Victoria was the granddaughter of King George III of England and the oldest of a few surviving legitimate children of any of his sons. George IV's daughter Charlotte died in 1817 and at the time there were no other legitimate offspring of George IV or any of his siblings; three of his brothers married hastily to provide heirs to the throne and Alexandrina Victoria happened to be the first one born, in May 1819. She succeeded her uncle William IV, whose own children died in infancy, to the throne of England in 1837 at the age of 18.

Her father died when she was 8 months old, so she was raised by her mother and uncles and a governess, Louise Lehzen. Contrary to popular belief, Victoria grew up in England and was only German by ancestry; she could not even rule Hanover in Germany as her male ancestors had because in Hanover a woman could not be the ruler.

In 1840 she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and they had nine children. Albert was a man of culture and taste and passed these things on to his wife. When he died of typhoid in 1862, Victoria mourned deeply and dressed in black for the rest of her life; for a long time she also refused to participate in any public events, a great annoyance to the politicians of the day who felt it was her duty to represent the country. She did form a close friendship with her Scottish groom, John Brown (chronicled in the movie "Mrs. Brown") which worried her friends and family. When Brown died she worried them even more by making another close friendship with her Indian secretary Abdul Karin.

Victoria did not always get along with politicians, especially those of the Liberal party; she did like Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. She also liked the prestige of the British Empire and was very pleased to be officially titled "Empress of India" in 1877. She was also a very popular queen in her later years, after she started appearing in public again. She died after the longest reign in British history in January 1901 and was succeeded by her son Edward VII.

Victoria, B.C.
Location: Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia (Also known as B.C./BC). It is located south of the 49th parallel, below the US border yet still in Canadian territory. It is a harbor city, situated on Vancouver Island. As it is the capital, it houses BC's parliament buildings, in all of their green-copper glory.

History: Victoria has a population that is smaller than the famous "Hollywood North," better known as Vancouver, BC. This leads many to wonder - "Why isn't Vancouver the capital city of British Columbia? It has a bigger economy, it's situated on the mainland, the city is huge... Why?!" ... The answer lies in history ...

Back in the days of the Manifest Destiny, America's "God given right to the entirety of North America", the US/CAN border was still under dispute. The Americans wanted all land up to the 54'40" parallel, and advertised this fact with posters and rallies. A common chant south of the Canadian border was "54-40 or fight," which frankly, scared the bejeezus out of the Canadian Government. The Canada-spanning railroad was still trying to break through the Rocky Mountains, so a quick injection of troops was not an option - Canada needed to place it's forts in a place that was easy to defend. Various locations were cited, some high-north (Alaska area) and some in the Rocky Mountains. But the final decision came down to the souther tip of Vancouver Island - it was only accessible by water, making an assault perilous at best, plus it was well south of the 49th parallel - an optimal launching point for any counter-attacks against US soil. Though it is not confirmed, many historians beleive that a Western-Canada invasion never occured because of this strategic placement.

Today: In modern times, Victoria holds it's own economy-wise. It is a large city, and is mostly tourism-based. Many businesses provide "new" and "exciting" products to entice people to shop there - the restaurant industry in particular is amazing.

Getting There: Victoria has an international airport, which has regular connector flights to Vancouver Int'l. The taxi ride from the airport to downtown will cost you upwards from $50, and will generally take 30-45 mins depending on the traffic. Alternatively, you can fly aboard a seaplane or helicopter from Vancouver, they land directly downtown saving you time and money. The most common mode of transportation to Victoria, however, is the ferry system. BC Ferries is a node in itself, though ;)

Noteables: One of Victoria's main "attractions," if I may call it as such, is the University of Victoria (Or UVic). UVic attracts many, many students and provides a thriving young'uns industry of clubs and bars, and a veritable metropolis of apartment buildings. More northward, Butchart Gardens, world-renowned for it's beauty and it's weekly fireworks during the summer months makes this city a popular tourist stop. Whale-watching, bus tours, daily displays of various artistry, and weekly art/fair markets downtown provide non-stop entertainment.

If you're looking for a beautiful city in BC to vacation at, this be the place. It's small enough to be easily accessible and still naturally beautiful, yet large enough to provide you with any entertainment you may be seeking.

Check out the BC noders list for Noders that live in Victoria.

Oddly, Queen Victoria had some ideas which were greatly ahead of her time, despite her conservatism. For example, in the arena of royal marriage, she wrote as early as the 1870's that she saw no reason why a prince or princess could not marry someone of inferior rank. She even went so far as to accord the morganatic wives of princes the royal status they were denied in Germany, where royal rules were stricter.

