Why was imperialism so popular in Britain 1880-1902?

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Why was imperialism so popular in Britain 1880-1902?

Following on from the ‘Scramble for Africa’ in the late 19th Century, Britain continued in its aim to expand her empire, through the process of imperialism, into the period of 1880-1902. During this time, imperialism had become very popular in certain sectors of the British public. Causes of this range from, the impact of politicians to how the press and media portrayed the current events. However, it has to be noted there were significant fluctuations in popularity during this period, at events such as the Boer War etc.

One of the major reasons behind the popularity of imperialism in Britain through out this period was down to the role of major political leaders. Benjamin Disraeli was the leader of the conservative party during this period, and he was a major supporter for the expansion of empire. He made several powerful speeches, in which he made significant reference to the British imperial expansion. During his speech in 1872, at Crystal Palace, he labelled India as the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ and that in England we had never had such an important ‘possession’. He realised that imperialism was a popular topic amongst the British public and began to target it to promote his party’s appearance. He even gifted Queen Victoria the name of ‘Empress of India’ in 1875. This was a very popular move and this helped to give the public more understanding of how important India and imperialism was to Britain during this period, creating an atmosphere of ‘jingoism’ in Britain.

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A sense of patriotism was building in Britain from their reaction to the imperialist campaign. Even William Gladstone, the main critic of Disraeli, had to concede that imperial expansion was of major importance to Britain. During his reign as Prime Minister he felt it was also necessary to protect British investment in India, and the Suez Canal, in 1882. However, this lead to the unfortunate death of General Gordon at Khartoum (1885). This incident may not have been Gladstone’s fault, however, in the press; they attempted to put the blame squarely on Gladstone for his delayed relief. This is an ...

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