Britain and the French Wars, the Economy (1793-1815)

Question 1

What had governments traditionally used to finance wars, and why was this not possible in the French Wars? What problem did this cause?

Answer 1

• Loans (from the City of London)
• This only worked in short conflicts, but the French Wars were much longer than expected
• It led to a growth in national debt

Question 2

How much did the French Wars cost Britain?

Answer 2

• £1.6 billion

Question 3

What were 3 sources of money, and 1 other method the government used to deal with the national debt?

Answer 3

• New taxes (21 of them)
• The introduction of income tax in 1799
• Government stocks
• They refused to admit changes such as a legal minimum wage

Question 4

How successful were the government’s methods of raising extra money during the French Wars?

Answer 4

• Between 1793 and 1815, an extra £12 million was raised each year

Question 5

What particular advantage did Britain have over France when it came to financing the war?

Answer 5

• The government had a close relationship with the bankers and merchants in London, which was an international centre for commerce

Question 6

Give an example of how the close relationship the government had with international merchants benefitted the war effort.

Answer 6

• Nathan Rothschild, a German banker, organised the finance for Wellington’s advance through Spain and France in 1813

Question 7

What did Britain’s financial advantage over France allow it to do? Give a figure.

Answer 7

• Fund coalitions
• During the course of the French Wars, nearly £66 million was paid in subsidies to these countries

Question 8

What did Napoleon do to countries he defeated?

Answer 8

• They were forced to make treaties that tied them into French economic strategy; namely, the Continental System

Question 9

When and why did Napoleon introduce the Continental System?

Answer 9

• 1807
• He hoped to choke Britain’s economy and force them to make peace

Question 10

How successful was the Continental System? Give 3 details.

Answer 10

• Smugglers and neutral countries continued trading with Britain anyway
• British merchants found new markets in Northern Europe that compensated for the decrease in trade
• Countries such as Sweden and Russia broke the blockade and traded with Britain anyway (secretly or openly)

Question 11

How was industry performing in Britain during the French Wars?

Answer 11

• Britain continued to industrialise at the same rate as it had during the Industrial Revolution (before the French Wars)

Question 12

Give an example of an innovation that had a big impact on British industry. How did it affect production?

Answer 12

• Crompton’s spinning mule
• Cotton production tripled between 1793 and 1813

Question 13

Did growth in industry always benefit the war effort?

Answer 13

• No, as textile mills were defying the law and selling to France (while also making uniforms for the British Army)

Question 14

Give another statistic showing how improvements in industry were useful in the war.

Answer 14

• Iron manufacturing output increased by a factor of 4 from 1793 and 1813, and this was used to make cannons and other weapons

Question 15

What had happened to agriculture in Britain before the French Wars?

Answer 15

• The agrarian revolution

Question 16

What impact did the agrarian revolution have on agriculture? Give a figure.

Answer 16

• British farming was more efficient
• Output per worker was 50% higher in Britain than any other European country

Question 17

What were 4 new developments during the agrarian revolution?

Answer 17

• New crop rotation systems
• Selective breeding
• New machinery such as Meikle’s threshing machine
• The enclosure of farmland

Question 18

What was the enclosure of farmland, and what did it cause?

Answer 18

• Small landholdings, common land and wasteland were made part of larger, more efficient farms
• This made small landowners landless labourers, and caused resentment

Question 19

Why was the enclosure of farmland particularly important for the French Wars? Give a figure.

Answer 19

• Britain’s farms had to produce more food due to the wartime restriction on imports
• Between 1807 and 1808, there was a 100,000 tonne reduction in the import of grain

Question 20

What were 3 reasons why there was unrest during the French Wars?

Answer 20

• Food prices were rising
• Real wages stagnated
• Families with breadwinners at war struggled, especially if they didn’t return, or returned maimed

Question 21

How did the government respond to the increasing unrest during the French Wars? Give 2 examples.

Answer 21

• They introduced increasingly restrictive measures
• The 1799 and 1800 Combination Acts made it illegal for workers to gather in large numbers in order to prevent strikes
• In 1794 they suspended habeas corpus, a measure that prevents people from being imprisoned indefinitely without trial

Question 22

Describe a movement that particularly worried the government.

Answer 22

• The Luddites were a group in the Midlands and northern England that broke labour-saving machines, particularly due to high unemployment among skilled labourers in the textiles industry
• They were at their peak in 1811

Question 23

In what 3 ways did the government respond to the Luddites?

Answer 23

• They moved troops to centres of protest
• In 1812, they made breaking machines a capital offence
• In 1813, 17 Luddites were hanged