Disraeli, Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81), The Scramble for Afirca

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81).
- The Scramble for Afirca

Kitchener

Benjamin Disraeli first moved into the Prime Minister's office in 1867. Disraeli believed in the expansion of the British Empire and he had a romantic enthusiasm for imperial adventures and the Scramble for Africa. Benjamin Disraeli viewed the empire as an extraordinary asset and that the British Empire made Britain a great power, a global power whilst enabling her to have plenty of muscle in Europe.

Disraeli's persuasion and showmanship ensured Queen Victoria’s investiture as Empress of India in 1877 this was to be a flamboyant display of imperial pomp and power which paved the way for the glittering Jubilees towards the end of her reign.

Disraeli fought wars in Afghanistan and in South Africa, both in 1879, and was roundly condemned for aggressive imperialism by Gladstone. For him,the Empire was a means of spreading the peculiar glories of aristocratic rule and the English constitution. He saw the Empire as a benevolent despotism, as well as a scene of British power and glory which could attract working-class voters at home. He romanticised exotic imperial cultures and distant heroic battlefields, building powerful emotions from which his party could benefit. Disraeli knew that the Empire could distract people from their problems at home. Pride in the Empire could also bind the classes together, making them forget their differences.

East Africa Askari Colonial Soldier Collection

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