January 1 in Victorian History
What the Victorians were up to on this date, year by remarkable year.
The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect
On New Year's Day, Abraham Lincoln's proclamation comes into force, declaring freedom for the enslaved people of the rebellious Southern states. It does not end slavery everywhere at once, but it transforms the American Civil War into a fight for human liberty. In Britain, mill workers and reformers who had cheered the Union cause hail it as a turning point.
Victoria becomes Empress of India
On the first day of the new year, Queen Victoria is formally proclaimed Empress of India at a grand durbar in Delhi. The title, pushed through by Disraeli's Royal Titles Act, crowns two decades of direct British rule over the subcontinent. From Calcutta to Canada, the empire now has an empress to match the czars of Russia.
Australia becomes a federation
As the new century dawns, six British colonies unite to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Lord Hopetoun swears in the first federal government in Sydney's Centennial Park before a crowd of thousands. Queen Victoria, in the last weeks of her life, assents to the birth of a new nation.