102. Aristocrats in pursuit of reform

102. Aristocrats in pursuit of reform

Just who were these Whigs? It turns out that, though theirs would be a government having to undertake reform, in its make-up it would be the most aristocratic of the century. Since the biggest obstacle to reform were the aristocrats and their acolytes, that was a tad ironic.

The problem was that the pressure to do something about the condition of the poor was becoming irresistible. And there was increasing awareness that if change was needed, it now had to come from Parliament. Royal power was continuing to fade as Parliament’s grew.

That just made it all the more urgent to get some kind of voice there.


Illustration: Sir George Hayter, The House of Commons, 1833, during Earl Grey’s Government. National Portrait Gallery 54

Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

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10. Here today, no heir tomorrow

10. Here today, no heir tomorrow

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9. Armada - the sequel

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8. The Armada. And the body of a weak and feeble woman

8. The Armada. And the body of a weak and feeble woman

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7. Not Piracy

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6. God

6. God

You may have noticed that religion has been a pretty significant factor in the happenings of the first few chapters, as it will be in quite a few of the ones ahead. So it makes sense to pause a moment...

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5. Good Queen Bess

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An exciting moment! Anne Boleyn's daughter, bright as her mother, in sharpness of mind as well as redness of hair, has made it to the throne. She's sick of all those quarrels between Protestants and C...

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4. Bloody Mary

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A Bloody Mary may be a fine drink, but Bloody Mary was hardly the most desirable of Queens. As the nickname rather suggests. She was England's last Catholic monarch, and she set out to undo her brothe...

4 Joulu 20208min

3. A bit of a mess

3. A bit of a mess

At last, Henry VIII's wish could be fulfilled. He left the throne to his son. A male heir, just what he'd always wanted. Well, it wasn't that simple, First of all, Edward VI was only 9 when he came to...

29 Marras 20207min

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