Economic development. At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. Great Britain was one of the most powerful and wealthy countries in the world. It occupied the first place in world trade and in the export of capital. British investment abroad exceeded that of all the other major powers put together. The British pound sterling was the main world currency. It was accepted for payment everywhere. London was the main trading and financial center of the world.

England was called "mistress of the seas".

The industry of England continued to grow, but the technical equipment of many factories was outdated, and in a number of important indicators of industrial development, England began to lag behind the United States and Germany. The annual increase in industrial output was 2.1% in England, 4.2% in the USA, and 4.1% in Germany. At the beginning of the XX century. Germany overtook England in steel production, and the United States - in the production of iron, steel and coal mining. Thanks to better technical equipment and increased labor productivity, American and German goods began to cost less than British ones. They successfully competed with British goods.

Agriculture in Great Britain was dominated by small-scale peasant farming, but also (especially in Ireland) large landed property of aristocratic landlords remained. Own agriculture did not meet the needs of Great Britain for food. A significant part of food and agricultural raw materials was brought from other countries.

British imperialism was colonial imperialism. The empire accounted for a significant part of foreign English investment. England's trade with the countries of the British Empire exceeded its trade with any other country. Many English entrepreneurs were associated with the colonial market. The preservation and expansion of the empire was one of the most important goals of British imperialism.

"Victorian Era". Second half of the 19th century in England is often called the "Victorian era" after Queen Victoria, who reigned for almost 64 years: from 1837 to 1901. strong, and the class struggle was relatively peaceful. The country retained a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary system and a two-party system.

Two main parties competed in the parliamentary elections - the Conservatives and the Liberals. The Conservative Party expressed primarily the interests of the landed aristocracy and part of the big bourgeoisie. The main leader of the conservatives was considered Benjamin Disraeli, the son of a writer, a famous writer, a clever politician. The liberals were supported by the predominant part of the big and middle bourgeoisie, as well as by a significant part of the working class. The leader of the Liberal Party was a prominent statesman, the son of a wealthy merchant, William Gladstone. Most liberals, led by Gladstone, defended free trade, objecting to the imposition of protective duties. The Conservatives, on the contrary, proposed the introduction of customs taxation of foreign goods in order to protect English industry from competition. Both parties considered it necessary to reform the electoral system and social legislation. In 1867, the conservative government of Disraeli carried out a parliamentary reform that almost doubled the number of voters. The Liberal government of Gladstone, which succeeded him, in 1871 officially recognized the activities of trade unions, including strikes, as legal. In 1872, it introduced a secret ballot in parliamentary elections (previously voting was open). Returning to power in 1874, Disraeli abolished the still existing restrictions on holding strikes and allowed the activities of cooperatives. In 1875, the Conservatives passed a law limiting the working day to 54 hours a week and a child labor protection law. Employment of children under 10 years of age was prohibited. The new return of the liberals to power was marked by the electoral reform of 1884. It gave the majority of workers and peasants the right to vote.

In the field of foreign policy, both conservatives and liberals were guided by the principle of "European balance", according to which no power should dominate the continent of Europe. To maintain balance, Great Britain usually opposed the most powerful continental power, preventing it from gaining a dominant position in Europe. Maintaining dominance at sea and therefore not fearing invasion from outside, Great Britain pursued a policy of "brilliant isolation", avoiding long-term and lasting alliances with other states. "England has no permanent enemies and permanent friends; it has only permanent interests," said British politicians.

Until the end of the XIX century. The British ruling circles considered their main opponent France, which competed with the British in the seizure of the colonies. Since the beginning of the XX century. Anglo-French contradictions faded into the background and Germany became the main enemy of Great Britain, whose economic, military and naval power was rapidly increasing.

