British Abroad (1845-1865) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Duke of Cadiz

Francis I of Spain also known as the Duke of Cadiz married the young Queen Isabella in 1846. The marriage took place under French bribery and was a bitter blow for Britain. There were many rumours surrounding the Duke of Cadiz, including suggestions that he may have been impotent or may have been a homosexual. For Britain, hypothetically speaking, if Isabella had no children and her sister, Luisa, became queen then there could have been collaboration between France and Spain.

In reality, it so happened that Queen Isabella had many children, though, whether or not they were sired by her husband, the Duke of Cadiz, is another matter! This eradicated the possibility of the French gaining a foothold in Spain as Luisa's husband, Montpensier, the younger son of the French leader Louis Philippe, was no longer a possible heir to the throne.

Answer: 1848

19th century European liberalism was, put very simply, the adoption of a constitution usually similar to that of Britain. 19th century European nationalism was the want to create a state which would unite all similar traditions, values and those who speak the same language whilst wanting to get rid of foreign rule. Sometimes nationalism didn't extend as far as wanting to be totally independent. This was the case with Hungary as part of the Austrian Empire; it wanted full equality within the empire not independence from it.

In 1848, there were many revolutions, some successful, throughout Europe. In France, the leader Louis Philippe was successfully replaced by a new republican regime. The Italian population of Lombardy and Venetia attempted to free themselves from Austrian rule. In Vienna, the chancellor, Metternich, was made to leave the empire as well as the people of Hungary fighting for equality within the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Answer: Haynau

The Austrian general, Haynau, was invited by the government to visit Britain. During his visit to a brewery in Southwark, London some workmen, outraged by the general's record in Italy and Hungary, chased him through the streets of the English capital. Queen Victoria asked that an official apology should be made to the Austrians and Palmerston complied to such demands. Utterly Palmerston however, he had to add that Haynau was a 'great moral criminal' and that he had simply been asking for trouble. Queen Victoria was again outraged and it led to his later resignation. The atrocities of General Haynau included a multitude of hangings as well as a zest for flogging women.

Answer: Don Pacifico

The Don Pacifico affair was important for a number of reasons. The recently created independent state of Greece was in trouble with the British government for not paying its debts to the nations that had aided the nationalist and liberal uprising against the Ottoman Empire. So, when Don Pacifico, born in Gibraltar (a British colony), was attacked and his house burnt down - and was refused compensation by the Greeks, Palmerston got involved. Palmerston is known by historians as being the epitome of opportunism similar to the Conservative prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli.

This opportunistic behaviour therefore brings into dispute the true motives for British involvement. Was it for the benefit of just one British subject or was there an underlying interest in coercing the Greeks to pay off their debts? Pacifico eventually received compensation for his ordeal, albeit less than what he wanted, but, for Palmerston he had to once again justify himself to parliament, the public and the Queen, Victoria.

His long-lasting speech ended with these inspirational words which got Palmerston out of trouble, " ... as the Roman in days of old held himself free from indignity when he could say Civis Romanum sum [I am a Roman citizen], so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong".

Answer: Treaty of Nanking

The Treaty of Nanking was signed in the summer of 1842. It ended the First Opium War which began over trading disputes. The Chinese government banned the trading of opium which was big business in 19th century Britain. This, along with a few other factors resulted in a naval fleet being sent to coerce the Chinese to reopen trading at major ports such as Canton, Foochow and Ningpo. By 1857, roughly 15 years later, the Chinese no longer followed the demands of the Treaty of Nanking.

The main issue for Palmerston was to make sure the Chinese accepted the trade and he wasn't particularly interested in whether they wanted it or not. Palmerston's actions were supported by other foreign countries as they too wanted to expand their trade and business in to the east of Asia.

Answer: Garibaldi

In the mid-19th century, Italy was still divided in to many different and separate states. Throughout Europe there was a surge in the popularity of nationalism as more and more countries wanted the unification of people of the same language and culture in a single state. This extended to what is now Italy and was actively campaigned for by the nationalist leader, Giuseppe Garibaldi. Britain's Viscount Palmerston sent naval help for Italian unification which ultimately turned out to be a success and resulted in the Kingdom of Italy.
The message sent out, however, was that Britain under Palmerston would help nations who also wanted a nationalist uprising and this assumption was bad news for other regions of Europe later on in the century.
Garibaldi's legacy is one of the best in world history and even AJP Taylor said that "Garibaldi is the only wholly admirable figure in modern history". He is fondly remembered by both nationalists and liberals and has a type of biscuit named after him - and very nice they are too!

Answer: The Alabama Incident

The American Civil War took place between 1861 and 1865 and throughout this period Britain took an official stance of neutrality. However, there were two key incidents which almost resulted in Britain becoming involved in the war; these were the Trent Incident and the Alabama Incident of 1861 and 1862 respectively.

These were both naval incidents which caused considerable distress to both the North and South. American president, Abraham Lincoln, stated that the Alabama Incident was a breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819.

This particular piece of legislation stated that Britain could not build nor equip military vessels meant for either side in a war in which Britain stated neutrality. Lincoln believed Britain were in breach of this due to the South ordering warships from British naval yards.

Answer: Poland

Poland had once been an independent nation but in 1772, 1793 and 1795 Austria, Prussia and Russia all took vast areas for themselves, and in 1795 had wiped Poland off the map.

In 1863 the Poles initially rebelled but were horrifically put down by Russia under Tsar Alexander II and support was offered by Prussian Minster-President (Prime Minister) Bismarck. Britain and France however deplored the treatment of the Poles and suggested the possibility of some military support for them. However, this all fell apart as Britain's Viscount Palmerston deeply distrusted French leader Napoleon III and was suspicious of his motives. This left Poland in a terrible state - a serious failure for Palmerston.

Answer: Denmark

The Danish population strongly believed that the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein should become an integral part of Denmark. Prussian leader, Bismarck, was utterly against this as the area was (largely) inhabited by German speaking people. Therefore, in a nationalist move he made it quite clear to Denmark that if they attempted to annex Schleswig and Holstein, the Prussian military will become involved. What Bismarck did not mention was his intention of seizing the Duchies or his own expansionist ideas in that region. Britain, through Viscount Palmerston, bluffed.

He stated "...those who made the attempt [attacking Denmark] would find that it would not be Denmark alone with which they would have to contend". Palmerston's bluff was called by Bismarck who, along with Austria, sent forces in to the Duchies and the Danes had to back down.

This has been recognised as one of Palmerston's most severe failures during his time as both foreign secretary and as prime minister. Schleswig-Holstein became a part of Prussia.

Answer: Bismarck

Minister-President and later Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, was the key figure in the unification of Germany. His ruthlessness earned him the nickname 'Iron Chancellor'. However, there is an interesting take on the process of German unification proposed by a highly entertaining historian, the late AJP Taylor. He more or less stated that Bismarck achieved unification through a series of blunders by others of which he took advantage.

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