<P> Between 1870 and 1914, Britain continued to peacefully switch between Liberal and Conservative governments, and maintained its vast empire, the largest in world history . Two problems faced by Britain in this period were the resentment of British rule in Ireland and Britain's falling behind Germany and the United States in industrial production . </P> <P> The European populations of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all continued to grow and thrive in this period and evolved democratic Westminster system parliaments . </P> <P> Canada united as a dominion of the British Empire under the Constitution Act, 1867 (British North America Acts). The colony of New Zealand gained its own parliament (called a "general assembly") and home rule in 1852 . and in 1907 was proclaimed the Dominion of New Zealand . Britain began to grant its Australian colonies autonomy beginning in the 1850s and during the 1890s, the colonies of Australia voted to unite . In 1901 they were federated as an independent nation under the British Crown, known as the Commonwealth of Australia, with a wholly elected bicameral parliament . The Constitution of Australia had been drafted in Australia and approved by popular consent . Thus Australia is one of the few countries established by a popular vote . The Second Boer War (1899--1902) ended with the conversion of the Boer republics of South Africa into British colonies and these colonies later formed part of the Union of South Africa in 1910 . </P> <P> From the 1850s, Canada, Australia and New Zealand had become laboratories of democracy . By the 1870s, they had already granted voting rights to their citizens in advance of most other Western nations . In 1893, New Zealand became the first self - governing nation to extend the right to vote to women and, in 1895, the women of South Australia became the first to obtain also the right to stand for Parliament . </P>

What were the only 2 wealthy empires found in the western hemisphere