Breadth Study 2: civilian population Flashcards
camp followers and financing the war
what impact can an army have on a civilian population when moving through an area?
soldiers can be physically threatening, steal valuables or food
they can leave a local population facing starvation
what was the only war that had previously had a major impact on civilians in the countryside?
English Civil war
what was the impact of war on the civilian population before 1914?
they only heard about it through conversations and newspapers, there was no disruption to daily lives
what is total war?
involves the whole population in the war effort and affects all aspects of daily lives
very different to the usual experience of war
how many total wars has Britain experienced?
2, both world wars
name 2 important changes to British society in the 19th century
industrialisation
population increase
british population in 1800
10 million
British population in 1900
40 million
how did war benefit the economy?
demand for food and goods increased
prices rose, jobs increased
how did war negatively impact the economy?
it disrupted trad and so exports dropped
causing downturn In some sectors so some worker were laid off
how did improvements to communications and literacy change the involvement of the public in war?
increased literacy and less dispersed population brought war closer to people
during the war with France, people may be aware but largely unknowing of the details. compared to them digesting daily news in the Boer war
compared to the huge sacrifices made in WW1
how did warfare change social mobility?
social structure was rigid in the French wars, but meritocracy overruled aristocracy by the first world war
e.g. wellington was a son of an aristocrat and educated at Eton, Haig and David Lloyd George were of middle class background
how did the government raise funds/fund war?
taxes
the economic boom for most of the 18th century meant the government had enough money, but the government was having to take out loans for the expansion of the armed forces
what was the role of the Bank of England initially?
it was a way that the government could manage its dept
it was responsible for issuing government bonds- the way that the government borrowed money
why did the government bond/bank of england system give the government an advantage over other countries?
they didn’t have to pay with cash
they could pay with a promissory note when they commissioned work because the British people were confident in the Bank of England
promissory note
a piece of paper promising the debt will be settled on demand
the idea developed into paper money
what did the government issue in addition to standard bonds?
consolidated annuities (consols)
what were consols/ how did they differ from standard bonds?
there was no fixed period where they had to be repaid
meaning in theory the government didn’t have to repay capital investment- but they did sometimes pay off consols
how did consols benefit the investor?
every quarter would receive an interest payment
also when the rate of inflation was low, consols guaranteed a return of 2.5/3% so where highly tradable on the stock market
when were consols first issued?
1750su
initial interest rates on consols?
3.5%
what was the interest rate on consols reduced to?
2.5%
when were consols issued most?
when the government needed money
e..g. 1855 in Crimea, 1920s when the country was trying to deal with the debt from WW1
What made investing in government bonds more appealing?
growth of the industrial revolution, so growth of British trade, so more wealthy landowners and merchants invested
why were government bonds appealed him?
having a guaranteed return over a fixed period seemed like a sound investment.
it wasn’t a quick way to make a lot of money, but the government still had enough investors
what did the ability to borrow large amounts of money that the British government had, mean they could do?
it affected how they fought wars, they could take on large enemies with lots of battleships, as well as financially support allies
how did the government fund the French wars?
the same way they had done with any previous campaign, but the scale of the war put an unprecedented strain on the economy
what did the British prime minister, William Pitt, do after the American war of independence?
put in place a series of indirect tax reforms to increase government revenue
how much did William Pitt’s indirect tax reforms increase government revenue
12.7 million in 1783
18.6 million in 1792
by 1792, how much had Pitt reduced national debt?
from £243 million to £170 million
what methods, other than indirect tax reforms, did the government use in the French wars to improve tax revenue?
- new tax on inheritance
- suspension of gold payments by the bank of England
-reduction in import duties
however outgoing was still growing faster than revenue