One of the main directions of English foreign policy at the end of the XIX century. was the expansion of the colonial empire. In 1875, the Disraeli government bought from Egypt a controlling stake in the French-built Suez Canal. This provided England with control over the most important waterway, which opened the shortest route to India and other English colonies for the English fleet. In 1876, Queen Victoria assumed the title of Empress of India, and the British colonial possessions became officially known as the British Empire. For the 80s and 90s. 19th century It is the period of the most intensive colonial expansion in the history of Great Britain. In 1885, the British captured Burma, in 1886 the African countries of Nigeria and Somalia, in 1888 - Kenya and Tanganyika, in 1890 - Uganda and part of South Africa. From 1880 to 1900, the area of ​​British possessions increased from 20 million to 33 million square meters. km, and their population increased from 200 million to 370 million people. In 1901, the area of ​​Great Britain itself was less than 1% of the area of ​​its colonial possessions, the population was less than 12% of the population of the British Empire.

A special situation developed in Ireland, which was considered an integral part of Great Britain, but in fact was in the position of a semi-colony. Despite 400 years of English colonization, the Irish have not lost their identity. Having preserved their language, culture, religion, they opposed English domination. National and religious contradictions in Ireland were closely intertwined with social ones. The most fertile Irish lands were captured by English landlords.

At the end of the XIX century. the main demands of the Irish peasantry, the Irish intelligentsia and the growing Irish bourgeoisie were land reform and the provision of self-government - home rule (from the English home rule - self-government). The most prominent figure in the Irish liberation movement of that time was Charles Parnell, who was elected in 1875 to the English Parliament. In an effort to draw public attention to the situation in Ireland, he often resorted to parliamentary obstruction, that is, prevented parliament from working by making endless speeches, making requests, using all possible procedural conditions. Many Irish peasants refused to pay rent. The Irish peasant organization "Land League" began to attack landowners' estates, burn crops, and kill livestock. One of the methods of her struggle was the termination of all relations with the landlords and their managers. After the name of Captain Boycott, to whom this form of struggle was first applied, it was called the boycott.

In 1886, the Gladstone government decided to make concessions to the people of Ireland and submitted a draft Home Rule to Parliament. This caused a split among the liberals, some of whom joined the conservatives. Gladstone's government fell, and power passed to the Conservatives for almost 20 years.

Only in 1905 did the Conservative government lose the confidence of parliament and resign, giving way to the Liberals, who won the 1906 elections. The Liberals remained in power until 1915.

Labor movement. Late XIX - early XX century. was the period of the rise of the English labor movement. The loss of the former industrial monopoly, the intensification of competition in the world market, the desire of entrepreneurs to reduce production costs led to a decrease in the living standards of the English working class, which intensified the struggle for their rights. The number of strikes increased significantly, and the number of trade unions (trade unions), united since 1868 in the British Congress of Trade Unions, increased. By 1913, the number of their members reached 4 million people.

In terms of the number and organization of trade unions, England at that time was ahead of all other countries except Germany. Part of the trade unionists believed that the trade unions should wage not only economic but also political struggle. In 1900 they organized a Workers' Representation Committee for the election of workers' deputies to the Parliament. In 1906, the committee was renamed the Workers' (Labor) Party, which took part in the 1906 elections and got 29 deputies into parliament. Thus, the two-party system was shaken: along with the Conservatives and the Liberals, a third influential party emerged - the Labor Party.

Initially, the Labor Party consisted of collective members, whole organizations joined it. Since many trade unions declared themselves members of the Labor Party, it immediately became mass. Already in 1904, its number was about 1 million people.

The Labor Party did not have its own program for a long time. Its leaders saw their task in the election of Labor deputies to parliament, where they usually voted together with the liberals. This situation caused dissatisfaction among the left socialists, including a small group of social democrats who stood on the positions of Marxism. In 1911, they created the British Socialist Party, which, in accordance with Marxist teaching, proclaimed the struggle for socialism as the main goal. The British Socialist Party intended to lead the labor movement, but failed to achieve this goal and remained a small organization.

bourgeois reformism.

The rise of the labor movement and the intensification of the class struggle led the most far-sighted leaders of the liberal party to understand the need for social reforms that would alleviate the situation of the working people, limit the privileges of the rich, establish "class peace" and prevent the possibility of revolution. One of the first ideologists and practitioners of bourgeois reformism was a prominent British politician David Lloyd George.

