Chapter 11 - Pressures for change Flashcards
What are some reasons that the years after 1811 were a period of social and economic distress for Britain?
Effects of continuing changes in agriculture and industry, high prices and taxation due to Napoleonic Wars, lack of effective poor relief to deal with hardships of labouring population
What government policies did the Tories imitate to cope with working class disturbances in the years following 1811?
Repressive policies of Pitt
What were the Luddite riots?
Outbreaks of machine breaking in Northern and Midlands England in early 1810s
Where and when were the first Luddite riots?
1811 in Nottinghamshire
Who was Ned Ludd?
A mythical figure, possibly named after an apprentice punished for machine breaking around the time, who supposedly led the Luddites and had his HQ in Sherwood Forest
What was the initial problem which caused the Luddite riots?
Stocking-frame knitters were angered by the use of a mechanical wide frame machine, which produced worse quality stockings faster and cheaper than the narrow frame machine used by skilled knitters, and accused factory owners of underhand practices to put them out of work or pay them poorly.
When did the Luddite machine breakers operate?
Mainly at night
What is a problem in understanding Luddite motives?
The Luddites themselves documented very little, so most evidence comes from alarmist local magistrates or spies
What heightened government alarm about the Luddite riots?
The apparent spread of Luddism to Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire, and their quasi-military structure
What happened in Lancashire cotton mills at a similar time to the Luddite riots?
Power looms were smashed by hand loom weavers who worried they were becoming obsolete
What were the Yorkshire protests from a similar time to the Luddites directed against?
New technology rather than unfair working practices, such as skilled croppers from the wool industry protesting against the introduction of the shearing frame, which threatened to make their skills obsolete
What did Yorkshire protesters do before beginning violent protests against new machinery?
Petitioned parliament to ask to help safeguard their livelihoods
When did the Yorkshire croppers turn to machine breaking and why?
1812 when their petition to parliament failed
Why is William Horsfall important?
A prominent woollen manufacturer, in April 1812 he was murdered by 4 Luddites on his way back from the market
How many Luddites were put on trial in January 1813 and where?
Over 60 in York
How many Luddites were executed in January 1813 at York Castle?
14, including 3 for the murder of William Horsfall
What did the government do to stop the Luddite uprising?
Large show trial at York in January 1813, soldiers drafted in, series of arrests, transportations and hangings
What happened to the croppers after the Luddite riots?
Could no longer find work within a few years
What happened to the hand loom weavers after the Luddite riots?
Suffered weeks of falling wages due to increased use of power loom
What happened to the stocking knitters after the Luddite riots?
They were more successful than the croppers or weavers as they produced better quality product than machines, and their wages even rose once the disturbances died down
What organisation was Wilberforce a key member of?
The Clapham sect
What did Wilberforce play a significant role in apart from the abolitionist movement?
The evangelical revival
Who was the term radical applied to in 18th and 19th Century Britain?
Any person or group who wished to see change or reform in an existing institution or system
Who first formed the Hampden Clubs in 1811?
Sir Frances Burdett
Who made the Hampden Clubs popular?
Orators such as Henry Hunt
What is it significant that Henry Hunt owned?
A stately home
What sort of reform was there a revival for after 1815?
Political reform, more focused and determined than under Pitt
What sort of background were radicals usually from?
Middle Class
What did David Ricardo use his MP seat to do?
Help protect the economic interests of the working classes
When was the Manchester Guardian created and who did it act as a mouthpiece for?
1821, acted as a mouthpiece for middle-class manufacturers who wanted parliamentary representation, especially in the North
What sort of radical pressed most vocally for an extension of the franchise in the 1810s and 1820s?
Benthamite radicals such as James Mill
What did the working classes focus their discontent on in the 1810s?
Low wages, unemployment and the inadequate system of poor relief, although they were being politicised and interested in achieving political representation
How did the working classes mainly express their discontent in the 1810s?
Rioting during periods of economic hardship
When was the Spa Fields demonstration and who led it?
1816 led by Henry Hunt
Why were the Spa Fields riots a failure?
Poor organisation led to fighting among the crowds, arrests and dispersal by the local militia
Why were the Blanketeers named so?
They carried blankets for shelter on their long march
What did the Blanketeers intend to do?
March from Manchester to London to present petitions to the Prince Regent for relief of distress
Were the Blanketeers successful?
No- most dispersed at the start, and according to legend only one made it to London to present his petition
When was the March of the Blanketeers?
1817
When was the Pentrich uprising?
June 1817