History of the British Isles was the period of Queen Victoria's rule between 1837 and 1901 which signified the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. Scholars debate whether the Victorian period—as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political concerns that have come to be associated with the Victorians—actually begins with the passage of the Reform Act 1832. The era was preceded by the Regency era and succeeded by the Edwardian period. Victoria became queen in 1837 at age 18. Her long reign saw Britain reach the zenith of its economic and political power, with the introduction of
History of cricket in the West Indies to 1918 indentured to their former owners in an apprenticeship system which was finally abolished in 1838. £20 million was paid in compensation to plantation owners in the Caribbean. Inter-Colonial matches were sporadic in the early years of West Indian cricket, mainly because of travel difficulties between the islands and there were only 10 such matches up to 1890, involving Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad. These ten games are generally regarded as first-class matches. The British Guiana team was often referred to as Demerara and the two names seem to have been interchangeable at first. British Guiana is used here throughout until