The son of a teacher, a lawyer by profession, a talented orator, a clever and far-sighted politician, Lloyd George was first elected to Parliament in 1890 at the age of 27 and soon became one of the leaders of the Liberal Party. He became widely known for his speeches against the "parasite rich". Lloyd George believed that a number of measures should be taken against the "shameful poverty" of the workers, because otherwise they would get out of the influence of the liberals, go over to the side of the socialists and put an end to capitalism. Having taken the post of Minister of Trade in the government of the Liberals, which is of great importance in England, and in 1908 the post of Minister of Finance, Lloyd George in 1906-1911. introduced a series of laws to Parliament concerning working conditions and the daily lives of workers. On his initiative, a law was passed on free primary education and free meals in school canteens for children of poor parents. Night shift work was restricted; night work of women was forbidden. Victims of accidents at work were entitled to free treatment and disability benefits.

In 1908, Parliament passed laws on an 8-hour working day for miners employed in underground work, and on old-age pensions for workers over 70 years old. Such pensions were called "pensions for the dead" because only a few workers lived to this age, but nevertheless it was a step forward in the creation of a social security system. Then unemployment and sickness benefits were introduced, made up of insurance contributions from workers and entrepreneurs with state subsidies. Employers could no longer hinder trade union agitation and demand compensation from trade unions for damages caused by strikes.

The draft budget for 1909 presented by Lloyd George caused a great public outcry. It provided for the allocation of 1% of the cost of social reforms and a significant increase in spending on naval armaments. The increased costs were supposed to be covered by a sharp increase in taxes on wealth, land property and inheritance, as well as an increase in indirect taxes (affecting all segments of the population) on tobacco, liquor and postage stamps. Lloyd George presented his budget as the beginning of a "war against poverty" and a means to break the "arrogance of wealth." The owners of large fortunes called this budget "revolutionary." The House of Commons, in which the Liberals, along with the Laborites, had a strong majority, approved the draft budget, but the House of Lords, appointed for life by the king, dominated by the landed and financial aristocracy, rejected it. Then Lloyd George launched a fight against the House of Lords, demanding to limit its powers or completely eliminate it. In 1911, the House of Commons passed a law limiting the powers of the House of Lords. Now the House of Lords had only a "delaying veto", that is, it could postpone the laws adopted by the House of Commons, but not cancel them. If the House of Commons passed a bill three times, it would go into effect despite the objections of the House of Lords. The resistance of the House of Lords was broken and Lloyd George's "revolutionary budget" became law.

Colonial policy and the Irish question at the beginning of the 20th century. Colonial policy continued to play an important role in the political life of England. In an effort to create a continuous chain of British possessions across Africa, from Cairo in the north to Cape Town in the south, the British authorities came into conflict with two small South African republics - Transvaal and Orange. These republics, rich in gold and diamonds, were inhabited by white immigrants from Holland - the Boers, who colonized the local African population.

In 1899, the Boers began hostilities against the British troops stationed in the border British colonies. The Anglo-Boer War began, which lasted two and a half years. The Boers enjoyed the support of Germany and other rivals of England, they were sympathetic to public opinion in many countries of the world. They fought heroically, but the forces were unequal. In 1902 the war ended with the defeat of the Boers. Transvaal and the Orange Republic became part of the British Empire, having received the right to self-government, like other settler colonies.

Taking into account the interests of the white population of these colonies, the government of England decided to grant them the rights of dominions - self-governing parts of the British Empire with their own parliaments and governments. In addition to Canada, which had the status of a dominion since 1867, Australia (1900), New Zealand (1907) and the former Boer republics, which united in 1910 into the Union of South Africa, became dominions. The dominions participated together with the mother country in imperial conferences, where the most important issues of defense, foreign, trade and financial policy were discussed and agreed upon.

At the beginning of the XX century. the situation in Ireland worsened. After the British Parliament rejected the Home Rule bill, the most radical part of the Irish bourgeoisie and intelligentsia came to the conclusion that it was necessary to achieve not Home Rule, but the complete liberation of Ireland. In 1908, they created the "Sinn Fein Party" (in Irish, "ourselves"), which proclaimed the creation of a national Irish government, the revival of an independent Irish economy and the transformation of Ireland into a prosperous agrarian-industrial power as the main goals. Calling themselves "true nationalists," Sinn Fein leaders put forward the slogan "Ireland for the Irish."

