The idea of a canal linking the Mediterranean to the Rea Sea dates back to ancient times.
It was Napoleon’s engineers who, around 1800 AD, revived the idea of a shorter route
to India via the Suez Canal. It was not until 1859 that Egyptian workers started working
on the construction of Canal in conditions, described by historians, as slave labor. The
project was completed around 1867. Although Britain had played no part in building
the Suez Canal in Egypt, it benefited greatly when it opened. The new 190-km-long
waterway shortened the route from Britain to India by around 9,700 km, therby extending
their powers of trading.

In 1870, a movement calling for Home Rule was founded in Ireland. Supporters of Home
Rule wanted a separate parliament to deal with Irish affairs in Dublin. Although the
British government was force to introduce many reforms, two bills to introduce Home
Rule were defeated in parliament in the 1880s and 1980s. William Gladstone was Prime
Minister of Britain four times during the reign of Queen Victoria. He believe that the
Irish should run their own affairs and was a staunch supporter of Home Rule. But he
failed to get his Home Rule Bill approved by parliament. During World War I, the issue
of Home Rule continued to cause conflict in Ireland. The third Home Rule Bill had
been passed by the British parliament in 1914, but the outbreak of war in the same year
delayed the start. Irish protestants, however, were bitterly opposed to Home Rule. They
were in the majority in the northern province of Ulster, and believed that they would
be treated unfairly by a Dublin parliament. They formed the Ulster Volunteer Force to
protect themselves if Home Rule was introduced.

The 1860s was a time of uncertainty and political unrest in Japan. Finally, in 1868, the
situation became so serious that Emperor Mutsuhito took control from the last shogun
(military dictator). Mutsuhito became known as the Meiji emperor, and this event is
called the ‘Meiji restoration’. Under the emperor’s authority, Japan embarked on a
programmed of modernization. In 1872, a group of Japanese politicians went on a tour
of Europe and North America to learn more about industry, education and ways of life
in the West. As a result, factories were built in Japan and the country started to change
from an agricultural to an industrialized nation. This also included the establishment of
a national railway system. During the period of Meiji rule, education was introduced for
all Japanese people. The Meiji emperor also gave farmers ownership of their lands and
changed Japan’s army and navy into modern military forces.