Queen Victoria's empire

Episode of Series “Empires”.
At the time of Queen Victoria’s birth in 1819 England was an agrarian society; within a few short decades this nation would be transformed into an industrial superpower, with an empire spanning the globes. This captivating four part series covers the transition with historical re-enactments, stills and interviews with historians, providing a portrait of Queen Victoria and British imperialism. Episode 1. “Engines of change”: Explores the changes brought to Britain by the industrial revolution, urban migration, overcrowding, extremes in poverty and pollution of the 1840s and Prince Albert’s role. Episode 2. “Passage to India”: In the 1850s, as steamships take British goods around the globe, tensions rise in India with a clash of Victorian values and Indian culture, resulting in the Great Mutiny and Cawnpore massacre of 1857; also covers the Crimean War and the death of Prince Albert. Episode 3. “The Moral Crusade”: By 1861 Britain is the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth; David Livingstone’s explorations of the African interior fascinate the British public; Disraeli and Gladstone battle for control of the government; colonisation of Africa begins. Episode 4. “The scramble for Africa”: The Suez Canal is threatened by a holy war in the Sudan; Cecil Rhodes prospects diamond deposits in South Africa and asserts regional control; the Boer War leads to devastating British losses; Queen Victoria’s death marks the end of an era.