To avoid widening the conflict, the Liberal government in 1912 introduced a new Home Rule bill to Parliament. It provided for the creation of an Irish parliament and local authorities responsible to it, but the highest government power was to be retained in the hands of the English viceroy (viceroy). Outside the competence of the Irish Parliament remained such important issues as foreign policy, management of the armed forces, taxation.

Despite these restrictions, the Home Rule project met with fierce opposition from conservatives. Lacking a majority in the House of Commons, they used their predominance in the House of Lords to prevent the passage of the bill. In 1912-1914. The bill approved by the House of Commons was twice rejected by the House of Lords.

Conservatives from the northern part of Ireland - Ulster - were especially sharply opposed to Home Rule. This most industrialized part of Ireland was inhabited by a mixed population: Irish, English and Scots. The majority of the population were English and Scots, who, unlike the Catholic Irish, were Protestants. Protestant leaders, longtime supporters of a union ("union") with England, said they would not allow the transition of Ulster under the control of the Irish Parliament. Their followers ("unionists") staged mass rallies and demonstrations of protest against home rule, created their own armed detachments and prepared to prevent the introduction of home rule by force. They enjoyed the support of the British conservatives and part of the officers. When the officers of one of the English military units were ordered to go to Ulster, they resigned in protest.

Meanwhile, the First World War began and the liberal government made concessions. In September 1914, the House of Commons approved the Home Rule Bill for the third time. It became law, but Ulster was excluded from its scope, and enforcement of the law was delayed until the end of the war.

Questions and tasks. 1. Tell us about the economic development of Great Britain in the last thirty years of the 19th century. 2. Why by the end of the XIX century. Has the UK started to lose its leading position in the economy? 3. Tell us about the liberals and conservatives, their leaders and the parliamentary struggle in the "Victorian period" 4. How was the Labor Party formed? 5. What reforms did Lloyd George make? Expand their significance for the development of the system of social protection of workers that exists in Western countries at the present time. 6. Describe the colonial policy of Great Britain in the late XIX - early XX century. 7. What was the position of Ireland in the British Empire? Tell us about the struggle that unfolded around the issue of Irish independence.

In the first post-war decade, the British economy developed in a complex and contradictory way. This was due, on the one hand, to the commitment of the bulk of English society to the old traditional methods of economic development - "life off the colonies" - and unwillingness to invest large sums in the development of their own economy. On the other hand, the growing world competition of younger and more energetic states still forced the Conservative and Labor governments to take certain steps towards improving economic management, but they did not always give the desired results and the country was increasingly losing its positions.

The world economic crisis in England began with some delay, and this was due to the fact that in the pre-crisis period, British industry developed extremely slowly and by the beginning of the crisis had barely reached the pre-war level. The crisis reached its greatest depth in the spring of 1933, when production fell by 23% from the level of 1929.

The economic crisis of 1929-1933 heavily impacted the UK economy. The governments sought a way out of the difficult economic situation in strengthening state regulation of the economy, encouraging the growth of monopolies and the concentration of capital, as well as creating a closer political and economic union of the metropolis and dominions.

A significant role in the exit of the British economy from the crisis was played by the reorientation of capital investments to the domestic market, now protected by high customs "walls". This was due to a decrease in income from the export of capital in connection with the breakdown of the financial system of world capitalism and the rejection of the gold standard of the pound sterling.

So, if the foreign investment of England in 1931-1936. increased from 41 million to 61 million pounds, then domestic investment in 1931 amounted to 89 million, and in 1936 - 217 million pounds.

Despite the general weakening of its positions, England was able to retain its place as one of the largest powers in the world before the Second World War. Behind it were still the most important markets for the investment of capital, England retained a raw material monopoly on such important types of raw materials as natural rubber and certain types of non-ferrous metals, had large assets in the oil regions and other sources of raw materials. Even having lost its former role as the main center of world capitalist trade, Great Britain still retained one of the leading places among other exporters and importers. The British commodity exchanges occupied a monopoly position, or shared it with a few exchanges in other capitalist countries.

