E X T E N S I O N ENGLAND IN VICTORIAN TIMES When Queen Victoria ascended1 the throne in 1837, she found a country in a difficult situation, mainly due to the bad conditions in which the working class was living: crops2 had not been good for some years, there had been a slump3 in industry and the middle class was becoming more and more aware of its power and was therefore asking to be granted more rights and representation. Gradually, the country witnessed a long but steady process of democratisation which was marked by these main events: the Reform Bills (1867 and 1884), which extended suffrage to all male workers, the repeal4 of the Corn Laws (1846), which eliminated the restriction on the import of foreign corn, thus favouring the interest of the middle class, and other different acts (such as the Factory Acts, the Ten Hours Act, the Public Health Act and the Trade Union Act) which aimed at protecting and improving the conditions of workers, women and children. Thanks to a policy which fostered5 free trade, rapid economic expansion, the second industrial revolution, new scientific research, improved transportation systems and great technological progress, the middle class expanded, acquired more power, and took the reins6 of the government, making Victorian England enjoy a period of prosperity and welfare which culminated in the Great International Exhibition in 1851. In the Victorian period the British colonial Empire expanded even further to include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India (with Pakistan and Bangladesh too), Ceylon, Hong Kong and Singapore, Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus, the Suez canal and some African territories, thus making it the largest colonial empire in the world. However, there were several problems as well, which the Victorians tended to ignore. Rapid industrialisation had reduced the number of 1. ascended: came to. 2. crops: amount of grain, fruit, etc. that is grown in one season. 3. slump: a period when a country s economy is doing very badly. 4. repeal: the act of officially making a law no longer valid. 5. fostered: encouraged to develop. 6. took the reins (take-took-took): took control of something. 36