... electorate with jingoistic rhetoric. This essay will argue that Gladstone's criticism of Disraeli is misplaced, his actions were not reckless but carefully considered, and while some of his decisions were ethically debatable they were meticulously calculated to bring the Tory Party, (and Britain), the greatest reward possible. A hotly contested issue between the two was the Suez Canal purchase. In 1875 the Khedive and the French jointly owned the canal but the Khedive was having financial difficulties and decided to sell the shares. Disraeli saw the potential dangers of a French company buying the shares leading to complete French control of the canal. He was particularly worried about the effect of trade routes with India, which Lancaster believes to be a miscalculation, believing the link with Australia and New Zealand to be the more profitable partnership. Gladstone was outraged when Disraeli, with considerable skill, secured the £4million required to make the ...

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