And yet, with all their successes in the 30s. 20th century Great Britain could neither restore its place in the world capitalist market, nor overcome all the economic and political processes deepening in it.

The war caused further weakening of Britain's economic and political positions.

During the war years, the total volume of industrial production decreased, which in 1946 amounted to 90% of the level of 1937. The export of British goods was significantly reduced. The balance of payments deficit by the end of the war exceeded £4 billion. The equipment of British enterprises during the war years was worn out, technical progress slowed down.

Summing up the results of the country's economic development in the second half of the 1940s and in the 1950s, it should be noted that, in general, the UK economy developed in the general direction of the European powers, however, it was inferior to Germany, the USA, and then Japan in terms of development rates. The loss of the colonial empire had a painful impact on the country's economy, and the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution era required changes in the traditional structure of production. Significant funds required large military spending and began in the 50s. technical re-equipment of the army, which led to the reduction of social programs. All this created additional difficulties in governing the country for the Conservative government, which sought to return the role of world leader for Great Britain.

In the second half of the 60-70s. The British economy was in a very difficult position. On the one hand, gigantic monopolies grew rapidly in the most modern branches of production, which dictated their conditions and exerted a powerful influence on the domestic and foreign policy of the government. On the other hand, the public sector increased, which mainly covered the old traditional industries and was extremely slowly rebuilt under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution; its products could not successfully compete on the world market.

The colossal spending on social programs led to the appearance of "dependency" tendencies in the society, and attempts to cut costs aroused violent protest from the powerful trade union movement.

Fierce competition from the US and Japan forced Britain to join the EEC, but even this step did not solve all the accumulated problems.

Thus, in the 70s. Great Britain has become a stagnant society, which is not exactly moving backwards, but all its main rivals are moving forward faster. The economic management system has become corporate, i.e. decisions were made through bargaining between the government, trade unions and employers. They had a tendency to divide the economic pie in their own interests. It was a producer-oriented society rather than a consumer-oriented one.

The Conservative government, which came to power in 1979, was headed by the energetic M. Thatcher.

The consequence of the economic policy pursued by the government of M. Thatcher was the economic growth of the country in the 80s. on average at the level of 3-4% per year, which was higher than in other Western European countries. An average of 500 new firms were created each week. For the 80s. labor productivity grew at an average rate of 2.5% per year, second only to Japan.

Even more convincing was the growth in the efficiency of the use of fixed capital - capital productivity. England, apart from Japan, was the only developed country where this indicator increased compared to the 1970s.

In the 1980s and 1990s, disturbing signs appeared in the socio-economic and political life of Great Britain. Thus, a serious miscalculation of the conservative cabinet of M. Thatcher was the implementation in the spring of 1990 of the reform of local taxation, which provided for the introduction of a new electoral law. The economic benefits turned out to be insignificant, and the socio-psychological consequences had an extremely negative impact on the prestige of the government, whose socio-economic policies caused "irritation" among many Englishmen. In 1990, J. Major became the new leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister of Great Britain. M. Thatcher resigned.

In the first half of the 90s. positive developments took place in the UK economy. Thus, the gross domestic product grew quite steadily and unemployment decreased. If in the first quarter of 1993 GDP was 2.5%, then in the first quarter of 1994 it was 4%; the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 1993 was 10.5%, in the first quarter of 1994 - 9.9, and in the fourth quarter of 1994 - 8.9%.

A particularly important achievement of the new government was the improvement of the trade balance. During the period from 1991 to 1995, it was possible to provide a favorable combination of steadily high growth rates and the lowest since the early 1960s. inflation rates. In addition, the state of the balance of payments has noticeably improved, which in 1995, for the first time since 1987, was reduced to a surplus.

Thus, summing up the results of the economic development of England in the 80-90s, it should be noted that "Thatcherism" in relation to the conditions of Britain turned out to be quite effective. The face of England has changed significantly. "Thatcherism" as a British model of neo-conservatism confirmed that capitalism proved to be a flexible system capable of adapting to changing socio-economic conditions, rebuilding and modernizing.

