Early radicals - By 1815 Flashcards
Situation by 1815
What was everyone complaining about in 1815?
- unemployment due to Napoleonic wars
- Food prices sometimes high
- Industrialisation (factories introducing new machines)
- Taxes raised (pay of debt)
- Corn laws
Who were the Luddites?
skilled craftsmen - artisans who use hand-operated machines (textiles industry)
What did the Luddites do and where?
attacked machines in industrials areas (Nottingham, Yorkshire, Lancashire)
What did the Luddites want and why?
to win back their socioeconomic status, because they were being replaced by machinery
Although the Luddites were not politically motivated, why would the government be alarmed?
Due to the degree of organisation
How were the Luddite threat countered by the government?
- Troops stationed in the North and Midlands.
- Machine breaking was a capital offence (law +order on side),
- several executions took place.
What was the positive aftermath of the war?
- Britain established as the greatest of powers,
- largest navy
- biggest share of the world trade,
- most developed industry
What was the negative aftermath of the war?
wealth not shared, national debt
What did the national debt rise to?
£861 million, 80% of the governments income
What were the landowners arguments of the corn laws?
Britain needed to be self-sufficient
What were the corn laws?
-prevents the importation of foreign corn so you have to pay for expensive British corn
If the government still passed the corn laws during discontent, were they really afraid of the radicals?
- No because they knew that they could supress them/ they were weak.
