Heyday: The 1850s and the Dawn of the Global Age

by Ben Wilson

A global history of the 1850s, the turbulent decade that marked the peak of the Victorian era, the birth of modernity, and the beginning of the first global age

Genres: History, Nonfiction, 19th Century, Economics, World History, Research, Science

520 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 12, 2016

About the author

Ben Wilson was born in 1980 and educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first class degree and an MPhil in history. He is the author of three books and was named in 2005 as one of Waterstone's 25 Authors of the Future. He has consulted on scripts for various TV history progammes, and has himself appeared on TV and on national radio in the UK, Ireland and the USA. He has given lectures at Tate Britain, Cambridge and Zagreb and at book festivals in the UK including the Edinburgh Festival. He has written for the Spectator, Literary Review, Independent on Sunday, Scotsman, Men's Health, Guardian Online and GQ.
He is the author of five previous books, including What Price Liberty?, for which he received the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Sunday Times bestseller Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy.

Reviews

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent non-fiction book about the 1850's (and a little beyond) which were a time of huge advances and boom, but also with wars, busts and with more clouds on the horizon; however the first successful underwater cable connection between the Uk and Europe under the Channel which allowed telegraph to be extended to Britain, the first universal Expo or world fair showcasing the goods of the world and allowing people to see something of most places without having to travel there were events that galvanized the public as the world truly entered the global era; yes, the first transatlantic cable (laid in the 1850's) failed after a few messages but it was clearly a matter of time only (one that will keep working will be completed in 1866) and the long distance railways connecting the East and West coasts here in the Us as well the ones connecting Europe with the farthest reaches of Asia were a little in the future too, but the outline of the global world was clear; on the flip side, the huge improvements in organized destruction (the Colt repeating revolver, the rifled gun and then the automatic Gatling gun) meant that the remaining indigenous warrior cultures (the Plains Indians, the Maoris, various African tribes etc) who could fight on equal terms on horseback and/or regular guns were now doomed as was the Indian rebellion of 1857-9 as the British could use the modern railways, telegraph stations and fast ships to mobilize fast

and those are only some highlights since the book covers a lot and it is very absorbing, reading like a novel

Highly recommended

[SusanJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness what a wonderful book. I'd been wondering about what-all was going on in the rest of the world in the years leading up to our U.S. Civil War, and this book was so very helpful... I'm ordering my own copy now that I've returned the library's, and also reading some others that fill out various aspects of the world scene about which I had known little.

[Hal]

Recommended by Hendrik

[Fred Svoboda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice history focuses on the international role of Great Britain in the decade of the 1850s as improvements in communication and transportation technology and Britain's faith in the liberal influences of free trade came up against the limitations of the world as it actually was, in such disastrous happenings as the Indian Mutiny and the resistance of the Chinese to foreign influence. This is particularly of value to U.S. readers, who tend to get a history that focuses on what was happening in North America to the exclusion of larger patterns. Thus in "Heyday" we have the California Gold Rush, but also the gold discoveries in Australia, for example. Highly recommended.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, covering the energetic 1850s, a decade that saw many technological, economic, and social “leaps” alongside the start of the struggles and conflicts that would define the rest of the Century. The author makes a well-reasoned thesis that a decade in the middle of the 19th Century (specifically the period from 1851 to 1862) was a major turning point in world history; that it was truly the start of the modern era, and all the good and bad which that entails. Fueled by the Californian and Australian gold rushes of the late 1840s and early 1850s, pushed forward by a quickened economic cycle due to various legal and business developments, supported by major progress in transportation and communications technologies, and motivated by the theories of free-market trade arrangements (which finally won their long political battles in the late 1840s), the 1850s were a boom time for the world economy. Even the occasional “busts” were short lived and regional or sector specific, bypassed by the larger economic story that was global in nature. Yet behind these good times, and the predominantly Anglo-Saxon moralizing self-righteousness it fueled, lay a darker realization that the global markets were dependent on the increasingly imperialistic nature of European world affairs, were built upon staple crop agriculture in slave or indentured cultures with limited freedoms for their workers, and were pushing working classes and frontier communities to ever more separation from their original cultural centers. All of those darker elements grew over time so that the “Heyday” decade that started with the Crystal Palace in London and a shortened route to California via Nicaragua ended with a Civil War in America and the burning of the Summer Palace in Beijing. The author does a great job weaving together this global story, presenting seemingly separate entities or persons as close examples of a worldwide trend. Amongst others he presents New Zealand and Minnesota as the essence of frontier development; William Walker and Imam Schamyl to show the power of remote individuals in a connected world; and John Brown, Giuseppe Garibaldi, & Yoshida Shoin demonstrating the growing conflict against the powerful market forces shaping the world. All in all this is an enjoyable book to read, providing both deep explanations to the beginnings of our modern world and an interesting history of a bygone era. Great for those who want to know more about the mid-19th Century, with an emphasis on the history of transportation and communications technology.