In preparing this work, materials from the site http://www.studentu.ru were used.

57. The party system of England in the XIX – XX centuries. Suffrage reforms in the 20th century.

England in the late 19th and early 20th century.

In the middle of the 19th century, England was the most powerful economic country. But in the 3/4 of the 19th century, the position of England changes. A number of countries are catching up with it in industrial production. By the beginning of the 20th century, it becomes the 3rd after the USA and Germany.

Monopoly associations are formed. The question of the export of goods is becoming more and more acute, and the bourgeois is turning his gaze to the colonies. They started getting a lot of attention.

Changing the two-party system.

In the 19th century 2-party system: conservatives and liberals.

Conservatives - the predominant party, landowners, aristocracy.

At the end of the 19th century - the 20th century, the conservative party, while maintaining an executive connection with the land magnates, is expanding its connection with the capitalists. And gradually turns into a party of big industrial and legal bourgeoisie. The high size of Pauline, which reflected the interests of the big bourgeoisie.

Liberal - in the past the party of the middle merchant bourgeoisie, is gradually declining, as the middle bourgeoisie is losing its importance. In order to attract the petty bourgeoisie and the workers, they include in their program a number of concessions and reforms. This is not necessary for the bourgeoisie.

In 1886, they split over the issue of granting home rule (self-government) to Ireland. Prior to this, the Irish had the right to send their deputies to the English Parliament.

In 1885 Ireland advocated its own self-government. The conservatives were against it. And the liberals are in favor to win them over to their side. But this caused discontent among a significant group of liberals.

This group deviated, began to call themselves "Liberal Unionists".

In 1912 they merged with the Conservatives. This fact shows how acute the issue of colonies was.

Liberals have not completely lost their influence. The formation of the "Reborian Party" dealt a serious blow. It was formed in connection with the growth of the labor movement.

By the 19th century, the trade union movement of third unions (trade unions) of unskilled workers was expanding.

In 1884, two socialist organizations were founded.

1 - social democratic (intelligentsia)

2 - Fabian society. On behalf of the commanders Fabia (progressive intelligentsia). For the gradual transformation of nap. to socialism through gradual reforms.

1892 - an independent workers' party (intelligentsia, workers) appears. Rejected the class struggle. For parliamentary methods.

In 1900, in an atmosphere of intensified class struggle, all these organizations formed a workers' representation committee (the promotion of workers to parliament).

1906 - The committee was transformed into the Labor Party. Program of the Independent Labor Party. Their goal is to promote workers to parliament.

This policy was acceptable to the petty bourgeoisie and the labor aristocracy.

The Labor Party was built on the beginning of collective membership, thanks to this it acted as a mass party. While the influence of the Liberal Party will fall, the Labor Party will rise.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the crisis of the English 2-party system began. Now 3 parties enjoy influence.

General history. History of the New Age. Grade 8 Burin Sergey Nikolaevich

§ 8. Great Britain in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries

Continued industrial boom

The pace of development of English industry and trade continued to be quite high in the second half of the 19th century, especially until the early 1870s. As before, this rise was briefly interrupted by economic crises (in 1857 and 1866), but then it resumed. The traditional branches of light industry were strengthened, primarily textile, which almost completely switched to machine production. By 1870, more than 37 million mechanical spindles were operating in the British textile industry, and only 450 thousand workers served them.

Significant progress was also made in heavy industry. Pig iron smelting, which in 1840 amounted to 1.4 million tons, by 1870 exceeded 6 million tons. Coal mining in just 15 years (1855-1870) doubled - from 61.5 million to 123.7 million tons. All the latest discoveries and inventions (even if they were not made in England) were quickly introduced into production. As soon as the first refrigeration units appeared, for example, they were immediately used to deliver giant consignments of frozen meat from Australia and New Zealand to Europe.

