Chapter 6 - Wartime pressures on government Flashcards
1
Q
Who formed the first coalition against France?
A
Britain, Prussia, Austria, Holland and Spain
2
Q
When was the first coalition against France formed?
A
1793
3
Q
When did the first coalition collapse?
A
1795
4
Q
Who formed the second coalition against France?
A
Britain, Russia, Austria, Portugal, Naples and the Ottomans
5
Q
When was the second coalition against France formed?
A
1799
6
Q
When did the second coalition against France collapse?
A
1801
7
Q
What halted the war between Britain and France in March 1802?
A
The Treaty of Amiens
8
Q
Why did Addington declare war on France in May 1803?
A
Because Napoleon breached the terms of the treaty of Amiens
9
Q
Why was Addington criticised for resuming the war against France?
A
Because he had hesitated before doing so, and was then indecisive
10
Q
Who formed the third coalition against France?
A
Britain, Russia and Austria
11
Q
When was the third coalition against France formed?
A
1804
12
Q
When did the third coalition against France collapse?
A
1805
13
Q
When was the Battle of Trafalgar?
A
October 1805
14
Q
When did Napoleon issue the Berlin decrees?
A
October 1806
15
Q
When did Napoleon issue the Milan decrees?
A
December 17th 1807
16
Q
When did Britain issue the Orders in Council?
A
January 1807
17
Q
When did the Peninsular war start and why?
A
1807 when France invaded Portugal
18
Q
When in the 1810s did the USA declare war on Britain?
A
June 1812
19
Q
Who were the 5 Prime Ministers between Pitt and Liverpool (in chronological order)?
A
Henry Addington, Pitt, Lord Grenville, Duke of Portland, Spencer Perceval
20
Q
What years was Addington in power?
A
1801-May 1804
21
Q
What years was Pitt in power for the second time?
A
May 1804- January 1806
22
Q
What years was Grenville in power?
A
January 1806-07
23
Q
What years was Portland in power?
A
1807-09
24
Q
What years was Spencer Perceval in power?
A
1809-May 1812
25
When was the Prince of Wales made Regent?
1811
26
When was the Levee en Masse Act introduced?
July 1803
27
What did the Levee en Masse Act do?
Raised a home guard almost 800,000 strong by listing all men aged 17-55 who were to be armed, trained and ready to fight
28
What did Addington do to help the war effort?
- Introduced efficiencies in income tax in 1803 to boost funds
- Believed it was important to defeat Napoleon at sea so ordered a blockade of French ports and a cleanup of corruption within the Navy Board
29
When did Pitt die?
23rd January 1806
30
What treaty did Russia sign with Napoleon, ending the third coalition?
Treaty of Tilsit
31
When did the disastrous Walcheren expedition on the Dutch coast occur?
1809
32
What did the Berlin Decrees say?
That Britain was in a state of blockade and that European trade with Britain was forbidden
33
Why was Grenville against the Orders in Council?
He believed in free trade
34
What was Napoleon's system of not trading with Britain called?
Continental System
35
What did the Orders in Council say?
That all countries which excluded British ships would be subjected to a British blockade, and that neutral ships which traded with blockaded ports would have restrictions imposed upon them
36
How did Napoleon sabotage his own blockade?
During the harvest shortages of 1808-10 in Britain he allowed the export of French wheat under license
37
How did Napoleon turn the Spanish against him?
By marching his troops through Spain to get to Portugal, and by using bullying tactics
38
How was British trade with Portugal affected by Napoleon's Continental Blockade?
It actually increased fivefold
39
What was the Bank of England forced to do in 1797 due to the fall in price of government stock?
Suspend payments in gold and implement a paper currency to avert a serious financial crisis
40
What was the National Debt at the start of the French Wars?
Around £228 million
41
What was the National Debt in 1801?
£456 million
42
What was the National Debt in 1815?
£876 million
43
Why was Pitt's Sinking Fund a failure in wartime?
The price of borrowing money had risen, but Pitt would not renege on the debt
44
When did Pitt introduce income tax for the first time and why?
1798 as an alternative to raising loans
45
Why was money needed in the French wars apart from to pay for British army supplies?
To pay subsidies to keep Britain's allies in the field
46
What was the rate of Pitt's income tax of 1798?
