Benjamin Disraeli

Introduction

Benjamin Disraeli, whose full title was 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, was born of Jewish parents on 21 December 1804 in London and he died there as well on 19th April 1881. It was not until he turned 13 years old when he was baptized in the Anglican faith.

Disraeli worked in the political sector and became a very important figure for the development of the Conservative Party. For two decades he even received the office as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (27 February 1868-1 December 1868 / 20 February 1874-21 April 1880). That made him the first Prime Minister with Jewish origins in British history. His close relationship to Queen Victoria helped him survive difficult situations during his time in office.

Moreover Benjamin Disraeli also wrote novels. Two well-known ones are Sybil and Vivian Grey.

Benjamin Disraeli's private life

Benjamin Disraeli was the oldest son and the second-born child in a family of five. His father was Isaac D'Israeli, who worked as a historian and a literary critic, and his mother was Maria Basevi. In 1817 Disraeli’s father had a conflict with his home synagogue and that is why he decided to baptize his oldest son in the Anglican belief. In 1824 Isaac D'Israeli decided to make a trip through Belgium and the Rhine Valley. As Benjamin was old enough he was allowed to accompany his father. He enjoyed this trip very much and wrote some travel descriptions about it.

After that Benjamin worked in several branches although he was not very successful. His last job even led him to his own total bankruptcy whose consequences he had to suffer from the rest of his life. To gain at least a bit of money he turned to his literary interest and started writing novels. In 1826 Benjamin managed to publish his first novel Vivian Grey anonymously. However it turned out to be a huge success. Only some members of the Tory party had some objections against Disraeli's book when they discovered that it was written by him as it contained a lot of grammatical mistakes and absurdities. At that time authors should be highly educated and by publishing mistakes the book cast a poor light on Disraeli. Thus a lot of critical reviews came into being. After having published the controversial novel Vivian Grey Benjamin went on publishing political pamphlets and further novels like The Young Duke (1831), Henrietta Temple (1837), Sybil (1840), etc.

Benjamin Disraeli was also interested in women and that is why he had some affairs with women from the higher class. It was not until he met Mary Anne Lewis in 1839, a rich widow, when he started his own family by marrying her.

Benjamin Disraeli's political career

Benjamin Disraeli decided early in his life that he wanted to become a politician. In 1832 he started his first attempt to be recognised by parliament by reacting on an anti-Whig pamphlet dealing with the Reform Bill which was entitled "England and France: or a cure for Ministerial Gallomania". The aim of Disraeli's reaction was to show a bit of rebellion and to gain a foothold in politics. As his response was radical he was seen as a radical politician. This attitude was supported by his statement that at this point of time he was not able to identify himself neither with the Tories nor with the Whigs. Nevertheless he managed as a radical to become a person who might be elected. He was not successful, though. That is why he decided to become a member of the Tories. In 1837 he won his first seat in the House of Commons and represented Maidstone. There he fought for an alliance between aristocrats and working-class people against the middle class to avoid exploitation by the middle class which became stronger and stronger.

In 1852 Benjamin Disraeli became Chancellor of the Exchequer under the new Prime Minister Edward Stanley, who received the title of the Earl of Derby. Stanley's predecessor Lord John Russell and his government had to resign as they did not manage to find a majority to accept the Ecclesiastical Titles Act in 1851. That is why in the next elections it was the Earl of Derby who won. After his inauguration Disraeli declared that taxes on malt and tea had to be reduced whereas house taxes had to be increased. Moreover Benjamin Disraeli introduced a regular income tax to gain more money. Suddenly there was a fast and high increase of money which was needed for the country's defense. This was not included in Disraeli's plans for the country's financial basis and the whole finance collapsed. In December 1852 the government under the Earl of Derby was not re-elected. Benjamin Disraeli had to take his seat on the opposition benches. In 1867 Disraeli supported successfully the Representation of the People Act (Second Reform Bill) which enlarged the franchise and fixed a fairer distribution of seats in parliaments for representatives of the different counties and boroughs.

Benjamin Disraeli's time as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

In February 1868 the acting Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Earl of Derby, got ill and had to resign. That is why he contacted his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli, if he liked to be his successor. Disraeli accepted and on 27th February 1868 Queen Victoria appointed him as the new British Prime Minister.

During a short period in office he was able to pass the Public Schools Act (1886), the Telegraph Act (1868), the Capital Punishment Amendment Act (1868) and the Parliamentary Election Act (1868). The last one was the most important one as it gave the tribunal of judges the right to punish elections which were not handled in the right way. This task was until this point of time done by the House of Commons. Due to a highly expensive expedition which was authorized by Disraeli, he and his government got financial problems which led to the end of Disraeli being the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

In 1874 Benjamin Disraeli was again appointed as Prime Minister of Great Britain and at once he had to handle a big problem: the passing of the Public Worship Regulation Bill. This bill should clarify and fix rituals in the Church of England and at the same time it should respect Catholic rituals done in catholic churches. After a lot of discussions and obstacles Disraeli was successful and the bill was passed in parliament. Moreover Disraeli fought again for an improvement of the conditions under which the working class had to live. Thus in 1875 he passed the Artisan's and Labourer's Dwellings Improvement Act which gave local councils more power to destroy slums for hygienic and medical reasons and to rebuild them in better conditions. At the same time he secured properties of the working class with the help of the Friendly Societies Act (1875).

In 1876 Queen Victoria made him Earl of Beaconsfield and Viscount Hughenden. Thus Disraeli was a member of the [[House of Lords].

In 1880 Disraeli's party was not re-elected and he had to give up his office. One year later he died at the age of 76 in London.

Further Links

Prime Minister’s official homepage <http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/prime-ministers-in-history/benjamin-disraeli> (accessed 29th October 2010)

Hibbert, Christopher, Disraeli: A Personal History, London: Harper Collins, 2005.

Kirsch, Adam, Benjamin Disraeli, New York: Nextbook ,2008.