Booklet 3 - The Growth of Parliamentary Democracy Flashcards
What was a rotten borough?
An ancient constituency that had become depopulated such that MPs were selected and elected by a very small few
What was a pocket borough?
A borough where landowners owned all of the land and property that would provide the right to vote - They nominated candidates and made voters vote accordingly
What was a scot and lot borough?
A borough in which any man who paid local taxes could vote
What was a potwalloper borough?
A borough in which a man could vote if he had a fireplace sufficiently large enough to take a specified size of pot
What was a corporation borough?
A borough where only members of the local council (the corporation) could vote
What percentage of corporation boroughs had fewer than 50 voters?
90%
What was a freeman borough?
A borough in which those who had acquired the title ‘freeman’ through apprenticeship in a craft guild could vote
How many MPs would a county send to parliament regardless of its size?
2
What was the standard franchise in a county?
Occupying a freehold piece of land with a rental value of 40s per year
Give an example of a rotten borough
Old Sarum
Give an example of scot and lot boroughs
Preston, Lancashire
Give an example of potwalloper boroughs
Taunton, Somerset
How many boroughs had fewer than 40 voters?
> 50
Name the four large towns that had no MP
Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield
What fraction of seats were uncontested at election pre-1800?
2/3
In 1831, how many men had the right to vote out of a population of how many people?
366,000 men could vote in a population of 13.89 million
Over what period of time would an election take place?
Several weeks
What was ‘treating’?
Where candidates would pay for their supporters’ food and accommodation during the election
What were ‘lambs’?
Groups of armed thugs who intimidated voters
What was ‘cooping’?
Kidnapping one’s rival’s supporters until the end of an election - committed by ‘lambs’
In the 1780s, how many newspapers were circulated in London?
13 daily and 10 tri-weekly newspapers
In the 1780s, how many newspapers were circulated outside of London?
50 provincial newspapers
when William Pitt proposed a bill to disenfranchise how many boroughs, by how many votes was his bill defeated?
William Pitt proposed to disenfranchise 36 boroughs but his bill was defeated by 74 votes
Who established the ‘Yorkshire Association’, in what decade, and what did they do?
Reverend Christopher Wyvill in the 1780s as a forum through which ‘respectable classes’ could petition parliament against corruption
Who established the ‘Society for Constitutional Information’, in what decade, and what did they do?
Major John Cartwright in the 1780s in support of annual parliaments and universal suffrage (for men)
How much did it cost per year to be a member of the Society for Constitutional Information?
1-5 guineas (252-1260 pennies) (£1,1s - £5,5s)
Which riots occurred in 1780 after the passing of which act 2 years prior (in 1778)?
The Gordon Riots - anti catholic riots after the Roman Catholic Relief Bill
What occurred in 1789 that solidified the British elites anti-radical mindset?
The French Revolution
In what year did Lord Liverpool become PM?
1812
In what years was there a recession in the UK?
1815-1822
Which book did Edmund Burke write and in what year? What did it theorise?
‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’ in 1790. It theorised that moderate reform would lead to violent revolution
In what year was the ‘Sheffield Society for Constitutional Information’ established?
1791
In which year did the Sheffield Society for Constitutional Information raise a petition for male suffrage and how many signatures did it recieve?
1792 - 10,000 signatures
Who formed the London Corresponding Society and in what year?
Thomas Hardy, 1792
How much did it cost to join the London Corresponding Society?
1d per week
Where did the London Corresponding Society hold a demonstration in October 1795 and how many people were in attendance?
Their demonstration at Copenhagen Fields attracted 100,000 people
In what year did Thomas Paine write ‘The Rights of Man’ and in response to whose book?
1792 in response to Edmund Burke’s ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’
By 1793, how many copies of ‘The Rights of Man’ had been sold?
200,000
State the population of Britain in 1801, 1811, and 1821
1801 - 10.5 million
1811 - 12 million
1821 - 14.1 million
From which year did Napoleon blockade Britain?
1806
In which year did the 13 colonies in America declare war?
1812
Across the Napoleonic war, by how much did national debt increase and from what level?
National debt increased by £664 million from £238 million to £902 million
How many ironworkers lost their jobs in Shropshire after the end of the Napoleonic war?
7000
In 1815 what previous period’s wages had the average wage dropped below?
Wages from 1815-1819 were lower than in the 1780s
In what year was the corn law passed and what did it do?
1815 - it prohibited the import of wheat until the price of a bushel had reached 10s
How did the government supplement a fall in income taxes?
By raising indirect taxes which disproportionally affected the poor e.g. duties on beer and sugar
What was government revenue from indirect taxation in 1790 and what was this after 1816?
£16 million in 1790
£60 million in 1816
In 1813, how far did Major John Cartwright travel, visiting how many towns, and in how many days?