Steam plow test

It was during that period that the name "workshop of the world" was established for England. At the International Industrial Exhibition in London (1851-1852), the superiority of the British looked simply overwhelming. And after switching to the system free trade Britain became even more successful in crowding out rivals, filling world markets with cheap but high-quality goods. The share of Great Britain (including its colonies) accounted for more than a third of the total volume of world trade.

Of course, a significant proportion of these successes was due to the fact that Britain owned the richest lands: India, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Cape Colony (in southern Africa), etc. But the possession of colonies in itself is not yet a guarantee of obtaining permanent profits. The success of Britain was ensured primarily by the most advanced, capitalist mode of production and the fact that this country was the first in the world to carry out an industrial revolution.

To what extent did the success of the economic development of Great Britain relied on its internal resources? How important was the role of colonial raw materials and goods?

Relations between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

During the industrial revolution, huge masses of "liberated" people poured into the cities, where most of them became workers in factories and factories. Representatives of this social stratum, who did not have tools and other means of production (special premises, raw materials, etc.) and therefore were forced to sell their labor, are called proletarians. The number of the proletariat grew rapidly, and soon it became one of the main classes in society. At the same time, the number and role in society of another class, the industrial bourgeoisie, increased. Contradictions grew between these main classes of society.

Use of child and female labor in production

At an early stage in the development of capitalism (this stage is even called “wild capitalism”), many entrepreneurs forced workers to work in difficult conditions, without the necessary rest. At their own discretion, they increased the amount of work, and tried to pay workers as little as possible. The working day could last 12 or more hours, women and children worked in factories along with men. Wages were extremely low, working and living conditions were very difficult, sometimes unbearable. All this in the era of "wild capitalism" was experienced by the proletarians of Great Britain, and the first.

But the traditionally flexible policy of the British authorities, the rather rapid transition of English capitalism from the "wild" stage to the normal one, helped to change the situation for the better. Back in the 1830s. teenagers were banned from working at night, the working day for children was reduced, a factory inspection appeared, etc. Parliament repealed the previous ban on the creation of workers' organizations (1824), and as a result, trade unions began to emerge - professional workers' unions. They fought legally for better working conditions and higher wages. And soon the workers became the main force of the Chartist movement. Subsequently, their representatives appeared in Parliament.

What were the contradictions between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie?

The fall in the pace of development of the English economy

The high rate of industrial development that England had achieved by the early 1870s could not be sustained for long. The gradual decline in these rates coincided with the powerful economic recovery that the United States and some European countries were then experiencing. Back in 1870-1874. England smelted an average of 6.4 million ... tons of pig iron per year, the USA - 2.2 million ... tons, and Germany - 1.8 million ... tons. But by the end of the century, the United States was ahead of Great Britain in iron and steel smelting, and at the beginning of the 20th century. The British were overtaken by Germany. England began to lag behind in other indicators as well. For a long time, Britain held the first place in the world in terms of total exports (i.e., exports) of goods, but at the beginning of the 20th century. overtaken by the US.

At the steel plant

The technical superiority of England also decreased, which in the middle of the 19th century. was overwhelming. Thus, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when electric energy was already widely used in the industry of the USA and Germany, steam power was still mainly used in British industry.

In the 1880s it became obvious that German goods were crowding out English everywhere. This happened in South America and Russia, in Italy and the Balkans, in China and Japan, even in Great Britain itself and its colonies. The fact is that German businessmen better than the British studied the needs of the market in different countries and took into account the interests of consumers. For wholesale buyers, for example, they provided preferential and long-term loans.

Why exactly by the end of the XIX century. Great Britain began to lose its primacy in the economy and technology?

British domestic politics

With completion in the late 1840s. the Chartist movement struggle for the reform of Parliament did not stop. The entrepreneurial spirit of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie ensured the success of British industry. But this segment of the population still had few representatives in parliament. Of course, this state of affairs was not normal. This was beginning to be understood by the parliamentarians themselves, who previously opposed the electoral reform. The workers, whose situation remained difficult, were also interested in expanding voting rights.

