How far do you agree that rapid industrial grow was primarily the result of laissez-faire policies? Flashcards
What pair of laissez-faire economic acts ensured that the free market was dominant in the British state?
1799 and 1800 combination acts
Though they were government intervention, what did the 1799 and 1800 acts do that was laissez-faire and promoted economy growth?
made it illegal to form unions
What prompted the 1799 and 1800 combination acts?
weavers in Lancashire organised themselves into a union following declining wages
What does the passage of the 1799 and 1800 combination acts show?
The passage of the act evidences a commitment by government to promote the unhampered development of industry and placed it firmly on the side of the new entrepreneurial employers.
What act made the failure to fulfil a contract of work a crime punishable with imprisonment and when was this act?
1824 Master and Servant Act
What suggests that short term growth may well have been achieved by the Laissez-Faire policies of the government, in the long term legislation was needed by the government to ensure that this was sustainable?
Once businesses were established and settled the government began to regulate them to promote long term stability
What are the three dates that government repealed laws previously promoting government intervention that made the economy less well regulated?
1813
1826
1846
What law promoting government intervention was repealed in 1813 that signalled a more free-market based approach was being adopted?
Repeal of the Statutes of Artificers
What law promoting government intervention was repealed in 1826 and what was the name of the law that repealed it, signalling a more free-market based approach was being adopted?
1720 Bubble act repealed with the 1826 Banking Co-partnership Act
What law promoting government intervention was repealed in 1846 that signalled a more free-market based approach was being adopted?
1846 repeal of the 1815 Corn Laws
What had the statues of artificers done before it was repealed in 1813?
Provided a degree of employment regulation since 1563 to wages and working conditions
What did the 1720 Bubble Act limit before it was repealed with the 1826 Banking Co-partnership act?
The number of Joint Stock Banks and the size of banks
What did the 1846 repeal of the 1815 Corn Laws, reduce?
the amount of protectionism that the government provided
By creating a laissez-faire environment, what did government have to first do?
Get involved in the economic market to creates these conditions
What was the non laissez-faire policy of 1835?
Municipal corporations act
What was the non laissez-faire policy of 1844?
Banking Charter Act
Summarise what the 1835 municipal corporations act did?
removed local councils from the control of oligarchies allowed them to take control of utilities such as sewage and water supplies
What did the Municipal corporations act mean for utility companies?
These companies needed parliamentary permission to operate, using this opportunity, government established fundamental ground rules that governed their practices, notably how companies could infringe upon people’s land and the level of competition that would be allowed.
Due to inconsistent utility services during the mid-1800s what did the government consider and what was the result of this?
Due to inconsistent services in the mid 1800s, government did consider nationalising the water utilities, however this was shelved following a significant and highly influential campaign by water companies.
What did the 1844 Banking charter act do?
1844 Banking Charter Act placed a cap of twenty years on the lifetime of any new Join Stock Bank that was created.
What does the 1844 Banking charter act show?
the government knew that a laissez-fair economic approach could only work in the short term and in the long term a more interventionist strategy needed to be adopted in oder to provide for sustained, strong and stable growth.
What did the railways replace?
The slow canals used before
How were the railways introduced and why is this important?
they were introduced with a partnership between public and private companies and this is important because it was one of the most key components to industrialisation that was done through government intervention rather than laissez faire economics
What fact in the 1820s shows the partnership between government and private business to form railways?
When the Stockton-Darlington line was opened in 1825, it needed an Act of Parliament to Incorporate the company (give legal recognition to) and to allow the acquisition of lands for the project.
What act greatly strengthened government power over the rail companies and what did it give them the option to do if they wished?
1844 Railways act gave them the opportunity to nationalise railways should they wish
What are the 5 possible factors?
1) Laissez faire policies of the government
2) Non-laisse faire policies of the government
3) Growth of the industrial middle classes
4) growth of banking
5) Urbanisation and population growth
It 1784 how many banks were there outside of london and how many had this risen to by 1808?
in 1784 there were 119 banks outside of London, expanding to 800 by 1808
How did paper money come about?
After Charles 1 stole from the royal mint people started to deposit gold with the smiths in return for paper guarantees of exchange.
What did paper money greatly aid?
the ease of transaction for the industrial middle classes
Who did the people look to in order to borrow money?
Goldsmiths
What were country banks able to do from 1797?
issue bank notes
What was good about rural banks being able to issues notes from 1797?
It was a far more effective way to pay the wages for factory owners
What is the fact about the growth of joint stock bank?
By 1856 the number of Joint Stock Banks grew to 154 with over 850 branches.
When was the first joint stock bank established and what was it called?
October 1826 and was the Lancashire Banking Company
What act boosted the Joint Stock banking industry in the 1830s and how did it do this?