It was in religion that Victoria was the most progressive. She did not believe in Satan or hell, attributing them to the posturing of the clergy. She also constantly criticized the British aristocracy's fear of Catholicism, calling it insulting to the "many good Roman Catholics" (quoted in Longford). Furthermore, she was quick to recognize the values and truths of Islam and Hinduism. When the Crown took over rule of India in the 1850's it was primarily through her (unconstitutional) intervention that freedom of worship was guaranteed to Hindus and Muslims.

Victoria was also strongly opposed to racism. She fumed that her (white) British officers and soldiers refused to serve alongside Africans and Indians. She is said to have trashed her office when the Court refused to accept the presence of the Munshi, her Indian servant. (Although it is not clear whether the Court's objections were racist, the Queen certainly thought they were.)

One area in which the Queen was notably conservative was on the question of women and the vote. She remained opposed to female doctors, except in obstetrics, and was opposed to female suffrage. It is the privilege of a woman in power to believe that women should obey men.

A song by The Kinks, written by Ray Davies that appears as the opening track on the 1969 album Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). The song is actually a diatribe on Queen Victoria, with the lyrics dripping with sarcasm. Quiet, jangly guitar adds to this song's pop sensibilities, and the song became on of The Kinks most popular tunes, available on almost every compilation and best of.


Long ago life was clean
Sex was bad and obscene
And the rich were so mean
Stately homes for the Lords
Croquet lawns, village greens
Victoria was my queen
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, 'toria

I was born, lucky me
In a land that I love
Though I am poor, I am free
When I grow I shall fight
For this land I shall die
Let her sun never set(1)
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, 'toria
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, toria

Land of hope and gloria
Land of my Victoria
Land of hope and gloria
Land of my Victoria
Victoria, 'toria
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, 'toria

Canada to India
Australia to Cornwall
Singapore to Hong Kong
From the West to the East
From the rich to the poor
Victoria loved them all
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, 'toria
Victoria, Victoria, Victoria

(1): Refers to the phrase; "The sun never sets on the British Empire"

It's a pity I had to do a writeup on the Kinks' song, because if there's one thing that I believe, it's node what you know, and I know fuck all about the Kinks. I do however, consider myself somewhat of a minor authority on The Fall.

Lucky for me, The Fall covered this song. It's track four on their delightfully pop-leaning album of 1988; The Frenz Experiment, and was also available as a 7" or 12" single (The 12" is quite a treat, with three non-album tracks as B sides (Tuff Life Boogie, Guest Informant and Twister) - I actually purchased the twelve inch when I already had the seven inch, but then again I'm a Fall Fan). Released by Beggar's Banquet, The song features Mark E. Smith in a surprisingly jovial mood, and the band play a tight pop-rock version of the song - with the usual Fall twists of course (the breaking glass during the count in gets me everytime). The guitars are big and chunky, fitting in with the solid no-nonsense drumming by Fall 90's staple Simon Wolstencroft. Smith hits some surprising high notes, and manages to sing along reasonably well, with a bit of vocal beat boxing toward the end (Fall style of course). The lyrics are roughly the same as The Kinks' version, except the first line is omitted.

This song, along with it's album counterpart 'Hit the North' were the closest the Fall ever came to chart success (Not counting Lie Dream Of A Casino Soul, which was a minor hit in New Zealand). People come to Fall shows even now and request it, which is of course going against Fall Rules

A note about the videoclip to this song - It's fantastic. In no order, the video features:
  • Mark and the gang wearing Victorian Era clothing
  • Brix Smith being fitted for a dress, and squeezed into a corset
  • A really big, disgusting looking, blue and white cake which explodes for no apparent reason at the end of the clip
  • A novel by Norwegian-born nobel prize winning author Knut Hamsun.

    Written in 1898, Victoria is a literal love story, a story of love and the nature of love. I cannot tell if it loses something in its translation, but even in english its highly poetic language comes through nicely in many parts.

    Our narrator tells us the life story of Johannes, a miller's son who has been in love with one woman his entire life, the book's namesake, Victoria. Their lives are lived apart after their childhood together, and apart they live strangely incomplete lives, though every happiness is afforded them. The plot is interwoven with Hamsun's own ideas of love, it's joys, obstacles and pitfalls, which are expressed through Johannes' writing later in life. An excerpt:

    What, then, is love? A wind whispering among the roses - no, a yellow phosphorescence in the blood. A danse macabre in which even the oldest and frailest hearts are obliged to join. It is like the marguerite which opens wide as night draws on, and like the anemone which closes at breath and dies at a touch.
      Such is love.

