paint as much of the map of Africa British Red as possible.” His path of colonial greed led Britain head-first into a conflict now known as the Boer Wars.
Gold had been found in Transvaal in northern South Africa, and Rhodes worried that this would prompt an alliance with the Germans, thus cutting off his route to the north of the continent. Rhodes planned an uprising to overthrow the Boer leaders, but it did not go as planned – far from the naked, spear-wielding foes he had previously conquered, the Boers had guns, and they fought back hard with skill and courage.
Outrage tore across Europe against what was seen as an unprovoked attack on an independent state, but not in Britain. Fully convinced of their noble mission, the British people believed the Boers to be vicious and uncompromising. More soldiers poured into the region, into a war they believed would be short and glorious, but as more British bodies piled up – Victoria’s own grandson among them – British confidence began to wane.
As British reinforcements continued to flood into the territory, the tide slowly began to turn. Rhodes had managed to squeeze a win from the jaws of defeat and the Boer territories became British colonies. The empire had grown, but at a cost. Rhodes’s controversial actions during the war – including forming what would come to be known as the first concentration camps – had been a step too far for the British public. What had begun as a noble quest of Christianity had transformed into a greedy and brutal scramble for power. When Rhodes died his merciless version of imperialism was buried with him in the dry African dirt.
When Victoria passed away she was finally rid of the black mourning clothes she had worn for 40 years and was dressed entirely in white as she prepared to reunite with the dearest love of her life. She was, however, leaving another behind; the empire she had mothered now stretched across the globe with large swathes still coloured in the pink of British rule. As the sun set on the quiet room in which she lay in Osborne House, it was rising on the bustling spice markets of India, and soon the vast plains of British land in Africa would be bathed in warm golden light. Victoria had died, but the legacy she left behind continued to expand over the face of the planet. Even without their driver, the cogs of the British Empire whirred steadily on for another half century at least.
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