Impact of French Wars on Britain

Question 1

what was the impact of the Napoleonic expansion across Europe

Answer 1

• the continental system 1806
• invasion threat
• led to the forming of coalitions
• led to pressure on the navy - more money on time onto navy rather than the army
• Irish Revolt 1798
• the French had to split their troops

Question 2

what were the primary factors of Coalition War against Napoleon

Answer 2

• Britain had the money and resources to fight but not the land connecting us to France and we did not have the men
• compromised the French - they were already fighting in the East, they had to fight a multi-front war - overstretched more than ever before
• the coalition army and support from the Spanish/Portuguese troops and the Spanish Guerrillas meant the French were always on the move
• French living off the land
• it meant at Waterloo the French could be overwhelmed from two side due to the eventual arrival of the Blucher’s
• Britain only had one landing point of Lisbon due to the continental system as so their geographical attack and the British supply line was limited by this
• French had to live off the land

Question 3

explain the Spithead and Nore mutinies

Answer 3

• late 1970s discontent grew among the sailors
• complaints on low pay - they had not had a pay rise till Charles II - how they were paid and the quality and quantity of the food
• concerns raised to admiralty and government but fell on deaf ears
• sailors organised themselves to mutiny
• surprised it hasn’t happened earlier

Question 4

explain the Spithead mutiny

Answer 4

• sailors on 16 on the channel’s fleet protested against their living conditions pay and much more
• conducted in a respectful way
• men maintained their regard for rank and international duties e.g. if the French threatened invasion the mutiny would cease
• the men remained united and if one ship threatened to bail they were gunned down
• successful
• conditions improved men royally pardoned for their actions

Question 5

explain the Nore mutiny

Answer 5

• inspired by Spithead a fleet on the Thames estuary mutinied
• unsuccessful
• demands higher including not wanting to fight against the French
• led by Richard Parker who had a rocky relationship with the navy and many believed he had a score to settle hence the aggression
• for example when the mutiny attempted to blockade the Thames meaning no resources could be sailed into London
• sailors did not stay loyal to the cause
• after it ended many of the sailors punished - Parker was hung

Question 6

why was the suppression of the naval Spithead and Nore mutinies so important

Answer 6

• primary defence for invasion and the most skilled
• if the navy were unhappy it was important they were listened to or it could lead the Britain been vulnerable
• protect British trade routes
• one of greatest boast of navy was strong discipline so it was important to maintain that
• suppressed to stop further mutinies or escalation
• make sure it didn’t turn violent as loss of life needed to be avoided - recruitment was already a problem

Question 7

what was the Irish Revolt

Answer 7

• 1798
• inspired by the French and American revolutions the Irish decided to revolt to attempt to seek greater autonomy from British imperial rule
• led by Irish man Wolf Harris and supported by the French Napoleonic Empire
• French sent 14,000 men over
• Irish civilians raised an army that fought with the British in many battles
• it allowed for the potential of French invasion until the British defeated them at Vinegar Hill which led to the Act of the Union bringing Ireland into the United Kingdom

Question 8

why was the suppression of the Irish revolt so important

Answer 8

• threat to British defence as all of Britain’s current conflicts were in mainland Europe and all British defence of the East
• if Ireland fell to Napoleon there would be a threat in the West which would divide resources and weaken an already weak army
• act of Union unified them despite been opposed by many even the monarch at the time as it meant power was given to the Catholics but it was better to have Ireland on side
• British army poor quality at this point
• Irish army and navy were also poor and the poor weather thwarted their plans

Question 9

discuss the economic divide on the Home Front

Answer 9

• divide between the wealthier North and the poorer South
• a divide that only got worse as Luddism broke out in the South as the war went on
• typical rate of family living was 240pence but the average family income was less than this
• families in South struggled to put food on the table - bad harvests across Britain didn’t help
• in the North most women didn’t even have to work as a result of the comfortable living standards
• less people in the North wanted to join army or navy as prize money didn’t inspire them