      It can ruin a man, raise him up again, then brand him anew. Such its fickleness it can favour me today, tomorrow you, tomorrow night a stranger. But such also is its constancy it can hold fast like an inviolable seal, can blaze unquenched until the hour of death. What, then, is the nature of love?
    This is typical of Hamsun's fleeting but nonetheless coherent prose, as he moralises about life, love and death.

    Victoria is one of four of Hamsun's works that I have read. The other three were Hunger, Mysteries and Growth of The Soil, the latter of which I believe is available online through the Project Gutenberg website.

    Professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment.

    Accolades: Won the WWE Women's Championship title on 17th October 2002 at the Survivor Series in a hardcore rules match, the first such match for the Women's title.

    Entrance theme: Russian girl duo T.A.T.U.'s All The Things She Said, sparking rumours that her on-screen "relationship" with nemesis Trish Stratus might go deeper.

    Real Name: Lisa Marie Varon

    Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun

    Platform PC
    Released: November 25th 2003, December 5th for Australia
    Genre: Historical Strategy/Simulation

    The developers of the much-acclaimed Europa Universalis I and II and Hearts of Iron strike again. This time they move into a new and even less visited period of history than with Europa Universalis. Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun allows the player to take the lead of one the world’s nations, large or small, during the nineteenth century (the Victorian Period). Around one hundred and twenty nations are available for play, all needing different strategies and styles, all with varying degrees of difficulty; from the world hegemony that is the United Kingdom, to Oranje, China, Peru or even Cambodia.

    Politics, economics, technology, war and colonization are all represented in this game. The game moves in real time, which throws many players off. Real time is increasingly seen as the domain of the watered down (and frankly sad) strategy games, but it works well for Paradox’s games. The ability to pause and still issue commands helps to make the game feel more traditional.

    Political Engine:

    Victoria is a groundbreaking game in the political area. How many different ideals would you expect to have to deal with in a game? Well, just as a starters list here we have Conservative, Liberal, Socialist, Reactionary and many others. Your people’s political beliefs change due to the social and economic situation of your nation and the policies that work one decade may not work the next or even the next year. Minorities can have hugely different political ideals, especially when they are oppressed or feel threatened.

    Your political choices also make a difference. Is your leading party a protectionist, state capitalist nation with tendencies towards pro-military spending, atheism and oppression of the nation’s minorities? Well that will influence how you can set your policies. It will influence how each group reacts to your government and it will even influence how you can establish social reforms.

    Speaking of social reforms. Where will your country sit in the issues of health care, minimum wages, pensions, voting rights and many other things? Will you allow only the land owning classes to vote? The rich? Or everyone? Will you provide health care to your citizens? These are just some examples of decisions you can make and decisions that the making of, or not making, will influence your nation and its people.

    The Victoria political engine is in depth, detailed and beautiful, but most importantly, it stays out of your hair for the most part. You can make your changes, you can make your decisions and it won’t destroy you straight away or even at all. Though there is a large push away from monarchies, they are not impossible to keep as long as you meet the citizen’s needs in other ways or keep yur country growing and peaceful.

    Economic Engine:

    Victoria’s economic engine is suffering some upheaval right now. As usual with the release of a Paradox game, the players chime in and recommend improvements. Also as usual, Paradox listens and responds. The current patch (1.02) fixed some major things in the game, making it much more difficult to make any nation, say for example Ethiopia, a world power, but it suffers a few drawbacks. It is very much expected that with the current improvements due to the last patch and Paradox’s tendency to listen to its player’s ideas and criticisms that the next patch should be expected before the end of December 2003 and should completely improve the economic model.

    As it is, the economy is completely playable, though at current it is difficult to expand and grow, to say the least. Industrialization takes much effort and time. Overall, building factories and promoting workers to advanced levels is the way to go. Resources needed for production and to supply your people are bought from the world market. The market itself is pretty fluid. You can always continue to sell things to the market; the price will just continue to drop as the supply rises or vice versa, though the goods must be on the market for you to buy them.

    Domestically you can control much of your economy. As stated before, the building of factories is the main way to improve your economy, railroads and technology being the next most important way of increasing your economic gain. You can determine how much money you wish to spend for education, police, military and social spending, as well as how high to set tariffs on goods bought by your country and where to set the taxes on your poor, middle class and rich citizens.

