Any Odds Against the Hobby, by William Henry Boucher (1837-1906). Judy (30 May 1877): 44-45. Click on image to enlarge it.
Boucher contrasts Disraeli’s conservative party and its French and Turkish allies against Gladstone’s hobby horse and his Russian ally. As Richard Scully points out, “when the Russo-Turkish War broke out, Boucher and Judy take the Conservative line that intervention should only come when Britain's possessions and direct interests are threatened.” Britain’s “direct interest” throughout the entire Victorian era involved protecting the Suez Canal and hence Egypt, since the canal provided the main route to India, England’s most precious colony —a source of great wealth, resources (including the Indian army), and a captive market. The Russo-Turkish war, as Scully points out, destroyed “the Treaty of Paris, which concluded the Crimean War, and made the Black Sea a neutral space, closed to all warships and limiting fortifications along its coasts).” Tories and liberals alike saw the results of the war as a major threat to the all-important passage to India.
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Created 31 January 2022