When Diplomacy Fails Presents

Britain goes to war

An in-depth examination of the British Empire from the closing stages of the Victorian era

to the opening phases of the First World War and beyond.

Section 2 Background

Part A

The Golden Age

Chapter 1

It was a tense, almost heavy atmosphere

Amongst the crowds of citizens waiting her arrival,

a pall of positive enthusiasm akin to that of a grand victory in a far-off land hung in the air.

The feeling of expectation was immense, for soon their queen, who embodied their empire and

epitomized their sense of self, would reveal

herself to her people. She would be glorious, 60 years on the throne in a diamond jubilee,

and celebrating not just the significance of her reign, but also the very fact that this century,

the 19th, had been hers. In the ashes of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain took the opportunity to mould the post-war

arrangements at the Congress of Vienna, and an image of prosperity, of wealth of resplendence

had been created that hadn't dissipated for the duration of the century since.

Britain's writ had only increased its reach since 1815.

Wars, revolutions, victories, diplomacy, colonialism, opportunism, good fortune, great skill,

incredible ingenuity, all had played their part in propelling these damp islands to the top

of the world's food chain,

...