    Technology Engine:

    The technology engine is rather simple. You can choose from one of five categories:

    Army: Military improvements as pertaining to the land arm of your forces (rifles, tanks, command principles, et cetera).

    Navy: Military improvements as pertaining to the naval arm of your forces (naval guns, steamers, cruisers, et cetera).

    Culture: Cultural improvements, whether they be political or social.

    Industrial: These are the improvements that directly improve your infrastructure (railroads) and your factories and other industries.

    Commercial: These technologies influence how much money you can earn and unveil new economic principles.

    There are 25 technologies in each group. Switching your country’s main school of thought will make it easier to research some areas while harder to research others.

    War Engine:

    The war engine is rather simple, as Paradox games focus more on the simulation than on the battles. Troops are easily identified, by noticeable icons, on the world map. Moving them is quick, as you simply click them and then right click where you want them to go. Battles are fought on the main screen and the changes seen are simply troop numbers, moral and organization, until one side losses. Occupying a province requires a unit to sit in the province for a period of time (the length of which is determined by the number of troops and by the leader’s skill).

    It is a rather simple war setup for a game, but it works well. It doesn’t leave you feeling completely detached from military matters, but it also doesn’t unnecessarily stretch out an already epic game.


    Colonization is done a bit different in Victoria. The countries vie to set up 4 different types of colonial structures in unclaimed areas of the world. Only one structure can be set up per province (pre-determined group of states) and only by claiming all the provinces of a state or by building all four types of colonial structures in a state can one side claim the area. The claimed areas then become politically part of the nation but cannot be industrialized or developed until it is fully integrated.

    Attaining Victory:

    Victory in Victoria is determined by three scores, but many times its just based on what the player wants to achieve, like make the Ottoman Empire a great nation again or raise Chile into the rank of one of the great nations of the world, or just reunite Italy.

    Prestige: Prestige is gained by achieving victories and improving your status in the game. Victories in war bring prestige, to a lesser degree so does economic gain (though huge gains in your economy over time can be FAR greater than many victories). It can also be raised through some technologies and events and very large one time bonuses can be granted through claiming colonies. Prestige can be lost through losing wars, bankruptcies, events and other things. It is the most fluid of the three scores and also the most important.

    Economy: This score is just based on how developed your economy is. How many factories and railroads do you have? How many skilled laborers? Are you losing or gaining money? All these determine your economic score in Victoria.

    Military: Simply put, the military score is the strength and size of your armies.

    As one can see, Victoria is not a game for the person who demands the biggest explosions, or the most simple of ideas. No blood, no gore, it is a complex and difficult game but one that can impart much reward to players who learn how to play it. The game is developed by a company that takes pride in its games and takes pride in its relationship with players.

    Score: 7.5 of 10

    Graphics: 8

    Strategy games don’t need special graphics, but this one still delivers somewhat. The main game map is beautifully done and looks good. Pictures in most of the events also convey a feel of the time. It lacks that intangible something to really catch the eye, but then again it is a strategy game, a genre that typical requires function be more important than form. Overall though, the graphics are very far above what one would expect for this genre and by no means bad in comparison with any game.

    Music/Sound 10:

    The music is a large part of the ambience of Victoria. Comprising a collection of classical scores, it lends a feel to the game that you would not get otherwise. The fact that the music is in MP3 format helps make it much better sounding than in might otherwise be. Unfortunately, game play sounds can be lackluster, with some getting slightly annoying over time (notably army sounds). Overall though, most sound effects are not bad and do not drown out the game’s excellent music.

    Game play: 7

    The amount of clicking can get intense at times, especially during wars. Some commands need to be repeated many times, like when buildings railroads across large nations. In that case each province needs to be click on and then the railroad built. Some countries may have hundreds of provinces making this a time consuming task. Learning the hot keys can greatly help decrease any problem here, as well as realizing that you can pause the game and still issue commands.

    Learning Curve: 5

    This game can be difficult to learn and even harder to master. Paradox again skimped on the manual and this time did not include a tutorial in the game. Being such a complex game, these things make it very hard for new players to learn how to play, let alone jump in there. Looking through what is in the manual can lend a false sense of understanding to a player that is abruptly pulled away once the game begins. Overall Paradox struck out BAD in not including a tutorial and not spending time on the game’s manual. Only the fact that the game’s community is so incredibly good and helpful brings this score up.

