Economy - The French Wars 1793 - 1815 Flashcards
Britain’s 5 economic strengths:
1) 2nd most urbanised country in Europe
2) More modern economy
3) Stable and sophisticated financial system
4) Transformed agriculture
5) New overseas market expanding
In what 3 ways was Britain’s financial system able to fund the war?
1) Managing national debt through borrowing
2) Selling gov stocks through BofE
3) Introduction of income tax in 1798
Give one example of a stat showing the strength of the British financial system:
Britain gave 50 mil pounds to its allies
Give one stat to show how the number of stock market traders increased throughout the wars:
432 in 1792 to 726 in 1812
What were the consequences of the introduction of income tax?
1) Food prices rose
2) Unemployment rose
3) Farmers sold wheat at high prices
5) Gov had to implement poor relief to alleviate poverty
How did the British government’s attitude towards social order change and give one example of this?
- More restrictive towards poor and labour
- 1799 and 1800 Combination Acts outlawed trade unions
Give one impact of the war on the economy and whether it was successfully dealt with:
- Radical money-raising measures put in place like income tax
- Higher food production coped with demands of war and population growth
What key aspect of the economy helped defeat Napoleon and how?
- Trade
- Britain’s economic weaponry allowed it to wage a trade war against French
What did Napoleon expect beaten nations to do and what did he anticipate the effects to be?
- Expected to stop trading w/ Britain
- Hoped the Continental System would force Britain to make peace
Describe 3 ways in which the trade blockade by Napoleon was unsuccessful:
- Smugglers and neutral merchants continued to carry goods across Channel
- French actually suffered more from sanctions as they relied on trade w/ GBR a lot
- British merchants found export markets in Northern Europe to compensate for any slowdown in trade
- Most countries were prepared to break blockade
- Britain had the maritime capacity to trade globally
Give one example of a country that broke trade blockade to trade w/ Britain and when:
Sweden in 1808
What was one disadvantage of the retaliatory measures pushed by Britain against France?
- Caused war in 1812 to 1814 against France
- Navy stopped and searched any ship trading with France, which angered USA
- Banned British trade, which hurt USA more anyway
During the wars what happened to the value of exports:
They had risen
What 2 aspects was the economy tight on and give examples to show this:
- Private spending and household items
- Wages stagnated between 1796 and 1814
How much did the French wars cost and compare this number to the Seven Years’ War:
- 1600 mil pounds
- Seven Years’ War cost 160 million
Give one stat to show the success of agriculture during the wars:
Output per worker was 50% higher than other European countries
Give examples of 2 new processes that the agrarian revolution consisted of:
- New crop rotation system made better use of land
- Selective breeding produced sheep, cattle and pigs
What was one key change to land use, why and what were 2 effects of this?
- Enclosure of farmland
- Parliamentary Enclosure Acts
- Caused resentment among poor but boosted output
What were the negative impacts on food production as a result of wartime import restrictions?
- Price of wheat rose sharply
- Shortage of timber
Give 2 examples of the impact of war on industry:
- New machinery led to boom in cotton manufacture eg Crompton’s spinning mule
- Boom of iron making eg by 1812, Cyfartha ironworks was producing 10,000 tons in a year
Give one example of infrastructure changes during the wars:
New canals built around London and south and Midlands
