Parliamentary and democratic reforms in the Victorian era (1832-1885)

Abstract

This study traces the history of the British Parliament in addition to the characteristics of the Victorian age. It aims to investigate the issue of democracy in the Victorian period. In doing so, it explores the three Parliamentary Reforms (1832, 1867, and 1884-1885) since they influenced the establishment of democracy in Britain. For that, the main question that was raised in this study was the origin of the British Parliament and the circumstances under which democracy was established in addition to whether it was intended or not. For the framework of analyzing data, the content analysis was the adopted tool under the historical method. At the end, the study reveals that despite the fact that there were many attempts for reform before Victorian Period, they met with failure. However, the spread of patronage and corruption within the Parliament in addition to the nature of Victorian Age as an age for change and reform, created the most suitable environment for Parliamentary Reforms among other changes, thus, the emergence of democracy which was marked by its gradual and unintended process.