Benjamin Disraeli

Disraeli was born in London in 1804. His parents were both Italian Jews and moved to England with his family in the 18th century. His father, Isaac Disraeli, was an accomplished litterateur who had traveled to the European continent. He was a believer in the famous French enlightenment thinkers Voltaire and Rousseau. He was also close to the domestic enlightenment romantic poets George Gordon Byron, Robert Souset, and historical novelist Walter Scott. Under their influence, his thoughts tended to progress. Isaac was not a devout member of Judaism to begin with. Later, because of a quarrel with the Jew Marcos, he quit Jewish gatherings from 1817 and converted his children to the Church of England.

He was the leader of the British Conservative Party, the Chancellor of the Exchequer for three terms, and served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868, 1874 - 1880). Played a major role in transforming the Tories into Tories. During his term as Prime Minister, he was an active advocate and defender of British colonial imperialism. During his tenure as Prime Minister, he vigorously promoted policies of foreign aggression and colonial expansion. His name is closely associated with the British colonial empire. He was also a novelist, and his social and political fame gave him a special position among successive British prime ministers.

Disraeli was highly praised by the British bourgeoisie in history and is regarded as one of the most outstanding figures to rise to the peak in British politics. Even his political opponent Gladstone praised him: "Lord Beaconsfield's career is in many ways the most commendable in parliamentary history." This kind of praise is not difficult to understand. As a representative of the bourgeoisie, he did his best to consolidate the British capitalist system. In a sense, his political rise can be said to be a microcosm of the development of British capitalism in the middle and late 19th century. In his early days in politics, he firmly defended the Old Tory Party's stance that represented the interests of the British land aristocrats and prelates in the 18th century. Later, he broke up with Peel because of his opposition to the abolition of the Grain Law and the opening of free trade. But he was a bourgeois political practitioner with foresight. As he himself became the leader of the Conservative Party and set out to consolidate a divided party with a shrinking political base, he gradually realized that the most fundamental thing to revitalize the Conservative Party was to transform and innovate it so that it could meet the needs of the new era. In the later period of his political activities, especially during his tenure as Prime Minister, he carried out some reforms at home and colonial expansion abroad. These activities were deeply praised by the bourgeoisie, won honors for the Conservative Party, and made contributions to the construction of the British colonial empire. He himself was anointed by Queen Victoria and entered the House of Lords wearing the title of Earl of Bicounsfield, leaning sideways among the ranks of aristocrats. This was Disraeli's life.