    The company’s website is

    The game forums can be found at

    Availability of purchase: In North America, this game can be found in very few stores. The PC market, which has increasingly become a niche market, seems to have no use for games that do not require big guns and lots of blood. To purchase this game it is recommended that you check or Electronic Boutique (also

    Abbreviation: VIC
    Capital city: Melbourne
    Borders: New South Wales, South Australia
    License plate motto: The Garden State; On The Move
    Nickname of inhabitants: Mexicans

    The second smallest State of Australia, Victoria (2003 population: 4,947,985) has an area of 227,620 km2. Notwithstanding its size, agricultural production in this State is second only to that of New South Wales.

    Melbourne, the State capital, is located on the northern end of Port Phillip Bay near the mouth of the Yarra River. Other major cities include Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura, Wangaratta and the border twin cities of Albury-Wodonga. Its industries include chemical and metal processing, textiles, paper products and printing. The Port of Melbourne, which has bulk and container-handling facilities, is the largest port and is used by coastal and overseas shipping. Brown coal is obtained from deposits at Morwell and Yallourn in the Latrobe Valley, and produces the highest yields of this fuel in the country. Wool, dairy products, beef, pig meat, poultry and honey are significant rural products.

    James Cook was the first British navigator to sight the Victorian coast, when he began his examination of the eastern coast of Australia at Point Hicks. The Henty family formed a pastoral settlement on the shores of Portland Bay in 1834 and in the following year, John Batman explored Port Phillip and obtained about 234,000 ha from the Aborigines. In 1836, John Fawkner established the first permanent settlement on the banks of the Yarra River. Within two years, most of the Western District was occupied by graziers and sheep flock that numbered 310,000.

    From 1901 - 1927, Melbourne was the nation's capital, before the purpose-built city of Canberra was constructed. In 1956, it also hosted what was known as the last 'honest' Olympic games, before commercialism started to rear its head.

    The Victoria is a type of carriage that became popular in the late 1800s, and has remained reasonably popular ever since, insofar as any carriage can be said to be popular these days. It is often compared to the also-popular phaeton carriage, in that it is small and light, with a single passenger bench, which could be shaded by a folding canopy over the passenger seat. It was usually drawn by one or two horses, and was very popular among the wealthy, who liked to be seen promenading around the town. What set the Victoria apart from the phaeton was primarily the addition of a raised seat up front for the coachman.

    The addition of a driver's seat was an important modification; it meant that instead of being driven by dashing young men, it could now be ridden by prim ladies, or members the older set who were not up to driving their own carriages. The Victoria also rode a bit lower, making it easier to mount and dismount. The low body was also influenced by the improving quality of the roads, as London modernized and embraced the new ideas of macadamization.

    If you are familiar with carriages, you may have noticed that the Victoria sounds a lot like a calash; as a matter of fact, the Victoria is a descendant of the calash. The calash was originally called a calèche in France, and was Anglicized to calash in the late 1600s; the calash remained an important and respectable carriage in England for centuries; however, this basic design gave rise to the phaeton and the barouche, and obviously influenced the design of the landau - by the 1800s, the term 'calash' referred to a family of carriages rather than a specific model.

    Which doesn't change the fact that the Victoria was simply a very artfully designed version of the basic calash body; it was light and well-sprung, with a graceful curve connecting the driver's seat to the passenger's compartment. The springs were highly visible, their thin curves setting off the light body. In other words, a calash with the lines and gracefulness of a phaeton.

    The original Victoria was imported to England by Edward VII in 1869, although it had been designed years earlier. It is unclear how it gained the name Victoria, but it seems to have been named that by the French, decades before it made it to England. Unfortunately, I cannot find any information as to why this happened. I will, of course, update you the minute I find out.

    Vic*to"ri*a (?), n. [NL.]

    1. (Bot.)

    A genus of aquatic plants named in honor of Queen Victoria. The Victoria regia is a native of Guiana and Brazil. Its large, spreading leaves are often over five feet in diameter, and have a rim from three to five inches high; its immense rose-white flowers sometimes attain a diameter of nearly two feet.


    A kind of low four-wheeled pleasure carriage, with a calash top, designed for two persons and the driver who occupies a high seat in front.

    3. (Astron.)

    An asteroid discovered by Hind in 1850; -- called also Clio.

    Victoria cross, a bronze Maltese cross, awarded for valor to members of the British army or navy. It was first bestowed in 1857, at the close of the Crimean war. The recipients also have a pension of £10 a year. --
    Victoria green. (Chem.) See Emerald green, under Green. --
    Victoria lily (Bot.), the Victoria regia. See def. 1, above.


    © Webster 1913


    One of an American breed of medium-sized white hogs with a slightly dished face and very erect ears.


    © Webster 1913

    Log in or registerto write something here or to contact authors.