[Breck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book about how the world changed in the 1850s. I learned so much, especially about how new technology—like steam engines, trains, and telegraphs—connected people and helped empires grow. I didn’t realize how fast things were changing back then or how much that shaped the world we live in today.

The most fascinating parts for me were about the British Empire in India, China, and Japan. I didn’t know much about Britain’s actions in these countries, and it was surprising, and sometimes shocking, to read about. The Indian Rebellion was a big moment I hadn’t heard about before. The way Britain forced China to accept opium trade and took control of Chinese ports was also disturbing but important to learn. I had no idea how far Britain went to control trade and power in Asia. I was also interested learning more about the Crimean War, which took place between Russia, the Cossacks, and the British and Ottoman Empires.

The writing was clear, even though the book covers a lot of places and events. It never felt too hard to follow. I finished the book with a much better understanding of how the 1800s shaped the modern world. If you like history and want to learn more about global empires and how the world became connected, this is a great book to read.

[Celes · Rating 4 out of 5]

维多利亚的发展和加利福尼亚，约翰内斯堡一样，都是从混乱而无序的矿场地发展为现代化城镇，数以万计的挖金人都是城镇发展的牺牲品，真正发财的只是少数。不过比起波托西来说已经算很好了，如果后者允许私人挖掘，也许它也会像维多利亚一样发展起来，只可惜它只归西班牙国王所有。澳大利亚和美国的淘金热催生了很大的生活工作必需品市场，只可惜中国日本没有实现向工业社会的转型，眼睁睁的看着这块生意被英美抢走了。

没想到美国在克里米亚战争时这么支持俄国，他们敌视英国的原因应该是英国在加勒比海的扩张影响了南方种植园主的利益，沃克对尼加拉瓜的征服切合了种植园主的愿望，但这大大警醒了英国，后来英国在南北战争时抛弃南方，未尝没有之前的芥蒂作祟。

英国对印度起义的平定过程引发了盎格鲁撒克逊民族的种族优越感，对落后种族使用武力征服从此成了19世纪后四十年的英国对外政策的一条准则，叶名琛在为英国军队中途撤军而欢欣时，没有想过这只是英国入侵的一个中间插曲，中国最终还是吞下了天津条约和北京条约的苦果。

跨洋电缆的出现极大改变了西方世界新闻传播的方式，虽然有海底电缆出事导致新闻出现乱码，但后续技术的改进使得海底电缆遍布世界大洋，全球真正成为一个世界村，印度土兵起义，美国内战的新闻通过电缆线传递出去，极大的影响了各国经济动态。

美国南方妄想通过棉花要求英国援助，就像现在的某国想以能源为武器要挟西方一样，结果在中亚，印度，埃及棉花源源不断出产的情况下成了泡影，而林肯的解放奴隶宣言让格莱斯顿称颂南方人是美国建国诸贤的继承人的讲话显得既不合时宜，又违背道德，英国当局开始与南方保持距离。

加富尔，加里波第利用法奥战争之机让撒丁王国开始了意大利复兴之旅，铁路让法军对奥军具有人数上的优势（讽刺的是普鲁士和德国后来用铁路让法国人知道了快速动员优势），但是拿破仑三世只想保持欧洲的均势和梵蒂冈的教皇地位，因此叫停了撒丁王国后续的行动，这让意大利人大为怨恨，后来在普法战争中反对法国也就不足为怪了。

随着美国内战的结束，19世纪50年代的黄金时期仍在持续，帝国主义进入了互相竞争，弱肉强食的年代，德国，意大利，日本，美国等后起之秀开始挑战英国的传统霸主地位，英国维持广大的殖民地开始力不从心，19世纪开始的资本主义发展进入了下半场，日不落帝国终于还是走向了衰落之路。

