England: 1815-1914
England: 1815-1914 The period of time from 1815 through 1914 is commonly referred to as the Hundred Years Peace. Begining at the end of the Napoleonic Wars at Waterloo in 1815, and until the outbreak of war in 1914, the contries in Europe were mostly at peace with one another. Wellington 's land victory at Waterloo in 1815, marked the end of wars for almost a century in Europe. Britain was the dominant power, and the defeat of Napoleon broke the French 's will to rule the world as they had done once before. This time period become the age of poets with remarkable people, such as Keats, Shelly, and Byron. It also was named a great time period of science with electrical engineers such as Davy and Faraday. It was with this cultures background that Queen Victoria rose to the throne in 1837, when she was only 18 years of age, and started a magnificient reign that spanned for almost 65 years. This eventful time period could be viewed as Britain 's imperial century with their seemingly endless industrialization. Britain added about eight million square miles of territory and roughly four hundred million people to the British Empire. Along with the superior control it maintained over its own British colonies, Britain 's dominant position in the world 's trade meant that it mainly controlled the economies of many countries like China and Argentina. The British Empire was unchallenged at sea and it 's strength was built by the steamboat and the telegraph machine, which allowed it to control and defend the empire very effectively. Britain had controlled colonies all around the world, and three of these colonies were settled by colonists from Europe who built societies that were strongly shaped by the British culture. New Zealand, Australia, and Canada all developed industrial economies, and they hoped to have control of their own governments. The white settlers of Canada were split into two groups that did not get along very well, the Protestant English
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