Lipscombe, A History and Atlas of Victoria’s Wars, 1815-1902

A magnificently designed atlas that illuminates the numerous battles and campaigns that defined the reign of Queen Victoria. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna brought an end to the Napoleonic Wars and laid the foundation for a general European peace that endured for nearly a century. Britains last European rival in the quest for empire and global supremacy had been neutralized; and between 1815 and 1901Britains "imperial century"the British Empire absorbed approximately ten million square miles of territory and some 400 million people. On every single day of Queen Victorias reign (18371901), British forces were engaged in action somewhere in the worldconflicts that are explained and illustrated in detail in this authoritative atlas. Over the course of this so-called *Pax Britannica*, the British government awarded some 43 campaign medalsfeaturing a total of 202 claspsfor a multitude of minor wars waged against irregular forces, as well as for large-scale conflicts against regular armies. Featuring over 135 maps created specifically for this volumeexpertly explained and placed within their historical context in the accompanying textthis beautifully produced atlas examines the role of Victorias army (and, to a lesser extent, the Royal Navy) in fulfilling its duty as "the Queens soldiers": amidst those inspiring victories and bitter defeats that Rudyard Kipling once termed the "savage wars of peace."