Steam and the speed of light (1750 – 1850)
Queen Victoria was crowned in 1837 at the age of 18 and would continue on to reign for 64 years. Her time on the throne was the reason an entire era was named after her—The Victorian Era. The Queen undoubtedly had a huge influence on her subjects throughout the British Empire and beyond.
Fashion
The rise of white bridalwear
You can thank Queen Victoria for popularizing the modern day tradition of white bridal-wear. She decided to defy royal tradition at the time—instead of wearing her coronation dress for her royal wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, she chose a fashionable gown made of English-made Spitalfields satin, trimmed with Honiton lace.
Typical brides at the time tended to wear brighter and more colourful dresses that could be worn again for other occasions. Wealthy brides soon hopped on the trend of wearing white on their own wedding days which flaunted the fact that they could afford to have the dress cleaned—a task that was notoriously difficult in those days.
https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/queen-victoria-and-prince-albert-on-their-return-from-the-news-photo/3376811?adppopup=true
https://www.rct.uk/collection/407165/the-marriage-of-queen-victoria-10-february-1840
https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/bridgemandeag/british_ships_destroying_an_enemy_fleet_in_canton_1841_first_opium_war_china_19th_century/0?institutionId=6884
Geopolitics
During the reign of Queen Victoria, the two opium wars happened. This was the first Anglo-Chinese conflict. The First Opium War lies in this survey’s time frame (1839–42) was waged by Britain against China to enforce the opening of Chinese ports to trade in opium. Opium from British India paid for Britain’s imports from China, such as porcelain, silk, and, above all, tea. The First Opium War resulted in the cession of Hong Kong to Britain and the opening of five treaty ports for trade (Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai).
References
http://www.vintageconnection.net/QueenVictoria.htm
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/04/queen-victoria-royal-wedding
“Opium Wars.” The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon, 2018. Credo Reference, https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/opium_wars/0?institutionId=6884. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.