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heyday was an interesting book that basically gave a review of historical events in the 1850s focusing on the themes of transport, communication and globalisation. I thought it was great for giving a global overview of this period. I had previously only encountered the Victorians through a very British-centric lens and it really helped me to put this in a wider context. It was a fairly straightforward read but it helps if you already have a basic idea of the history of this period. It was a bit dry at points and I read it in two goes. Overall though, I learnt a lot of new things and it really got across the importance of global communication in causing massive change. Would definitely read another book by Ben Wilson.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is gutta-percha, and how did it change history? Find out in Wilson's wide-ranging history of "Britain in the world" during the optimism of the 1850s. "Heyday" is a good account of the growing interconnectedness of the world, with fascinating coverage of the Great Exhibition, the introduction of oceanic telegraphy, the development of record-breaking sea travel, the beginnings of Reuters, and the manly importance of beards. Sadly for me, the fascinating sections are interspersed with much less interesting sections on money and fighting, but this was still a good read.

[Fred Baerkircher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not the most exciting writing, but the information is really compelling. It only makes sense that a book about the birth of the global economy encompasses the globe, but I appreciated the examination of why, for instance, Japanese and Chinese experiences with the West were so different. Wilson explores how, like now, people's lives were affected by events in faraway lands they knew nothing about - for example, the economic boon created by the American Civil War for Indian cotton farmers.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read about many of the topics covered in isolation it was brilliant to read about how they interacted and to get a better appreciation for the timeframe of events around the world. The detail and repetition of key themes made it feel like a continuous narrative and the questions built up through the read were satisfyingly answered in the epilogue.

[Holley Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like it and I tried to like it, the scholarship is there and the topics were well chosen - the writing just does not catch fire or flow - I struggled then shelved it. May try it again in awhile.

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrative non-fiction is hard to pull off well. This author did an outstanding job of it. Some call it "horizontal history" and I really enjoy learning all the context of what was happening during an event, all across the world.

[Russell James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent tour through the momentous 1850s: the gold rush, China, India, slavery, the American Civil War, that new-fangled telegraph ... Lucid and eye-opening.

[Ms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilson connected many events, happening across one decade, that resonate today.

[Sue McGalliard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting for the first quarter and then I just lost interest in the subject. Well written and I would have carried on if I had nothing better lined up.

[James Woo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Teleterry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great perspective on the 1850s

[Carl Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best popular histories I’ve read for a couple of years - brilliant telling of an interesting decade.

[Eve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only the first half of the book was good.

[Mark Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book exploring a period of history where so much happened. Fascinating in its linkage of the old world and the new. Far reaching and epic.

[Michael Birley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are not many History books that I would describe as a”page turner”. Heyday would be one of them. A fascinating delve into what happened in the world in the mid 1800s.

[Mayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting pop-history book. I learned about a lot of different things that happened during that time that I didn't have prior knowledge of. I liked reading about the connections the author made to different events happening around the world and how we can see a lot of the same things happening today.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very engaging and enjoyable bit of pop history that does a very good job tying together some of the major trends of the 1850s. Wilson notes that the era was looked at as something of a golden age at the time. It came after the Revolutions of 1848 and economic problems (most notably the Irish famine) - but the 1850s itself was noted by progress and prosperity.

He starts in London, and begins with a big event from the late 1840s - the repeal of England's Corn Laws. This pushed the British Empire into free trade - and boy, did it work out great for them. The world entered free trade with the empire. Wilson looks at the 1851 Crystal Palace Expo in London to show where the world was, and where it was going. The British Empire produced 66% of the world's coal, 70% of its steel, 50% of its iron, and 50% of its textiles. So the Corn Laws repeal was big news for the entire world. The Crystal Palace expo set the tone of progress and confidence for the decade.

The main theme of the decade was globalization. The world seemingly became more and more connected all the time. You had gold rushes in California and Australia. You had not only people pour to those remote places, but the flow of humans forced improved transportation around the world - in the form of more railroad miles and new Clipper ships. The American frontier was part of this story of globalization, and immigrants came to Minnesota or Kansas to grow crops that would sell to markets elsewhere. Food production itself was globalized with the rise of grain elevators and the eruption of cities overnight like Chicago. Oh yeah, and later he notes the opening of Japan.