Question 10

give some general points about the Home Front

Answer 10

• riots and strikes broke out frequently and Henry Addington’s reserve army had to regular disperse them and restore the peace
• Jane Austen e.g. tried to glamourize the soldiers in her novels to create morale
• lack of war correspondence and journalism meant people didn’t feel connected to the war and were only faced with their own (-) experiences like rising food prices
• some upper class people with links with the army were aware of the threat of invasion so a certain % did live in fear of invasion

Question 11

what was the treaty of Amiens

Answer 11

• not at dictation of British
• allowed French to keep their lands/continue expansion
• overseas conquests ceded back to the French
• much needed period of rest/re-supply for all sides after 10 years of fighting
• slightly anti-war
• but a phony peace - seen as short term truce

Question 12

what was the treaty of Amiens like from a political, military and social viewpoint

Answer 12

• political/military - disaster - Britain lost out compared to the French who gained lots of land
• social - success - gave chance for food prices to fall and some of the rioting died down

Question 13

when was the treaty of Amiens signed

Answer 13

March 27th 1802

Question 14

why did Britain agree to the treaty of Amiens

Answer 14

• French defeated 1st/2nd coalitions, Britain could not fight alone nor win at continental land warfare
• Britain’s trade in deficit due to run of bad harvests in 1799-1800
• thus food prices high, public blamed the war evoking the proclaimed ‘bread or blood’ riots
• trade limits as most ships been used for war
• good economic benefits
• led to fall in corn prices and short term abolition of hated income tax
• chance to re-supply food/artillery, recruit more men
• get public back on side
• take stock of loans and financing as this was becoming the most expensive war Britain ever fought

Question 15

how much did Britain spend over the 20 years of the war

Answer 15

1500 million

Question 16

why did Britain end the treaty of Amiens

Answer 16

• early 1804 French broke terms - Nap went back to Egypt and other conquests he had before treaty
• returned to re-establishing power and renewing worldwide French trade
• by 1803 French preparations for war and invasion were becoming apparent
• Nap began to strengthen his naval forces - ships of line from 43-66
• real fear of invasion - British people volunteered to bear arms as panic grew
• recruitment boost and rioting died down as people realised the severity

Question 17

what was Napoleon’s continental system

Answer 17

• french revolutionary wars Nap won Holland, Italy and West Indies
• he closed many European ports thus including Antwerp limiting British trade - put further financial strain on British ability to fund the war
• Pen wars began to defend the port of Lisbon as it was one of few ports still available to Britain

Question 18

why did Nap launch his continental system

Answer 18

• after Trafalgar 1805 Britain had naval hegemony which limited French trade and their place on the naval stage
• at mercy of Royal Navy
• way to claw back some of the naval power Britain had
• limit British trade and impact their naval rule
• more financial strain on Britain

Question 19

how did Britain respond to Napoleon’s continental system

Answer 19

November 1807 - Grenville Orders in Council

• own system better than the French’s
• didn’t solve it entirely but v effective
• any ship not carrying the British flag was to dock at British ports to be searched
• any ships found to be assisting French seized/sunk
• essentially naval blockade of France

Question 20

when was Napoleon’s continental system launched

Answer 20

November 21st 1806

Question 21

what did the Grenville Orders in Council result in

Answer 21

• effective and essential naval blockade limiting French trade
• but it angered neutral nations eventually resulting in war with USA in 1812/1830 who were trading with and assisting the French
• USA already had a troubled past with British and were just trying to utilize their resources for a profit

Question 22

where the Grenville Orders in Council effective

Answer 22

• yes
• Britain able to use their naval presence to great effect
• if French has trade with USA perhaps they would have been in a better place for the pen wars
• might not have lived off the land losing 500 soldiers a week during lines of Torres Vedras 1810-1811
• Continental system caused financial challenges for Britain but these orders swung supply in British favour massively aiding them in Pen wars

Question 23

why was global trade so important for the British in ensuring the continuation of war against Revolutionary/Napoleonic France

Answer 23

• vital for income
• fund and supply themselves and their coalition armies
• war was 20 years need a lot of shit
• war was financially destructive
• on the Home Front especially people needed it to make up for immense food shortages and poverty
• Britain didn’t have many men but they had industry for trade so income for coalitions
• make most of naval skills
• advantage in war - French lived off land