Everyone understood that the party that carried out the reform of the parliament would collect the majority of the votes of the new voters (i.e., those who would gain access to the vote as a result of the reform). But before others, the leader of the Liberal Party (Whigs), the prominent politician William Gladstone, realized this. He skillfully combined conservatism and liberalism in his work. However, when Gladstone introduced a very moderate electoral reform project to Parliament (1866), not only conservatives, but also part of the liberals opposed him. As a result, the Liberal Party split.

Tory came to power. Their leader in those years was the journalist and writer Benjamin Disraeli, an implacable opponent of Gladstone. Nevertheless, they were brought together by a huge political experience, the ability to quickly find flexible, original solutions. Disraeli not only supported Gladstone's project, but also introduced a new, more liberal bill (i.e., a draft law) on reform. In the summer of 1867 Parliament passed the second Electoral Reform Act. Another 46 "rotten towns" were eliminated, and the representation of large industrial cities expanded accordingly. The property qualification was also significantly lowered. As a result, the total number of voters increased from 1.35 million to 2.25 million.

Benjamin Disraeli

But since the liberals were the initiators of this reform, the British gave them the majority of votes in the elections of 1868. The Whigs carried out an education reform, significantly expanded the rights of trade unions, and carried out other progressive reforms. However, only about half of the country's men had the right to vote. Therefore, the need for another (third) electoral reform was obvious.

In 1885, the liberals, led by Gladstone, achieved another parliamentary reform. Another 105 "rotten towns" disappeared, the right to vote was extended to all owners of houses and apartments, as well as to rural workers. The number of voters grew to 5.5 million people and now accounted for 13% of the total population. In the future, the issue of introducing universal suffrage had to be resolved: after all, women and poor groups of the male population still did not have the opportunity to participate in elections.

Returning to power (after a break in 1905), the liberals passed a number of important laws: expanded the rights of trade unions, introduced pensions and benefits (for old age, disability, etc.). This minimized the causes for internal conflicts in the country.

Summing up

Continuing to remain among the leading powers of the world, Great Britain began to lose its economic and, consequently, political primacy. It was overtaken by the "young" countries, which acted more flexibly and energetically than conservative Britain.

In Great Britain, this system finally took shape by the middle of the 19th century, when customs restrictions were minimized (or completely eliminated).

Proletarians - one of the names of workers in a capitalist society. In ancient Rome, the disenfranchised layers of citizens who stood outside the ranks (classes) were called proletarians.

1885 - Adoption of the third parliamentary law on electoral reform.

(From a speech by one of the liberal leaders, David Lloyd George, 1908)

1. What made Britain a leader in industrial production and trade? When and why did she lose her position?

2. Why did the English bourgeoisie and ruling circles for a long time not want to take into account the interests of the workers?

3. Why and on what issues in the second half of the XIX century. Has there been a rapprochement between the positions of British liberals and conservatives?

4. What were the results of the parliamentary reforms? Is it possible to call the political system of Great Britain at the end of the XIX century. democratic?

one*. Carefully study the table "The share of leading powers in world industrial production (in%)":

Determine what process this data illustrates. Which states in the late XIX - early XX century. developed faster, and which - more slowly? Why did this happen?

2*. Carefully study the table "Foreign trade turnover of the leading countries of the world (in billion dollars)":

Determine patterns in this data change. Why do you think the UK retained its leadership in terms of foreign trade indicators, but lost it in industrial indicators (see table in task 1)?

3. One French traveler who visited in the middle of the XIX century. in the largest English industrial city of Manchester, wrote: “Out of a thousand children of Manchester workers, 570 die under the age of 5 years. The weaver loses his ability to work by the age of 50. Nowhere are there so many widows and orphans. In 435 cases per 1000, the father of the family dies from a pulmonary disease.

Establish which stage in the development of capitalism characterizes the document. Why didn't employers care about the situation of their workers?

4. During the election campaign of 1880, the leader of the Liberal Party, W. Gladstone, said: "Impressive forces are against us ... We cannot count on the support of landowners, on the support of the clergy, on the support of rich and noble Englishmen." These forces, Gladstone argued, put their interests ahead of the interests of the country and society.

Remember what the mentioned interests of the country and society were. Whose support were the liberals counting on?