The middle section looks at the Crimean War and its impact. The Russians saw it as saving Christians from tyrannical Muslim rule. The British saw it as free trade versus autocracy; modernity versus backwardness. The war didn't go great for anyone. Wilson ponders how the world might be different if it had. The British failed to do anything about Caucaus regions like Chechnya. They had success in Crimea, but that might not have been as important. He also points out there the US and UK nearly went to war in the mid-1850s over US aggression in the Caribbean and Central America. A more successful Crimean War might've caused England to be more belligerent across the Atlantic. The Crimean War also caused Russia to enter Manchuria, which China's government didn't initially see as a problem. Russia was a counter-weight to mutual enemy England.

Wilson covers William Walker and guys who tried to bring Latin America into the US fold. Wilson doesn't note much regional complexity in how these guys were viewed. Well, he does a little, but not as much as he probably should.

This decade also saw more European influence across Asia. England and France had their Second Opium War in China. The bigger story of the era, though, was India. A new leader, Dalhousie, engaged in a series of reforms to modernize India. He pushed for more direct rule, more railways, telegraphs, and a postage system. But high handed behavior also sparked the great uprising in 1857. The British viewed it as civilization versus savagery, and made heroes of those who put it down. By the 1860s, though, a backlash set in due to British reprisals that made them seem less than civilized as well. Oh yeah, the Taiping Rebellion gets covered (though not in much too detail - but it is part of the story of globalization based on the obvious Christian influence on Hong Xiuquan).

The Atlantic cable was laid - and though it soon snapped, it did create a new era. (In the early 1850s, the first cable connected England to Europe itself, so this was a leap). A giant solar flare or two nearly wiped out all electricity at the time. If it happened now, the result could be calamity. But it didn't. Darwin's book came out in 1859, as did the works of John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, and a huge seller simply called "Self-Help."

By the end of the decade, the early optimism began to loose its shine. There was an economic downturn in 1857. Austria and France went into war. Garibaldi became an international hero, though one not fitting into the social order of the earlier era. Other radicals like John Brown also made their mark.

There is a chapter on the US Civil War, which is a bit off the book's topic, but isn't too far off. He largely rehashes arguments of others on how close England came to getting involved, and the role Garibaldi played in diverting attention from it at a key moment. The war also sparked an increase in internationalization, as King Cotton was surpassed by King Corn, and India became Cotton land. (Those 1850s reforms now paid off).

He has an epilogue about 1873, noting that the earlier hopes in peace, prosperity, and progress fell apart as a long recession entered in, and the climate became more belligerant.

[John Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are an American you should read this book. Don't worry the opening of the West and the lead up to the civil war are all in this. How did he world get this way...well in 1851 the "great Cable" was laid between England ( the world Superpower) and Europe, the Great Exhibition opened in London, gold had already been discovered in California and Australia..The Age of Gold, the Rise of the Media and the beginning of what we call the 'Modern Age' really began.
Now of course there was, in the middle of the decade, the Crimean War, the Taiping Rebellion, stirrings of Civil War in the USA which lead to...well you know then there was Indian Mutiny that changed the entire British Empire. Plus all the problems with the natives in China, New Zealand, the rise of a united Prussia, Italy, the fall of Napoleon III and the destruction of Japan, and China are all in this book, which compasses the mid-nineteenth century world, that we now live in..
Ben Wilson has done a stellar book that shows the world as it was and how it is today.

[Michael Hettinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong account of various events during the 1850s interconnected, and how technological advances enabled information to disseminate much more quickly than had been possible beforehand. Wilson ranges from the development of trans-Atlantic communication and fast clipper ships to the Crimean War and the opening of Japan, with enough detail about each subject to pique my curiosity and make me want to read more deeply about some areas. Definitely a book that I'll reread in order to pick up more details.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Making connections between the events during the decade: 1850-1861, and British participation. From the Australian gold rush to the Great Exhibition, Opium war to the Indian mutiny. Wilson articulately illustrates the drive for free trade, the thread that runs through these well informed and well written chapters. This is an exciting read that I found hard to put down, except when reading further on these subjects.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book - I initially thought that this would just be another 'wasn't Britain great in the 19th century' tome; but it is a subtle, incredibly diverse and yet coherent view of the period 1850-1862 which shows how a series of incredible global events were inter-connected; and also how the pace of change further intensified those events. Simply superb!

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just didn't do anything for me. Because of all the great reviews and ratings, I was excited when the book came but it was just another history. There didn't seem to be any new point of view or theory. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sensible historical thesis, explained and analysed with considerably clarity, simplicity of prose, and boundless enthusiasm. Another worthy book to add to my ever-growing library of resources for my world history students.