A maximum rate of 10% on all incomes over £60
47
What did Pitt do in 1805 to income tax?
Imposed it on all incomes over £150
48
What had income tax begun to do by 1806?
Offset some of the high costs of war and help Britain's financial recovery
49
What increased demand for coal, iron and Watt's steam engines during the French wars?
Demand for armaments boosting demand for coal and iron, which in turn needed more steam engines to help manufacture them
50
What stimulated the textile industry during the French wars?
The need for uniforms and blankets for the armies and navies of Britain, her allies and even her own enemies
51
Apart from to sell wheat, why was Napoleon forced to lift his own blockade from time to time?
To buy much-needed British greatcoats and boots for his armies
52
What was the cause of a serious economic and political crisis in 1810-11?
The government's continued issuing of Orders in Council
53
How did most merchants and manufacturers see the Orders in Council?
Unnecessary government interference, especially when the USA closed its ports to British and French shipping, which caused them to clamour for the Orders' removal
54
What did some British merchants see the Orders in Council as an opportunity to do?
Switch their trade to South American countries eager for British goods
55
What happened when British manufacturers started trading with South America because of the Orders in Council?
They over-produced and within months faced an economic collapse
56
What were some problems in 1810-11 apart from overproduction?
- Two consecutive harvests failed
- Several banks collapsed
- There was a shortage of cash
- Overproduction of banknotes
- Inflation
57
What did the demand for uniforms do apart from stimulating the textile industry?
Stimulated the development of more productive machinery, leading to unemployment amongst traditional hand workers
58
What was the average price of wheat in 1793?
£2.70 a quarter
59
What was the average price of wheat between 1803-13?
92 shillings a quarter
60
When did the price of wheat peak during the French wars and at what price?
1812 at £6.30
61
What type of machine destroyed the livelihood of skilled handloom workers?
The power loom
62
Which places had outbreaks of unrest and some machine breaking in the early 1810s as a result of increased mechanisation?
The manufacturing districts of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottingham and Derby
63
When was unrest in the manufacturing districts of Northern England first associated with the Luddites?
After 1811
64
What did handloom weavers petition Parliament for, only to have it rejected in 1808?
A Minimum Wage Bill
65
What happened when Parliament rejected the Minimum Wage Bill petition in 1808?
There was serious rioting, followed by a strike which only ended when employers agreed to a wage rise for the weavers
66
When was there a significant phase of price rises in Britain in the 1810s?
1811-14, when they rose to a level higher than at any time in the 19th century
67
What reasons contributed to the price rises from 1811-14?
- A failure by the Bank of England to agree to a resumption of cash payments
- Too many banks notes being issued (which caused inflation)
- Commercial speculation
- Poor harvests
68
What were diets like in 1811-14?
Less varied than previously- many urban and rural poor were starving
69
What was there a drop in the purchases of in the years 1811-14?
Non-food items
70
Who benefited from price rises in the 1811-14 period and why?
Farmers and landowners, because rents and profits rose
71
How did Spencer Perceval die?
He was shot in the lobby of Parliament
72
Why did labouring classes grow resentful during the French wars?
They could see others profiting from the war, but most of them were suffering because of it
73
What cabinet roles had Lord Liverpool filled before becoming Prime Minister?
Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Secretary of War and the Colonies
74
What is Viscount Sidmouth's other name?
Henry Addington, ex-PM
75
Who did Lord Liverpool appoint as his PM?
Viscount Sidmouth, a.k.a. Henry Addington
76
What was the population in 1801?
10.5 million
77
What was the population in 1811?
12 million
78
How did Britain change demographically during the years of the French Wars?
There were fewer but larger farms, so much migration from rural to urban areas
79
What is an example of a prominent radical MP in Parliament in the 1810s and when was he first elected?
Sir Francis Burdett, elected 1807
80
What were Jeremy Bentham's ideas about reform?
That political reform must come before any other reform
81
When was the Hampden Club founded?
1812
82
Who founded the Hampden Club?
A group of leading radicals
83
Who launched the Political Register in 1802?
William Cobbett
84
What did the Political Register do?
Exposed the government's mishandling of the war and, in 1806, spoke out against corruption in parliamentary elections
