Problem: Throughout this period (indeed, until the late 1800s) women around the world were excluded from voting. Yet two of the age's longest-serving and most successful monarchs were Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) and Empress Dowager Cixi (r. 1861-1908), who ruled, respectively, over the British and Chinese empires. In your opinion, what does this apparent contradiction tell us about the global status of women in the late-1800s?