Summarize the glorious success of Britain during the

reign of Queen Victoria. Explain this “ … the British a

sense of supreme confidence, even arrogance, about
their culture and civilization. The British came to see
themselves as having a duty to spread this culture and
civilization around the world. Being the rulers of an
empire was therefore a matter of moral obligation.”
(The White Man’s Burden).

Explain: Because the growth of the empire was encouraged by a change in

attitude during the century. Previously, colonization had been a matter of
settlement, commerce, or military strategy. The aim was simply to possess
territory, but not necessarily to govern it. By the end of the century, colonization
was seen as a matter of destiny.
There were great changes in social structure. Most people now lived in towns
and cities. They no longer depended on country landowners for their living but
rather on the owners of industries. These owners and the growing middle class
of tradespeople and professionals held the real power in the country. Along with
their power went a set of values which emphasized hard work, thrift, religious
observance, the family, an awareness of one's duty, absolute honesty in public
life, and extreme respectability in sexual matters. This is the set of values which
are now called Victorian.
These included not only political reforms, but also reforms which recognized
some human rights (as we now call them).