1833 act of parliament boosted the industry further by allowing JS London Banks to issue cheques. This increased the economic efficiency of the country because you could draw on these at any bank branch.
The growth of banking allowed men with vision but not money to do what?
establish themselves in business
How did the growth of banking lead to the transformation of Britain from cottage industry to fully fledged industry?
With finance ready to buy or build new factories and furnish them with new machines, many of the cottage industries of the pre-industrialised age were evolved into large-scale industrial operations.
What were the landed gentry not content to do?
watch their traditional incomes diminish in the face of an economically evolving economy
Instead of watching their traditional incomes diminish in the face of an economically evolving economy, what did the landed elites instead do?
Invest in new industry, a move facilitated by the growth of banking
Instead of watching their traditional incomes diminish in the face of an economically evolving economy, what did the landed elites invest in?
Railway and docklands industries
Give two examples of investment in the railways and dock industries?
1) 1839 the Marquess of Bute built the docks at Cardiff Bay
2) Earl of Lonsdale built Whitehaven Harbour in Cumbria
What did many landowners build to supplement their incomes?
Mills, with managers then employed to run them on their behalf
What happened to the middle classes’ size?
Between 1816 and 1831, the industrial middle class had increased its size by 75%, rising from 160 000 to 214 000
What economic theory did the self made man of commerce seek to apply that fuelled rapid short term growth?
The self-made men of commerce sought to apply the free market ‘invisible hand’ economics of Adam Smith
what did the self made man’s wish to apply the free market ‘invisible hand’ economics of Adam Smith mean?
that there was very little room for co-existence and created a hard-nosed attitude when it came to business and maintaining a profit
How did the adam smith thinking of the new middle classes cause growth?
his led to industrial growth because they became so competitive, that in the quest to maintain an edge over one’s competitors, they became more efficient and fuelled industrial growth.
Who was he son of a tailor who could not afford to go to school, when did he die and what was his fortune?
Richard Arkwright died in 1792 with a fortune of 500 000
When was Arkwright knighted and what does this show?
1786 social mobility
What and when was one of Arkwright’s big inventions?
1769 water frame
What and when was one of Crompton’s big inventions?
1779 Spinning mule
Who owned the ironworks at Merthr Tydfil and what were they called?
Richard Crawshay owned the Cyfartha ironworks at Merthr Tydfil
How many were employed at the Cyfartha ironworkers in Merthr Tydfil by 1830?
5 000
How rich was Richard Crawshay when he died?
over £200 000
Describe manchester’s population increase?
Manchester’s population had increased from <25 000 in 1772 to 180 000 in 1831
By 1750 the only two cities with populations over 50 000 were?
London and Edinburgh
By 1851, 100 years after London and Edinburgh were the only cities with more than 50 000 people, how many cities had that many?
29
By 1851, how many lived in London?
2.3 million inhabitants
The population in urban areas increased by what % every decade between 1800-1850?
27%
What is the other fact that needs including in the urbanisation and population growth factor?
Canals. 40 000 miles of navigable canals by the 1820s
What could be said about the urbanisation and population growth factor?
It is far more a symptom of the economic growth than it is a true cause
What would be the judgement for this in the short term?
In the short term, the business minded laissez faire economic strategy of government was equally most important enabler with banking of the new middle classes’ innovations and entrepreneurship.
What would be the judgement for this in the long term?
In the long term, however, a more interventionist strategy was valuable in ensuring that the success that was enjoyed in the early parts of industrialisation was not short lived and was sustainable.
As well as railways, what else needs to be talked about in the examples of interventionist government policies?
Factory acts
Which factory acts need to be talked about?
1833
1847
1853
1867 factory extension act
What is the relationship between the 1847 act and the 1867 extension act?
20 years apart, 1847 introduced the 10 hour idea, 1867 extended the 10 ½ version of it
What did the 1833 factory act mean for children under 9?
couldn’t work
What did the 1833 factory act mean for children aged 9-11?
two hours’ education a day
What did the 1833 factory act mean for children aged 9-12?
Couldn’t work more than 9 hours a day
What did the 1833 factory act mean for children aged 13-18?
Couldn’t work more than 12 hours a day
What, under the 1833 factory act, were introduced for those factory owners who broke the rules?
Fines
What does the introduction of fines for the factory owners following the 1833 factory act suggest?
That government acknowledged that intervention was necessary to protect the workforce
What did the 1847 act introduce and what was the evolution of this?
10 hour working day for women and children, with it being raised to 10 ½ hours in the 1853 factory act
What factory reform happened in 1867?
1847/53 factory act extended to any factory that employed more than 50
What does the extension of the 1847/53 factory act in 1867 show?
That the age of unfettered employment law was over