Cartwright travelled 900 miles in 29 days, visiting 34 towns
On his 1813 tour, how many signatures did Cartwright collect and on how many petitions?
Cartwright collected 130,000 signatures across 430 petitions
How many Hampden Clubs and Union Societies were there in 1824?
150
What was a Hampden Club or Union Society?
Groups that aimed to educate workers and peacefully campaign for universal suffrage through petitions
In 1821, what percentage of Britons were under 15?
48%
By how much did poor relief expenditure grow from 1775 to 1817 and from what?
Poor relief expenditure grew by £6 million from £2 million in 1775 to £8 million in 1817 (300% increase)
From what date did William Cobbett publish a pamphlet of the first article from his newspaper, what was this newspaper called, and how much did a pamphlet cost?
Cobbett published the ‘Weekly political register’s headline story on a 2d pamphlet from November 1816
What did Edward Baines publish and from what year?
The ‘Leeds Mercury’ from 1815
What did Thomas Wooler publish and from what year?
‘Black Dwarf’ from 1817
When was the Peterloo Massacre and how many died?
16 August 1819 with 18 dead and 400-700 injured
For how long was Henry Hunt imprisoned after the Peterloo Massacre?
2.5 years
In what year was a Secret Service established to infiltrate radical societies?
1793
Who was Thomas Muir and what was he sentenced for?
Thomas Muir wanted an elected assembly in Edinburgh called the National Convention. He was charged with sedition and sentenced to 14 years’ transportation
Who was charged with encouraging others to read ‘The Rights of Man’ and to what was he sentenced?
Thomas Palmer was sentenced to seven years’ transportation
In what year was Habeas Corpus suspended?
1794
Name the ‘Two Acts’ and the month and year they were passed
The ‘Treasonable and Seditious Practices Act’ and the ‘Seditious Meetings Act’ passed in December 1795
What did the Seditious Meetings Act do?
The act banned meetings of over 50 people whose object was to discuss reform or petition parliament
What did the Treasonable and Seditious Practices Act do?
The act broadened what was to be considered treason
Which laws banned trade union activity and in which years were they passed?
The ‘Combination Acts’ passed in 1799 and 1800
Name 3 pro-government conservative publications from the 1790s
The Sun, The Oracle, The True Briton
When did ‘Church and King’ clubs develop?
The early 1790s
What were ‘Church and King’ clubs?
Staunchly royalist and Anglican groups who used violence and intimidation to suppress dissenting voices against the Church of England
Where did C&K members prominently attack dissenters and in what years?
Birmingham - 1791
Manchester - 1792
How many loyalist groups (e.g. C&K clubs) were there by 1793?
> 1000
Name the loyalist group established by John Reeves in 1792
The Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers (APLP)
How many branches did the APLP have nationwide?
2000
What were ‘the Volunteers’ and when were they endorsed by the government?
A paramilitary force tasked with keeping order during the wars against the French - officially endorsed in 1794
In 1804, how many ‘Volunteers’ were there?
450,000
In what year was income tax first introduced and for what reason?
Income tax was introduced in 1797 to pay for the Napoleonic War
By what majority was income tax abolished and in what year?
Abolished in 1816 with a majority of 37 votes
When were game laws strengthened and what punishment did this introduce?
Strengthened in 1816 making poaching punishable by up to 7 years’ imprisonment or transportation
Following what meeting was Habeas Corpus suspended in 1817?
The Spa Fields Meetings in December 1816
When was Habeas Corpus reinstated and how long had it been suspended for?
Reinstated in 1818 after a year’s suspension
How many people attended the first meeting at Spa Fields?
20,000
What happened at the second meeting at Spa Fields that led to arrests?
200 of 2000 protesters marched to the Tower of London, looting a gun shop on their way
In what year and month was the Prince Regent’s coach attacked?
January 1817
When did which group plan to assassinate Lord Liverpool’s cabinet and who led the group?
The Cato Street Conspiracy led by Arthur Thistlewood planned to assissinate the cabinet in February 1820
Which government spy infiltrated the Cato Street Conspiracy?
George Edwards
What happened to the planners of the Cato Street Conspiracy?
Thistlewood and his co-conspirators were executed. 5 others involved were transported
When did Henry Hunt first speak on St Peter’s Fields in Manchester and when was the Peterloo massacre?
Hunt first spoke in January 1819, Peterloo occurred on his second visit in August 1819
How many people gathered at Peterloo?
60,000
How many protestors were killed and injured during the Peterloo Massacre?
11 protestors were killed and 400-600 were injured
What was the Pentrich rebellion?
A small group of radicals in northern textile districts in 1817 rose up in Huddersfield and Derby
What was the outcome of the Pentrich Rebellion?
3 leaders were executed and 30 were transported
List the ‘Six Acts’
- Seditious Meetings Prevention Act
- Seizure of Arms Act
- Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act
- Training Prevention Act
- Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act
- Misdemeanours Act