Question 24

what were some of the reasons behind charging people on the Home Front income tax for the first time ever

Answer 24

• war long with real threat of invasion that Britain could not have defended against on their own
• Britain have tiny army
• needed coalitions and income tax vital for that
• due to Britain using their navy to supply their troops in Iberia, funding of maintenance/new ships expensive
• empire could only fund so much
• helped fund food for the soldiers despite many on Home front struggling to put food on table

Question 25

aside from income tax, how else did the British Gov raise money during the wars

Answer 25

• global trade
• taxed everything from windows to horses
• raised food prices
• offered government stocks more secure in wartime than risky ventures though investment remained steady
• borrowing - a war funded on credit
• success due to Britain’s sophisticated manufacturing and banking systems
• refusal to admit changed like minimum wage

Question 26

what impact did the wars have on British industrial production

Answer 26

• catalyst for production and innovation
• French has more men so even more vital for Britain to supersede them in artillery/military capability
• sieges of Badajoz and Cuidad Rodrigo required innovation and funding of new and modernised heavy siege guns to take the fortresses
• producing goods faster was essential
• new textile machinery led to boom in cotton manufacturing - 337 mils by 1918

Question 27

what were the luddites

Answer 27

• a radical organisation who destroyed factory machinery as a form of protest
• as industrial revolution grew people worried about their employment security
• new machinery could do the jobs of multiple people leading to unemployment and fear especially as prices increased
• people felt they had no choice but to resort to Luddism

Question 28

why were the British government so concerned about the Luddites

Answer 28

• damaging to the war effort problematic for those overseas who relied on their supply lines and British production

Question 29

what was the Speenhamland system

Answer 29

• Luddites damage coupled with bad harvests raised prices
• prices rose to such an extent that people, esp in South, becoming so malnourished and starved, the Church had to step in
• Church gave out bread/ first food stamps to people who couldn’t afford to feed their families
• drastic/essential measure to keep people on Home Front going
• also aimed to prevent riots/strikes
• tried to keep morale/war effort up

Question 30

why were there so many food riots in Britain

Answer 30

• prices rose people struggled to feed their families
• saw rioting as only option
• despite rising prices people still got same wage and tax to fund the war
• though invasion would have been much worse
• lack of war correspondence and illiteracy meant people didn’t feel connected to the war and so they felt their struggles were for nothing - they couldn’t see the Allies on front line benefiting from their hardship
• didn’t understand the LT benefits for ST struggle

Question 31

how did the wars impact on agriculture for Britain

Answer 31

• French wars followed the agrarian revolution
• during war - output per 50% higher than in other European countries
• farmers benefited from higher wartime prices so much that war ended and Gov did 1815 Corn Laws that protected home wheat growers from cheap foreign imports
• farming revolution spurred on by the demands of the war
• farmers had to make up for continental system
• farmers assisted by King George III and his belief in agriculture
• increase in tech meant some feared unemployment though
• grain imported but restrictions meant prise sharply rose

Question 32

where the French Wars a World War

Answer 32

• no - didn’t effect enough countries
• no fighting on British soil/civilians not directly affected
• didn’t effect people on mass- more lower classes with rising food prices
• were the coalitions but all in Europe
• did expand out Europe to conflict with the USA but only really affected Britain
• France more of a people’s war as they had conscription

Question 33

where the French Wars a Total War

Answer 33

• there was a genuine threat to British sovereignty in way of a Franco-Irish invasion but no fighting on British soil and it didn’t directly threaten the people
• people worked to the war effort but still a lot of normality in Britain
• lack of correspondence/journalism meant people weren’t that connected to the war
• Britain didn’t have a conscript army
• more of a constitutional war
• purely financial for the most part despite lasting 2 decades for the people

Question 34

when were the bad harvests and what was the impact of this

Answer 34

• 1809/1810
• price of bread rose
• but wages stayed the same
• many families in the South struggled to feed their families
• price of living 240 pence but most families in the South made significantly less than this

Question 35

discuss the shortage of timber

Answer 35

• shortage of timber for shipbuilding did threaten the war effort
• the ancient royal oak forests had been neglected with many land owners planting wheat instead of oak trees